Utilizing Lunar Architecture Transportation Elements for Mars Exploration

In 2004, President Bush announced a new U.S. Vision for Space Exploration that includes plans to return humans to the moon followed by human missions to Mars. While human Mars missions have been studied and analyzed for decades, the current technical and political environment presents mission designers with new objectives and constraints. Given the significant investment required to develop new launch vehicles, habitat systems, and supporting technologies for the preparatory lunar campaign, it is likely that those systems will serve as the centerpiece of any future Mars exploration architecture. This paper summarizes the efforts of SpaceWorks Engineering’s advanced design team to develop a viable Mars architecture based on Project Constellation launch vehicles and related lunar transportation technologies. All-chemical LOX/LH2 transfer vehicles are used. No in-situ resource utilization (propellant manufacture) has been assumed. An overall concept of operations is outlined. Details are provided on element masses, Earth-Mars transfer times, development and operations costs, and estimated mission reliability. Throughout this internally-funded effort, emphasis has been placed on maturing design tools and multidisciplinary processes in order to develop a useful national capability should formal studies of Mars architectures be undertaken.