Mars Surface Power Technology Decision (ACR24 white paper)¶
Document: Mars Surface Power Technology Decision, a five-page white paper headed "2024 Moon to
Mars Architecture" and footed "2024 Moon to Mars Architecture Concept Review". No date is printed
beyond the year; the download path is 2024/12. Files: text
sources/text/docs/2024-12-acr24-mars-surface-power-decision.txt; raw
sources/raw/docs/2024-12-acr24-mars-surface-power-decision.pdf (fetched 2026-10-01T07:22:46Z from
https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/acr24-mars-surface-power-decision.pdf, per
sources/manifest.csv). Page numbers: the printed numbers (1–5) match the PDF pages and the text
file's [page N] markers. PDF pages 1 to 3 were checked against the text.
Which paper this is. NASA's White Papers web page lists it under the 2024 Architecture Concept Review: "Presents NASA's selection of nuclear fission power as the primary surface power generation technology for initial missions to Mars" (White Papers page, fetched 2026-10-01). The 2024 executive overview lists it among its four "Mars-focused" papers and prints an excerpt (2024 overview, PDF pp. 8, 17). The December 2025 "Architecture Definition" white paper cites it, as its reference 4, for more detail on its MD-07 case study (white paper, p. 5). It says it "updates a white paper from the 2023 Architecture Concept Review, 'Mars Surface Power Generation Challenges and Considerations'" (p. 1), which isn't among the wiki's sources. It is 2024 context, older than ADD Rev C, but the decision it records still stands in Rev C (MD-07, ADD p. 75).
Summary. "NASA has selected nuclear fission power as the primary surface power generation technology for crewed missions to Mars" (p. 1). The paper says how the decision was made (an ESDMD decision package, accepted by agency leadership at the 2024 review and the executive council), what it does and doesn't fix, how much power Mars missions need (from "at least 10 kilowatts" to "megawatt (MW)-class"), the environmental and operational challenges, six technologies weighed, and the Moon as a testbed. The content is on Key definition tasks.
Contents¶
| Page | Section | Wiki home |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Introduction; Background (how the decision was made; what it does not dictate; nuclear against solar); Image 1; scope note | Key definition tasks |
| 2 | Mars Surface Power Considerations (power needs); Environmental Challenges; Operational Challenges; start of the trade space | same |
| 3 | Nuclear Power; Solar Power; Fuel Cells; Geothermal; Wind Power; Biogeneration; scope note | same |
| 4 | The Moon as a Testbed for Mars; Summary (the evaluation attributes; the decision); Image 2 | same |
| 5 | Key Takeaways; Architecture Decision; References 1–2 | same; this page |
What the PDF shows that the text layer loses¶
- Bold sentences (p. 1): "NASA has selected nuclear fission power as the primary surface power generation technology for crewed missions to Mars." and "These bodies reviewed the package and accepted the recommendation that nuclear fission serve as the primary Mars surface power technology."
- Italics in the scope note (p. 3): "this paper and its associated decision consider primary and not supplementary power generation technologies specifically for initial crewed missions to Mars."
- One icon per technology (p. 3): the six options are set as separate panels, each with a line icon. The text layer keeps the panels in order.
- Images 1 and 2 (pp. 1, 4) are artist concepts of "space fission surface power systems", with no labels.
Key takeaways and the decision (p. 5)¶
- "The minimum power required for a modest, short duration, human Mars surface mission with a limited crew complement is about 10 kW. More complex architectures leveraging significant in-situ resource utilization could require MW-class power systems."
- "The Mars surface power generation technology selected for the initial crewed missions to Mars must accommodate anticipated operational needs and the unique challenges of the Mars environment, with limited repair or replacement options."
- "The Artemis campaign offers an opportunity to test safety-critical Mars surface power generation technologies and operations on the Moon to reduce risk for later Mars missions."
- Architecture Decision: "NASA has baselined fission power as the primary surface power generation technology for initial crewed missions to Mars due to its robustness to surface environmental and atmospheric conditions as well as mass and volume advantages considering the power levels needed for human Mars exploration."
What changed by Rev C¶
These comparisons are the wiki's. In short: the decision stands (ADD Rev C lists MD-07 as completed, p. 75), the lunar test the paper foresaw has an element (the Lunar Nuclear Fission System, added in 2025), and the 2025 gap table for Mars power still lists solar and fuel-cell child gaps. Details are on Key definition tasks and #0902.
References that are other architecture documents¶
The paper cites two references (p. 5). As printed:
| Ref. | Title, as printed | Among the wiki's sources? |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mars Surface Power Generation Challenges and Considerations, 2023 Moon to Mars Architecture White Paper | no; the 2023 executive overview's card "Mars Surface Power Generation" (2023 overview) |
Reference 2 is NASA Procedural Requirement 8715.24, Chapter 1, the source of the planetary protection definition the paper quotes (p. 2). It isn't among the wiki's sources.
Oddities¶
As printed, PDF checked:
- "down-flow impacts" (p. 1), where the same page and the other 2024 papers say "flow-down".
- "Geothermal Engergy" (heading, p. 3).
- Another paper calls it by another title. The crew-complement paper published with it points to "the 2024 Mars Initial Surface Power Decision white paper" (crew complement, p. 3).
See open question 66.
Related pages¶
Key definition tasks · #0902 Scalable Mars Surface Power Generation · Power Systems · Lunar Nuclear Fission System · Planetary protection · Humans to Mars · Mars-forward