Measuring the maturity of robotic planetary mission concepts

Robotic space missions are conceived, planned, promoted, and developed through a series of design and resource estimation activities. Each successive level of activity requires greater levels of effort and fidelity, from the “cocktail napkin” stage to the Critical Design Review (CDR). As a mission concept increases in maturity, the uncertainties in the estimated performance, cost, and risk of the mission are reduced. For a given concept it is important to measure and describe its level of maturity, and to have a common language for that description, in order to establish reasonable expectations today for a mission in the future and to avoid premature commitments to a highly uncertain value proposition. Furthermore, such a language can be used to define a set of guidelines for the content of a robotic space mission concept as it progresses, so that some dimensions of the concept do not inadvertently lag behind other dimensions in maturity. This paper describes a set of nine Concept Maturity Levels (CML 1 to 9) and the associated concept content at those levels.