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Architecting from the Right: NASA web page

Page: https://www.nasa.gov/moontomarsarchitecture-architectingfromtheright/. No date on the page; its figures were uploaded September and October 2024 (/2024/09/, /2024/10/). Fetched 2026-10-01T07:22:04Z. File: sources/text/pages/moontomarsarchitecture-architectingfromtheright.md.

Summary. "Defining NASA's Moon to Mars Architecture through the decomposition of NASA's Moon to Mars Objectives." Three sections: the decomposition, decision roadmapping, and technology gaps. Most of the text is the 2024 executive overview's, nearly word for word (PDF pp. 13, 21), and is already on Objective decomposition and the Gaps index. The roadmapping section is a different, shorter version of the 2024 overview's "Architecture Decision Roadmapping" feature (PDF pp. 14–15), with an example and a sentence the overview lacks; it is now on Architecture definition process. The 2024 international partnerships paper cites this page (reference 5).

Sections

  • "Overview." "NASA begins from its broadest goals — the farthest in the future on the timeline — in a process called 'architecting from the right.' This process distills NASA's Moon to Mars Objectives down into the things NASA needs to be able to do to achieve those objectives and then maps them to specific elements, the systems and hardware that will take us back to the Moon and beyond." The 2024 overview has "into the capabilities NASA needs" and "the specific elements, systems, and hardware" (PDF p. 21); the rest of the section matches it.
  • "Decomposition Features." The 2024 overview's text (PDF p. 21): objectives become "characteristics and needs", then "functions and use cases", which engineers group "into exploration elements or reference missions". NASA keeps the decomposition "a model-based systems engineering environment" (the overview has "in a"). Under the second figure: "Note: The graphic above does not reflect the most up-to-date objective decomposition. Download the most recent objective mapping tables for the latest," linking the Architecture Definition Documents page. The two figures (objective-decomposition.png, example-decomposition.png) were not fetched.
  • "Architecture Decision Roadmapping." The 2024 overview has a feature of the same name in other words (PDF p. 15): decisions have "precedent or flow-down impacts", "some will have major flow-down impacts on other subsequent decisions", and NASA "built cutting-edge digital engineering tools to track the entire decision space". Its example is different (power technology, crew to the surface, ascent fuel). The "logical order", the orbit-and-surface example and the "delaying — or accelerating" sentence below are not in the overview's text (searched for "logical order", "precedent" and "accelerat"). The web page:
    • "Each decision has precedent relationships with many other decisions. Although there is no 'right' order in which to make these decisions, there is a logical order."
    • The example: "a decision about the number of astronauts to send to Mars orbit limits the number of astronauts an architecture can send to the Martian surface, so it makes sense to decide how many crew are needed on the surface to achieve mission objectives before limiting the Mars transportation system's crew complement."
    • "decisions with major flow-down impacts on other subsequent decisions are categorized as priority decisions." NASA tracks them "using digital engineering tools", and decisions "whether already made or in analysis — are captured in the Architecture Definition Document."
    • "The value of the digital decision roadmapping tool is that it allows NASA to quickly assess the impacts of delaying — or accelerating — these important architecture decisions."
  • "Architecture-Driven Technology Gaps." The 2024 overview's text (PDF p. 13), with "The Architecture Definition Document" for "The latest revision of …" and "a fruitful area" for "fruitful areas": gaps "outline capabilities that the architecture cannot accomplish with existing technology", are defined "in solution-agnostic terms", and their publication "allows NASA to communicate desired capabilities to industry and international partners."

Against ADD Rev C

The wiki's comparison: the page still says "decisions" and "priority decisions", the 2024 terms. Rev C speaks of key definition tasks and architecture roadmapping (p. 4; Key definition tasks). The surface-before-orbit example fits the order of MD-05 (crew to the surface, decided 2025) and MD-06 (crew to Mars vicinity, still open).

Objective decomposition · Architecture definition process · Key definition tasks · Gaps index · 2024 Executive Overview