NASA's Moon to Mars Architecture Executive Overview: 2024 Architecture Concept Review¶
Document: NASA's Moon to Mars Architecture: Executive Overview, subtitled "2024 Architecture
Concept Review" on the cover. It runs to 28 PDF pages. The contents page credits the "Exploration
Systems Development Mission Directorate, National Aeronautics and Space Administration" (PDF p. 2).
Date: none is printed. It lists "Published Revision B of the Architecture Definition Document"
among the year's accomplishments (PDF p. 3). Revision B was released 12/13/2024
(ADD Rev C, p. 3). The download path is
2024/12. The back cover's publication number is a placeholder, "NP-2024-12-XXXX-HQ" (PDF p. 28,
rendered page only; the text layer drops it). The wiki reads no date from it and calls this the 2024
executive overview. Files: text sources/text/docs/2024-12-2024-architecture-executive-overview.txt;
raw sources/raw/docs/2024-12-2024-architecture-executive-overview.pdf (fetched 2026-10-01T07:22:46Z
from https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/2024-architecture-executive-overview.pdf, per
sources/manifest.csv). All 28 pages were read in the text layer and checked as rendered pages.
Page numbers. The printed numbers are two lower than the PDF pages: the cover and the contents page are unnumbered, and "2024 Accomplishments", PDF p. 3, is printed "1". The contents page uses the printed numbers, and all of them match. The wiki cites PDF pages (open question 29); the table below gives both.
Warning: PDF p. 8's text layer is not the overview. That page shows small thumbnails of the 2024 white papers' first pages. The text layer carries their full text (about 750 lines of the text file), none of which can be read on the rendered page. A text search of this file will therefore find passages from the cargo, mobility, reference-frames, science, ethics, EDL, crew-complement, partnerships, Mars power, ascent-propellant and technology-gaps papers. The wiki cites none of that text to this overview; each paper has its own source page.
Summary. A glossy summary of the 2024 review cycle in two halves. "2024 Features" covers the year: four accomplishments, "Why Moon to Mars?", the two new elements (Initial Surface Habitat and Lunar Surface Cargo Lander) with four of their functions each, the twelve 2024 white papers, partner pre-formulation told through a fictional "Lunar Coffee Maker", architecture-driven technology gaps with #0101 as the example, decision roadmapping with a chart of twelve priority Mars decisions, and the Mars surface power decision. "About the Architecture" restates the basics: strategy, goals, process, key terms, architecting from the right, segments, sub-architectures, and a two-page spread of the elements. It is context, older than ADD Rev C. What it adds is a snapshot of Revision B's year: the element functions as mapped in 2024, the 2024 form of a technology gap, and when each priority Mars decision was identified.
Contents¶
| PDF page | Printed | Section | Wiki home |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | — | Cover | |
| 2 | — | Table of contents | |
| 3 | 1 | "2024 Accomplishments" | Architecture definition process |
| 4–5 | 2–3 | "Why Moon to Mars?": infographic; introduction, destinations, four key considerations, takeaways | Why Moon to Mars |
| 6–7 | 4–5 | "New Elements for 2024": Initial Surface Habitat; Lunar Surface Cargo Lander | Initial Surface Habitat; Lunar Surface Cargo Lander |
| 8–9 | 6–7 | "2024 White Papers": Moon-focused, Mars-focused, cross-cutting | below |
| 10–11 | 8–9 | Feature: "Partner Pre-Formulation" | figure below; Elements |
| 12–13 | 10–11 | Feature: "Architecture-Driven Technology Gaps"; example gap #0101 | Gaps index; #0101 |
| 14–15 | 12–13 | Feature: "Architecture Decision Roadmapping"; "Priority Decisions" chart; example MD-01 | Key definition tasks |
| 16–17 | 14–15 | Feature: "Mars Surface Power Decision"; white paper excerpt | Key definition tasks |
| 18 | 16 | "Architecture Strategy": introduction, historical context, "Why Explore?", strategy and objectives | Architecture definition process; pillars on Why Moon to Mars |
| 19 | 17 | "Moon to Mars Objectives": one line per goal | below |
| 20 | 18 | "Architecture Process": overview, ACR, strategic analysis cycle, workshops; key terms | Architecture definition process; key terms below |
| 21 | 19 | "Architecting from the Right"; decomposition features; figure | Objective decomposition |
| 22 | 20 | "Architecture Segments" | Segments |
| 23 | 21 | "Sub-Architectures" (all 12) | Sub-architectures |
| 24–25 | 22–23 | "Architecture Elements"; "International Partners"; "Selecting the Right Tools" | spread below; Elements |
| 26 | 24 | "2025 Look-Ahead" | Architecture definition process |
| 27 | — | QR code, "nasa.gov/architecture" | |
| 28 | — | Back cover: NASA Headquarters; "NP-2024-12-XXXX-HQ" |
What the PDF shows that the text layer loses¶
Read from the rendered pages. Labels are as printed; descriptions of layout are the wiki's.
- The "Why Moon to Mars?" infographic (PDF p. 4). Transcribed on Why Moon to Mars.
- Element function tables (PDF pp. 6–7). Each new element has a box "Functions Fulfilled by the … During the Foundational Exploration Segment" with four function IDs and titles. The habitat's box adds "+15 additional functions." Both carry the label "Government Reference Concept" on the image.
- The coffee-maker figure (PDF p. 11). Transcribed below.
- The example gap table (PDF p. 13). Laid out like an ADD Appendix D table, with a "Priority" column shaded from dark to light, an exclamation mark and an arrow labeled "Higher Priority". The sub-architecture and segments are icons. Transcribed on #0101.
- "Priority Decisions" (PDF p. 15). Twelve hexagons split by a dashed line labeled "ACR23 | ACR24". Transcribed on Key definition tasks.
- The decomposition figure (PDF p. 21), captioned "Illustration of the decomposition of objectives using NASA's process of architecting from the right." It has the same boxes and texts as ADD Rev C's p. 16 figure and the 2023 overview's Figure 2, with a vertical label "Reference Missions" beside the use cases, as in the 2024 international partnerships paper's Figure 1 (the wiki's comparison, at page resolution).
- "You are here." (PDF p. 22). The segments page draws the four segments as a vertical track of icons, with "You are here." written beside Human Lunar Return.
- Elements spread (PDF pp. 24–25). Transcribed below.
- Back cover (PDF p. 28): "NP-2024-12-XXXX-HQ".
The goals in one line each (PDF p. 19)¶
The same plain-language lines as the 2023 overview, with three reworded. The other seven are word for word the same. NASA's goal statements are on Objectives.
| Goal | 2023 (PDF p. 5) | 2024 (PDF p. 19) |
|---|---|---|
| Science Enabling | "Develop integrated human and robotic techniques …" | "Realize integrated human and robotic techniques that address high-priority scientific questions around and on the Moon and Mars." |
| Applied Science | "Conduct science utilizing integrated human and robotic techniques …" | "Carry out science utilizing integrated human and robotic techniques to inform the design of exploration systems." |
| Lunar Infrastructure | "Create an framework for government, industry, academia, and international partners to participate …" | "Enable government, industry, academia, and international partners to participate in a robust lunar economy and facilitate science." |
Key terms in both overviews¶
The 2023 overview (PDF p. 3) and the 2024 overview (PDF p. 20) print the same seven-term box, with one word changed. ADD Rev C defines the same terms in longer, different words. The comparison is the wiki's.
| Term | Both overviews | Change in 2024 | ADD Rev C |
|---|---|---|---|
| Architecture | "The unified structure that defines a system, providing rules, guidelines, and constraints for constituent parts and establishing how they fit and work together." | none | The Systems Engineering Handbook definition, longer: "the high-level, unifying structure that defines a system …" (p. 11; Architecture framework) |
| Characteristics & Needs | "Features, activities, and capabilities necessary to satisfy goals and objectives." | none | "Features to satisfy the goals and objectives; statements that drive architecture capability …" (p. 17). The p. 16 figure's box has the overviews' wording, with "the". |
| Use Case | "An operation that would be executed to meet desired characteristics and needs." | none | "Operations that would be executed to produce the desired needs and/or characteristics." (p. 17) |
| Function | 2023: "One of the actions necessary to satisfy a use case." | 2024: "An action necessary to satisfy a use case." | "Actions that an architecture would perform to complete the desired use case." (p. 17) |
| Element | "A notional exploration system that enables a set of functions." | none | "Any exploration system that enables a high-level functional allocation (e.g., crew transport, habitation, logistics delivery) that is primarily self-sufficient." (p. 21) |
| Sub-architecture | "A group of tightly coupled elements, functions, and capabilities that work together to accomplish one or more objectives." | none | "… that perform together to accomplish architecture objectives." (p. 18) |
| Segment | "A portion of the architecture that integrates sub-architectures and progressively increases in complexity and objective satisfaction." | none | "Portions of the architecture, identified by one or more notional missions or integrated use cases, illustrating the interaction, relationships, and connections of the sub-architectures through progressively increasing operational complexity and objective satisfaction." (p. 18) |
The biggest shift is "Element": the overviews' "notional exploration system" against Rev C's "primarily self-sufficient" system, in a document that admits only "funded elements that the agency has formally committed to developing" (p. 45; Elements). ADD Appendix F, the glossary, follows the ADD body for five of the seven terms, but shares "activities" and "necessary" with the overviews' Characteristics & Needs and Function (the wiki's comparison, on the Glossary).
The 2024 white papers (PDF pp. 8–9)¶
"NASA white papers highlight key results from the annual Architecture Concept Review and complement
the Architecture Definition Document. They provide deep dives into specific topics within the
architecture and explain NASA's latest thinking" (PDF p. 8). Twelve papers in three groups, each with
one line. All twelve are among the wiki's sources (sources/manifest.csv):
| Group | Title (printed in capitals) | Wiki source page |
|---|---|---|
| Moon-focused | Lunar Surface Cargo | read |
| Moon-focused | Lunar Mobility Drivers and Needs | read |
| Moon-focused | Priority Science Enabled Through Architecture | read |
| Moon-focused | Lunar Reference Frames | read |
| Mars-focused | Mars Crew Complement Considerations | read |
| Mars-focused | Mars Surface Power Technology Decision | read |
| Mars-focused | Mars Entry, Descent, and Landing Challenges | read |
| Mars-focused | Mars Ascent Propellant Considerations | read |
| Cross-cutting | Humans in Space to Accomplish Science Objectives | read |
| Cross-cutting | Responsible Exploration | read |
| Cross-cutting | International Partnerships | read |
| Cross-cutting | Architecture-Driven Technology Gaps | read |
"PRIORITY SCIENCE ENABLED THROUGH ARCHITECTURE" is the overview's name for the paper whose PDF title is "Priority Science Objectives Enabled through NASA's Moon to Mars Architecture". NASA's White Papers page uses the short name too (open question 49).
The lunar coffee maker (PDF p. 11)¶
The partner pre-formulation feature tells the process through "a totally fictional Moon to Mars Objective, one that requires NASA to make coffee beverages for astronauts on the Moon" (PDF p. 11). The text is summarized on Elements. The figure, read from the rendered page, runs top to bottom:
- Heading: "FICTIONAL CAPABILITY GAP: Provide Coffee to Lunar Astronauts".
- Technologies: "TECH01 French Press", "TECH02 Drip Coffee", "TECH03 Espresso Machine" (the third boxed as chosen).
- Partner points on the path: "INTERNATIONAL PARTNERS: Technical Interchange and Study Agreements"; "U.S. INDUSTRY: Requests for Information, Broad Agency Announcements".
- Concepts: "CONCEPT01", "CONCEPT02" and "CONCEPT03", all "Espresso Machine" (the first boxed as chosen).
- More partner points: "U.S. INDUSTRY: Proposals Selected for Further Study"; "INTERNATIONAL PARTNERS: Joint Element Initiation and Mission Concept Reviews".
- Result: "ELEMENT: Lunar Coffee Maker", with two-way arrows to "Documentated in the Architecture Definition Document" and "Transition to Formulation and Implementation with the Moon to Mars Program Office" ("Documentated" as printed).
- Phase bars down the right edge, overlapping: "OBJECTIVE DECOMPOSITION", "ARCHITECTURE STUDIES", "CAPABILITY GAP ANALYSIS", "ELEMENT DEFINITION", "MISSION CONCEPT REVIEW", "AQUISITION STRATEGY" (as printed).
Compare the 2024 partnerships paper's swim-lane chart of the same process (International Partnerships, Figure 2).
The elements spread (PDF pp. 24–25)¶
One tile per element, each with a short tagline. As printed:
| Tile | Sub-labels | Tagline |
|---|---|---|
| Space Launch System | "NASA's Moon Rocket" | |
| Orion Spacecraft | "Our Ride to the Moon" | |
| Exploration Ground Systems | "Assembly, Launch, Recovery" | |
| Exploration EVA Systems | "Spacesuits for Moonwalks" | |
| Lunar Terrain Vehicle | "The Artemis Moon Buggy" | |
| Pressurized Rover | JAXA logo | "Mobile Lunar Lab" |
| CLPS, "Commercial Lunar Payload Services" | "Science and Tech Deliveries" | |
| LCRNS, "Lunar Communications Relay and Navigation Systems" | "The Moon's Mobile Network" | |
| Human Landing System | "SpaceX Starship"; "Blue Origin Blue Moon" | "Artemis Astronauts' Lunar Landers" |
| Human-Class Delivery Lander | "SpaceX Starship"; "Blue Origin Mark 2 Cargo" | "Lunar Freight Deliveries" |
| NASA Communications Networks | "Near Earth Network"; "Deep Space Network" | "Call Home from Space" |
| Gateway | Power and Propulsion Element; External Robotics System (CSA); Logistics Element; Crew and Science Airlock (MBRSC); Lunar View Refueling Module (ESA); HALO Habitation and Logistics Outpost (ESA); I-Hab International Habitat (ESA, JAXA) | "Our Home in Lunar Orbit" |
| Lunar Surface Cargo Lander | "Government Reference Concept" | "Logistics, Delivered" |
| Initial Surface Habitat | "Government Reference Concept" | "Home on the Lunar Surface" |
The partner key spells out "Canadian Space Agency", "European Space Agency", "Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency" and "Mohammad Bin Rashid Space Centre". Under "International Partners": "Countries or international space agencies seeking to contribute to or engage should reach out to NASA's Office of International and Interagency Relationships: [email protected]" (PDF p. 25). The wiki doesn't count elements from the tiles: networks and Gateway components are grouped differently from any ADD table.
What the overview says¶
- 2024 accomplishments (PDF p. 3). "In 2024, NASA's Moon to Mars architecture effort focused on solidifying the process developed in 2023 through improved traceability of needs and the application to new element pre-formulation." The four bullets are quoted on Architecture definition process.
- Objectives-based, not capabilities-based. The objectives "establish and document an objectives-based — as opposed to a capabilities-based — approach to human exploration. They focus on the big picture, the 'what' and 'why' of what NASA should be doing, before prescribing the 'how' (e.g., a specific launch vehicle, technology, or acquisition approach)" (PDF p. 18). Compare the 2023 strategy document's history of the "Capability-Based Framework" (Strategy and Objectives Development).
- Historical context. "Over the last 50 years, the agency has considered many different architectures that would resume crewed missions to the Moon or send them on to the Red Planet. Each approach reflected the goals or focus of the environment or technologies available at that time. However, that interest and desire has not translated into flight missions until NASA's Artemis campaign" (PDF p. 18).
- Where the decomposition lives. "NASA documents the decomposition in a model-based systems engineering environment, where use cases and functions can be further mapped to individual requirements owned by elements' implementing programs" (PDF p. 21).
- Where elements come from. "Some elements predate the architecture development effort (e.g., the Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft) and were mapped to the use cases and functions they already fulfill when this effort began. Other elements have arisen from capability gaps that were not fulfilled by existing elements" (PDF p. 24).
What changed by Rev C¶
These comparisons are the wiki's.
- Two elements added since. Rev C added the Lunar Utility Rover and the Lunar Nuclear Fission System (p. 4); neither is in the spread, as expected for a 2024 document.
- Names. "Exploration EVA Systems" is the name in Rev C's three element tables; its heading has "System" (p. 48; Elements). The spread's "Near Earth Network" is the "Near Space Network" in Rev C, which also folds LCRNS and the two networks into one element, Space Communications and Navigation Networks (p. 64; SCaN Networks). The HDL tile's "Blue Origin Mark 2 Cargo" is captioned "Blue Origin Blue Moon lander" in Rev C (p. 56; HDL).
- Gateway's partners match. The badges on the seven Gateway components agree with Rev C's "Partner Agencies" boxes (pp. 51–54; Gateway).
- The new elements' functions. The cargo lander's four match the four the December 2025 decomposition sheet allocates to it. The habitat had 19 in 2024 (four shown, "+15 additional"); the December 2025 sheet allocates 24 to "Initial Surface Habitation", including the four shown. One of the four titles changed: FN-P-402 L's "long durations (months to years+)" is now "mid- (month+) to long-durations (year+)" (ADD p. 121; Initial Surface Habitat).
- #0101 has a new title and a number. The example's "Lunar Surface Positioning, Navigation, and Timing Systems for Extreme Temperature, Radiation, and Dust", with a target "on the order of TBD meters", became "Positioning, Navigation, and Timing for Lunar Surface Extreme Environments" with "within 10m, 3 sigma" (#0101).
- "Decisions" became "definition tasks". The overview's "Decision Roadmapping" and "Priority Decisions" are Rev C's architecture roadmapping and key definition tasks (p. 4; Key definition tasks).
- One HLR line is gone. Rev C has no "first woman, first person of color, and first international partner astronaut" (search of the text; Segments).
- The Pressurized Rover agreement. The overview reports an agreement "formalizing partnership on the Pressurized Rover" (PDF p. 3). Rev C's one-pager names JAXA as provider "in collaboration with the Japanese automotive industry" (p. 63), as Section 3.4 requires: partnership information goes in "after the U.S. and partner nation formally establish an appropriate international agreement" (p. 82).
Oddities¶
As printed, PDF checked:
- The Mars power feature's pointer. It refers readers to "the associated 2024 white paper, 'Key Mars Architecture Decisions'" (PDF p. 16). Two pages earlier, the roadmapping feature calls "Key Mars Architecture Decisions" a 2023 paper (PDF p. 14), and the 2024 paper on the decision is "Mars Surface Power Technology Decision" (PDF p. 9).
- A wrong page reference. The "Mars Surface Power Technology Decision" card says "(See associated feature on page 10)" (PDF p. 9). The Mars power feature is on printed p. 14; page 10 is the technology gaps feature, which the gaps card cites correctly.
- MD-01's title: "Initial Human Mars Segment Science Objective Priorities" (PDF p. 15), as in the gap spreadsheet. The ACR25 "Architecture Definition" paper's Table One has "Objectives" (Key definition tasks).
- Missing or extra words: "before sending crews to explore of Mars and beyond" and "differences is gravity" (PDF p. 5); "identify approaches can that best fill architecture gaps" (PDF p. 11); "make those decision" (PDF p. 15); "a meeting where leaders from across NASA's mission directorates, centers, and technical authorities to consider updates" (PDF p. 20).
- In the coffee figure: "Documentated" and "AQUISITION STRATEGY" (PDF p. 11).
- Contents: "Why the Moon to Mars" (PDF p. 2) for the section titled "Why Moon to Mars?".
- Office name: "Office of International and Interagency Relationships" (PDF p. 25). The 2024 partnerships paper has "Relations" (International Partnerships, p. 4).
- Back cover: the placeholder "NP-2024-12-XXXX-HQ" (PDF p. 28).
- Text layer: PDF p. 8 carries the thumbnails' text (above).
Related pages¶
2023 executive overview · Architecture definition process · Key definition tasks · Why Moon to Mars · Elements · Gaps index · #0101 · Segments · Sub-architectures · Objective decomposition · ADD Rev C