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Mars Objective Mapping Tables, 2024 (ACR24 Mars architecture table)

Document: an Excel workbook that NASA lists as "Mars Objective Mapping Tables" under "2024 Architecture Concept Review", beside ADD Revision B, the 2024 Executive Overview and the lunar table: "This spreadsheet includes the Mars objective decomposition and is provided for ease of importing into relevant systems or databases" (Architecture Definition Documents page, section "2024 Architecture Concept Review"). The cover sheet carries the same note as the lunar table's, word for word: an "Objectives Mapping file", "sourced directly from the 2024 Moon to Mars Architecture Definition Document (ADD)", whose "authoritative source" is "Appendix A in the ADD", and "PUBLISHED: October 2024" (cover sheet). The file name is acr24-mat-final-20241031-2; the upload path is /2024/12/.

Files: text sources/text/docs/2024-12-acr24-mat-final-20241031-2/ (one CSV per sheet); raw sources/raw/docs/2024-12-acr24-mat-final-20241031-2.xlsx (fetched 2026-10-01T07:22:46Z from https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/acr24-mat-final-20241031-2.xlsx, 13 sheets, per sources/manifest.csv). The workbook itself was not opened; everything below is read from the extracted CSVs.

Summary. The 2024 (Revision B era) Mars decomposition: 46 objectives → 115 characteristics and needs (C&Ns) → 113 Mars use cases → 218 Mars functions, with no allocation to assets. Only the Transportation and Habitation, Mars Infrastructure and Operations objectives (21 of the 46) are decomposed down to use cases and functions. The full decomposition sheets list only those 21, under a first row that reads "SCIENCE OBJECTIVES HAVE NOT YET BEEN DECOMPOSED FOR MARS UCFS". The 25 science objectives appear only in the C&N–objective sheet. The C&Ns split cleanly (the wiki's check of all 115): the 66 that serve a Transportation and Habitation, Mars Infrastructure or Operations objective all have use cases, and the 49 that serve only science objectives have none. That matches the ADD's revision history. Revision B "Added Mars characteristics, needs, use cases, and functions for Transportation and Habitation, Mars Infrastructure, and Operations objectives", and Revision C "Added Mars use cases and functions for lunar and planetary science, heliophysics science, human and biological science, and physics and physical science objectives" (ADD Rev C, pp. 3–4). Everything here is 2024 context: where it differs from the 2025 Mars decomposition, this page says what changed.

The wiki writes it up on:

How to cite

As for the lunar table: no index of worksheets, so cite by the CSV file name of the extraction and a row ID, e.g. ([2024 Mars table, c-ns.csv, CN-U-802 M](../sources/2024-12-acr24-mat-final-20241031-2.md)).

The sheets

CSV file What it holds Data rows
cover.csv The same note as the lunar table's, and "PUBLISHED: October 2024"
readme.csv The same "To export" working notes as the lunar table's
key.csv The 12 decomposition letters and their named groups, with three groups the lunar key lacks (below)
obj-list.csv Objective codes and wording. Not the Mars list: the same 53 lines as the lunar table's list, with no MI objective and no Mars-only TH or LPS objective (the wiki's comparison) 53
c-ns.csv C&N IDs and "Characteristics/Needs" 115
c-ns-to-objectives.csv Objective, with the C&Ns under it; 46 objective codes 213
use-cases-to-c-ns.csv C&N, with the use cases under it; 66 C&Ns, no "BLANK" rows 164
use-cases.csv Use-case IDs and titles 113
functions-to-use-cases.csv Use case, with the functions under it; all 113 use cases, 9 with "BLANK" 324
functions.csv Function IDs and titles 218
full-decomp-split.csv Function → use case → C&N → objective, every cell filled, under the "SCIENCE OBJECTIVES …" note 602
full-decomp-merged.csv The same, repeated cells left empty; 21 objective codes (MI-01 M to MI-04 M, seven TH, ten OP) 596
sheet24.csv Not Mars: a lunar decomposition, objective → C&N → use case → function (below) 2,451

Row counts exclude header rows; they are the wiki's counts of the CSV lines. ID counts were checked by search (115 C&N rows, 113 use-case rows, 218 function rows, 46 objective codes). "sheet24" is the extraction's name for an unnamed sheet; the workbook's own sheet name isn't recorded in the text.

Columns and conventions

  • The same as the lunar table's: parent cells filled on their first row only; "BLANK" where a use case has no function. Some header cells are empty where the lunar table has "C&N ID", "UC ID" or "FN ID".
  • Every C&N ends in M, even where its lunar twin ends in LM. Eight of the lunar table's eleven LM C&Ns have a Mars C&N with the same number and the same wording, ending in M: CN-T-402, CN-X-101, CN-X-201, CN-M-101, CN-A-401, CN-A-402, CN-U-601 and CN-U-602. The other three (CN-A-101, CN-I-102, CN-I-103) share a number with a differently worded Mars C&N. No "LM" C&N occurs in the Mars sheets (searched; sheet24.csv aside).
  • C&Ns with no use case have no row in use-cases-to-c-ns.csv. 49 of the 115 are absent from it, where the lunar table writes "BLANK" (Mars characteristics and needs).
  • Every 2024 Mars use case sits under at least one C&N (the wiki's check of all 113).

The key

The same 12 letters, names, "FOR REFERENCE ONLY" cell and groups as the lunar key (typos included), plus three groups:

Letter Group Name (2024 Mars key)
G 400 Asset Health Management
G 500 Contingency (Miscellaneous)
C 300 Command & Control

These are the three groups the December 2025 Mars workbook uses but doesn't name, because its key is the lunar key (2025 source page). So the names were published once, in 2024. The 2024 lists use them as the 2025 lists do: UC-G-401 M and UC-G-402 M and FN-G-401 M to FN-G-413 M under "Asset Health Management"; UC-G-501 M, UC-G-502 M and FN-G-501 M under "Contingency (Miscellaneous)"; UC-C-301 M to UC-C-303 M and FN-C-301 M to FN-C-310 M under "Command & Control".

sheet24: a lunar decomposition

sheet24.csv holds no Mars ID (searched). Its header row reads "Objective ID", "Objective", "Characteristic and Need ID", "Characteristic and Need", "Use Case ID", "Use Case", "Function ID", "Function". The 53 objective codes are the lunar table's, with lunar C&Ns, use cases and functions under them; empty cells read "(blank)". It differs from the lunar table's own full decomposition:

  • Order and length: objective first rather than function first; 2,451 rows against 2,650.
  • Spellings: it prints "maintaing" in the stowage titles and "bio-regenerative" in UC-U-723 L, as the December 2025 lunar workbook does, where the lunar table prints "maintaining" and "bioregenerative".
  • 2024 wording otherwise: "moderate duration" and "extended (year+)" in the habitation titles, and no UC-G-101 L, FN-G-106 L or FN-G-107 L, which are new in 2025 (searched).

The wiki doesn't say which version of the lunar decomposition it is (open question 69).

What changed by December 2025

Compared with the 2025 Mars decomposition (the wiki's comparison, list against list).

Structure. 2024 has C&Ns and decomposes 21 objectives to use cases. 2025 has no C&Ns and maps use cases to 40 of the same 46 objectives. In 2024, twelve science objectives reach no use case because none of their C&Ns has one. Six of them have use cases in 2025 (HS-01, HS-04, PPS-02, AS-01, AS-06, SE-06). The other six are the six that the 2025 sheet leaves "BLANK" (SE-01, SE-02, SE-05, AS-02, AS-04, AS-05) (Mars characteristics and needs). For the four Mars objectives checked (MI-03, OP-09, OP-10, TH-07), the 2025 use cases are exactly the use cases under the objective's 2024 C&Ns, as for the six lunar objectives checked (lunar table).

Objectives. The same 46 codes. The ten Mars-only objectives are worded as in the 2025 sheet (checked by eye).

Use cases: 113 against 148. 2025 adds 39 and drops 4.

  • Dropped in 2025:
    • UC-T-210 M, "Transportation of collected surface and sub-surface samples from the Martian surface to Earth vicinity in sealed conditioned sample containers"
    • UC-T-211 M, "Transportation of conditioned cargo and samples from Earth vicinity to curation facilities on Earth after landing"
    • UC-T-212 M, "Transportation of collected samples from the Martian surface to Earth vicinity in sealed sample containers"
    • UC-U-101 M, "Surveying of potential exploration sites to identify locations of interest on the Martian surface"
  • Added in 2025 (titles on Mars use cases):
    • T: the eight sample-return use cases UC-T-301 M to UC-T-304 M and UC-T-306 M to UC-T-309 M
    • G: UC-G-201 M, UC-G-202 M
    • H: UC-H-109 M, UC-H-110 M
    • C: UC-C-111 M
    • D: UC-D-201 M
    • A: UC-A-109 M
    • U: UC-U-103 M to UC-U-106 M, UC-U-201 M, UC-U-202 M, UC-U-305 M, UC-U-701 M to UC-U-706 M, UC-U-708 M to UC-U-717 M, UC-U-808 M (24)
  • Same ID, new wording. UC-U-301 M to UC-U-303 M were "Identification, collection, and documentation of … samples … from site(s) on the Martian surface", with "in special regions" in UC-U-301 M only. In 2025 they are "Collection, documentation, and packaging …", and UC-U-302 M and UC-U-303 M say "from non-special regions". With the new UC-U-305 M ("deep sub-surface … from special regions"), 2025 pairs every sample-collection use case as special or non-special.
  • Reading the change (the wiki's): the 2025 additions are mostly science (24 of 39 are U) and sample return, which fits Revision C's note on adding science use cases. The three dropped sample transport use cases, which had no size, give way to "Return varying sizes of …" use cases by sample temperature.

Functions: 218 against 263. 2025 adds 52 and drops 7.

  • Dropped in 2025:
    • FN-T-301 M, "Prepare conditioned cargo or samples for Earth return"
    • FN-T-303 M, "Provide resources to condition sample containers on the Martian surface"
    • FN-T-304 M, "Provide resources to condition sample containers during transfer from Earth vicinity to curation facilities on Earth"
    • FN-G-204 M, "Recover cargo after landing"
    • FN-G-205 M, "Recover samples and transport in a clean environment, minimizing contamination to/from the container, to curation facilities after Earth landing"
    • FN-U-102 M, "Identify potential sample collection/extraction locations on the Martian surface"
    • FN-U-401 M, "Store collected refrigerated surface and sub-surface samples in sealed conditioned sample containers, while maintaining scientific integrity of the samples"
  • Added in 2025 (titles on Mars functions):
    • T: FN-T-218 M (live biological specimens), FN-T-305 M to FN-T-312 M (conditioning by sample temperature)
    • X: FN-X-113 M
    • P: FN-P-304 M, FN-P-401 M
    • M: FN-M-502 M to FN-M-505 M (repositioning samples)
    • C: FN-C-109 M, FN-C-110 M
    • D: FN-D-104 M, FN-D-202 M
    • A: FN-A-131 M, FN-A-132 M
    • U: FN-U-109 M to FN-U-113 M, FN-U-203 M, FN-U-204 M, FN-U-206 M to FN-U-208 M, FN-U-309 M, FN-U-403 M to FN-U-418 M, FN-U-702 M to FN-U-704 M (30)
  • Same ID, new wording:
Function 2024 December 2025
FN-T-302 M "Provide resources to condition sample containers during transfer from Martian surface to Earth vicinity" "Provide resources to condition frozen sample containers during transit from Martian surface to Earth"
FN-G-101 M "Provide ground services" "Provide ground services on Earth"
FN-G-102 M "Stack and integrate assets for transportation from Earth surface to Earth vicinity" "Stack and integrate assets on Earth"
FN-G-201 M "Recover crew and cargo after landing on Earth surface" "Recover crew after Earth landing"
FN-G-202 M "Recover cargo after landing on Earth surface" "Recover cargo after Earth landing"
FN-C-201 M "Provide position, navigation, and timing data on the Martian surface" "Provide coordinated position, navigation, and timing services on the Martian surface"
FN-C-202 M, FN-C-203 M "… timing data in …" "… timing services in …"
FN-C-204 M, FN-C-205 M "Provide position, navigation, and timing during Mars entry, descent, and landing" (ascent) "Provide coordinated position, navigation, and timing services during …"
FN-U-303 M "Provide capability to recover and package, minimizing contamination to/from the container, Martian surface and shallow subsurface samples" "Provide capability to recover and package Martian surface and shallow subsurface samples, maintaining scientific integrity of the samples, from non-special regions on the Martian surface"
FN-U-306 M the same, for "Martian deep subsurface samples" the same, "from non-special regions"
FN-U-402 M "Store collected unconditioned samples from the Martian surface in sealed sample containers, …" "Stow collected unconditioned samples on exploration assets while on the Martian surface, …"

The four G titles now read as the lunar G titles do ("Provide ground services on Earth", "Recover crew after Earth landing"; the wiki's comparison).

  • "(demonstration)". All 63 functions ending "(demonstration)" in 2025 are already in 2024, with the same IDs and titles. None of the 52 added in 2025 carries it (counted by search: 63 in each list). So the marker belongs to the Revision B batch of Transportation and Habitation, Mars Infrastructure and Operations functions; what it marks is still not stated (Mars functions).
  • Shared slips. "continency" (FN-A-109 M) and "in space as (demonstration)" (FN-A-113 M, FN-A-114 M) are already in 2024.

Function–use case pairs. 2024: 324 rows over 113 use cases. 2025: 483 rows over 148. Not compared pair by pair. The nine 2024 use cases with "BLANK" functions (UC-P-103 M, UC-P-501 M, UC-C-106 M, UC-C-109 M, UC-C-110 M, UC-A-401 M, UC-A-402 M, UC-U-801 M, UC-U-802 M) are also "BLANK" in 2025. The 2025 sheet adds two more, the new UC-G-201 M and UC-G-202 M.

Oddities

Recorded as printed; none is corrected.

  • The objective list is the lunar one. obj-list.csv has the lunar table's 53 objectives, including lunar-only ones such as LI-01 L and PPS-01 L, and none of the ten Mars-only objectives. The Mars C&Ns map to 46 objectives that include those ten.
  • An unnamed lunar sheet in a Mars workbook (above).
  • "Appendix A" on the cover, and "PUBLISHED: October 2024" against a file name dated 31 October 2024 and a December upload path, as for the lunar table (open question 69).
  • Pairings that read oddly (the wiki's reading, not corrected): CN-I-101 M, recovering "propellant residuals, from Mars landers", has one use case, UC-M-602 M, "identification of and transfer to a site where an asset from a previous mission is located". The propellant-recovery use case, UC-U-501 M, sits under CN-U-106 M (reusing surface assets). CN-T-401 M, precision landing, serves MI-03 M, the PNT objective.

Mars characteristics and needs · Mars objectives · Mars use cases · Mars functions · Objective decomposition · Humans to Mars · 2025 Mars decomposition · 2024 lunar table · ADD Rev C