February 2024 workshop: Mission Directorate Panel

Document: 03-2024-architecture-workshop-mission-directorate-panel.pdf, 18 slides, 2,500,083 bytes, from https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/, fetched 2026-10-01T18:28:03Z (sources/manifest.csv). Four title cards split it among four directorates: "Mission Directorate Panel: Exploration Systems Development" (slide 1), "… Architecture Enables Science" (slide 5), "… Space Technology" (slide 10) and "… Space Operations" (slide 14). No presenters or dates are printed. Footer: "2024 Moon to Mars Architecture Workshops". Listed on the Architecture Workshops page under "February 2024". Text: sources/text/docs/2024-02-03-2024-architecture-workshop-mission-directorate-panel.txt; images in sources/raw/slides/2024-02-03-2024-architecture-workshop-mission-directorate-panel/.

Rank and method. Briefings, not the architecture of record (SCHEMA, "Workshop slides"), older than Rev B and Rev C. All 18 slides were read in the text layer. Of the six text-poor slides, the images of 5, 12 and 15 were viewed; 1, 10 and 14 are title cards whose text layer gives the whole title, and weren't. Slides 6 and 7 were also viewed (pictures and covers). The text has no "Moon Base", "CUI" or "Pre-Decisional" (searched).

Summary. Four directorates on the architecture, two years into it. ESDMD (slides 2–4): what the 2022 workshops asked for and what changed, and the element initiation milestone (slides 3–4 are the breakout deck's slides 2–3). SMD (slides 6–9): which architecture assets serve six science objectives, the decadal surveys, five coming studies, and a "1:1 trace" of the planetary decadal's lunar themes to LPS-1 to LPS-3. STMD (slides 11–13): its investments against the nine Lunar Infrastructure objectives, and its role in 2024. SOMD (slides 15–18): the Human Research Program's "Steps to Mars", and SCaN's lunar networks and studies, among them a "Lunar Navigation System … Like GPS, but at and for the Moon" with a "10-m surface positioning" need.

Slides

Slide	Title (as printed)	Content
1	"Mission Directorate Panel: Exploration Systems Development"	Title card
2	"Highlights of ACR22 Feedback"	ESDMD
3	"Architecture Products to Action"	The element initiation breakout's slide 2 (its page)
4	"Key ESDMD Process Milestones"	The breakout's slide 3: element initiation and mission concept review
5	"Mission Directorate Panel: Architecture Enables Science"	Title card (image)
6	"Architecture Enables M2M Science Objectives"	SMD
7	"Strategic Research and Priorities from NASEM Decadal Surveys"	SMD
8	"1:1 Trace of Lunar Themes from Planetary Decadal to M2M Objectives"	SMD
9	"Suggested Questions to be Addressed with a focus on FE and SLE Segments"	SMD
10	"Mission Directorate Panel: Space Technology"	Title card
11	"STMD's Investments Support Later Segments"	The four segments and Future Segments, one line each, as on the overview deck's slide 6
12	"Lunar Infrastructure Technology Investments"	STMD (image)
13	"STMD 2024 Role in Architecture Development"	STMD
14	"Mission Directorate Panel: Space Operations"	Title card
15	(none)	"Human Research Program, STEPS TO MARS" (image; SOMD)
16	"HRP Integration Across Platforms"	SOMD
17	"SCaN Human Lunar Return Contributions"	SOMD
18	"SCaN Architecture Concepts and Studies"	SOMD

ESDMD: what the 2022 feedback changed (slide 2)

"Highlights of ACR22 Feedback", with check marks for what was done:

• ADD: "Overall positive to continue systems engineering rigor & communication".
• "Need to standardize and level decomposition content": "Established syntax structure, revised commonality C&Ns + UC/F, leveled across objective areas".
• "Some verbs and nouns don't translate from English easily": "Modified to use more common words and/or added to glossary where necessary".
• "Identified needs for additional content and sub-architectures": "Four additional sub-architectures added to address cross-cutting integration" (the four "NEW for 2023" on the overview deck's slide 7).
• "Need to continue integration and adaptation to evolutionary approach".
• "White Papers: Extremely helpful for key information and plain language discussion": "Increased from 6 White Papers in ACR22 to an additional 13 White Papers for ACR23".
• "NASA team highly values your engagement and bi-directional communication across IP, industry, academia, inter-governmental stakeholders".

NASA's White Papers page lists five 2022 papers and twelve 2023 ones; with the two papers the 2025 "Architecture Definition" paper supersedes (one of each year), that makes the slide's six and thirteen (White Papers page; the wiki's reconciliation).

SMD: architecture enables science (slides 6–9)

Slide 6 sets six science objectives against pictures of architecture assets, read from the image: rows labeled "LPS-1", "LPS-2", "LPS-3", "HBS", "HBS" and "HS", each with a science picture (credits "Keane et al", "LGN", "ESA", "Pexels", "NASA", "ESA") and a row of asset pictures (Orion, a lander, a suited astronaut, Gateway, a sample facility, the Vehicle Assembly Building, a dish antenna, a rover, astronauts, a surface habitat). The pictures aren't captioned; the wiki doesn't name them further.

Slide 7, "Strategic Research and Priorities from NASEM Decadal Surveys", read from the image: the covers of five decadal surveys (Earth observation; solar and space physics, "to be updated in 2024"; planetary, "2022"; astronomy and astrophysics; biological and physical sciences), and four "NASA and Community Reports" (the lunar exploration science context, "Advancing Science of the Moon", the lunar exploration roadmap and the Artemis III Science Definition Team report). "Upcoming Academy / SDT Studies That Will Inform Architecture":

• "High Priority Science Campaigns for Human Explorers on the Surface of Mars"
• "Key Destinations Across the Moon to Address Decadal-level Science Objectives with Human Explorers"
• "SPA Sample Return Science Definition Team Report"
• "Science Accomplished during Human Mars Transit (planned)"
• "Science Addressed from a Sustained Lunar Basecamp (planned)"

A year later SMD briefed the same five, with the South Pole–Aitken study renamed "SPA Return & Exploration (SPARX) Science Definition Team" (FE gaps deck, slide 7; the wiki's comparison). None is among the wiki's sources.

Slide 8, "1:1 Trace of Lunar Themes from Planetary Decadal to M2M Objectives (M2M LPS Objectives in BLUE)": the three themes of the planetary decadal's "BOX 22.2 Science Themes for Lunar Exploration", each followed by the objective it became. Theme 1, "Uncover the lunar record of solar system origin and early history", → LPS-1; Theme 2, "Understand the geologic processes that shaped the early Earth that are best preserved on the Moon", → LPS-2; Theme 3, "Reveal inner solar system volatile origin and delivery processes", → LPS-3. The objectives are quoted in the 2022 wording. "BOX 22.2" is in no other source text (searched). The 2024 humans-in-space paper also gives the decadal's themes as the basis of LPS-1 to LPS-3 (source page; topic page: Science objectives and the decadal surveys).

Slide 9, "Suggested Questions to be Addressed with a focus on FE and SLE Segments":

1. "Are the functions, needs, characteristics, and use cases appropriate to accomplish the defined Science Objectives or are there some required to support the objectives that are not yet in the ADD?"
2. "What science is necessary to be conducted on the Moon to be ready for humans to perform science on Mars?"
3. "Which science is best achieved through human exploration vs. robotic missions? Or a combination?"
4. "Are there any science-focused white papers that would help the community understand why certain decisions have been made?"

Two 2024 white papers, on humans for science and on priority science, answer the third and fourth (the pairing is the wiki's; Utilization Systems).

STMD: lunar infrastructure investments (slides 12–13)

Slide 12, "Lunar Infrastructure Technology Investments", read from the image: the nine Lunar Infrastructure objectives, LI-1 to LI-9, each with a picture and its full wording, with key words highlighted ("lunar power", "communications", "position, navigation and timing", "advanced manufacturing and autonomous construction", "precision landing", "surface transportation and mobility", "ISRU", "construction and manufacturing", "environmental monitoring, situational awareness"). Four carry a Mars objective code beside them: LI-1 with MI-1, LI-2 with MI-2, LI-3 with MI-3, LI-7 with MI-4. A check mark is keyed "Current STMD Investment Areas"; it marks LI-1 to LI-8, not LI-9 (environmental monitoring and early warning).

The four wordings checked against the 2022 list (LI-1, LI-4, LI-5, LI-9) match it word for word (Lunar objectives). The LI–MI pairs are the slide's; the objectives document doesn't pair them. Which STMD projects stand behind each check, and why LI-9 has none, the slide doesn't say.

Slide 13, "STMD 2024 Role in Architecture Development":

• "Supporting Objectives Decomposition"
• "Participating in virtually all SAC24 tasks: coordination, SME analysis"
• "Significant role in Mars Surface Power Technology Decision activity"
• "Working gap prioritization processes across the architecture"
• "Leading task to define and document technology on-ramp strategies"

The Mars surface power decision was made at the 2024 review, with STMD among those scoring the attributes (Key definition tasks, MD-07); the gap prioritization became Rev B's first ranked list (Gaps index). The links are the wiki's.

SOMD: human research and SCaN (slides 15–18)

Slide 15, read from the image: "Human Research Program, STEPS TO MARS". "EARTH: Simulated spaceflight hazards in Ground Analogs | :envihab | Antarctic Stations | NEK | HERA | Space Radiation Lab"; "LOW EARTH ORBIT: International Space Station – A unique testbed to study micro-gravity and environment hazards, with varying mission durations"; "LUNAR MISSIONS: Decreasing Earth-dependence around and on the lunar surface. Provides insight into deep space radiation, behavioral health, and gravity transitions."

Slide 16, "HRP Integration Across Platforms": an obstacle course that astronauts "will work through immediately after returning to Earth so that researchers can learn more about how mission-ready crew can be after landing on a planet's surface. Studies like this will affect priority decisions for Mars (e.g. mission length, mission cadence, etc.)"; and a suited volunteer moving "a 30-pound object through a boulder field" on the Active Response Gravity Offload System (ARGOS).

Slide 17, "SCaN Human Lunar Return Contributions": "SCaN leading lunar loading analyses for the Human Lunar Return segment utilizing baselined ground rules and assumptions. Results will either validate architecture or highlight where changes are needed." Three assets: "Deep Space Network Lunar Exploration Upgrades (DLEU)", "Lunar Communications and Navigation Relay Services (LCRNS)", "Lunar Exploration Ground Segment (LEGS) (18-Meter Class Antenna Subnet)". "NASA is seeking international partnerships in space communications and navigation areas to support Artemis mission activities."

Slide 18, "SCaN Architecture Concepts and Studies", four columns:

• "Lunar Surface Wireless": "3GPP/5G cellular technology for a robust lunar surface C&N infrastructure that is scalable to meet long-term needs"; "Essential to address surface and orbital link proliferation"; "Enables direct surface/local communication and aggregates data for transition to backhaul".
• "Lunar Navigation System": "Like GPS, but at and for the Moon"; "Supports the need for 10-m surface positioning and 25-m HLS landing knowledge requirements"; "Long-term support of complex surface ops, situational awareness, prediction and avoidance".
• "Optical Communications": "supports high bandwidth needs, data aggregation, and relieves spectrum pressure. It also supports precision navigation observables"; "Long-term operations in deep space will require data volumes and rates that exceed radio capabilities"; "O2O optical demonstration is on track for Artemis II".
• "Deep Space Network Futures": "Identify future mission drivers and space exploration requirements shaping the network from 2030 – 2050"; "Identify user capabilities required …"; "Develop roadmap for critical and key network capabilities of the future with linkages to drivers and requirements".

The topic page is SCaN Networks.

What changed by Rev C

These comparisons are the wiki's.

• Ten meters, then and now. "10-m surface positioning" (slide 18) is #0101's Rev C target, "absolute localization to 10 m (3σ)" (#0101); the 2024 form of #0101 had "TBD meters". The FE C&PNT white paper gives a 25–50 m navigation need (C&PNT Systems).
• 3GPP on the surface is #0103's subject in Rev C (#0103).
• "GNSS-like". Rev C says lunar PNT may grow to "GNSS–like" services (SCaN Networks); the slide's "Like GPS, but at and for the Moon" is the same idea, two years earlier.
• DLEU and LEGS are named in no other source text (searched for "DLEU", "LEGS" and "18-Meter"); Rev C's SCaN one-pager describes the Near Space and Deep Space Networks and LCRNS.

Oddities

As printed, images checked:

• "IP" for international partners (slide 2), unexpanded.
• "Image Credit LGN" (slide 6), unexpanded.
• The SMD title card reads "Architecture Enables Science", not "Science Mission Directorate"; the other three name their directorate.

Related pages

Element initiation breakout, February 2024 · Overview and Updates, February 2024 · FE gaps deck, February 2025 · SCaN Networks · Science objectives and the decadal surveys · Lunar objectives · #0101 · #0103