White Papers: NASA web page¶
Page: https://www.nasa.gov/moontomarsarchitecture-whitepapers/. No date on the page. Fetched
2026-10-01T07:22:10Z. File: sources/text/pages/moontomarsarchitecture-whitepapers.md.
Summary. NASA's list of architecture white papers, by review year, each with a line of description and a link: 6 from 2025, 12 from 2024, 12 from 2023 and 5 from 2022. "NASA white papers highlight key results from the annual Architecture Concept Review and complement the Architecture Definition Document" (top of page; the 2024 overview opens its white-paper pages with the same sentence, PDF p. 8). All 18 papers from 2024 and 2025 are among the wiki's sources, each with a source page. Of the 2022 and 2023 papers, only "Lunar Site Selection" (2023) is held, as a copy filed with the February 2024 workshop briefings (see the table). The wiki uses this page to match file names to titles.
The list¶
| Review | Title, as on the page | In the wiki |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Why Moon and Mars: Building an Evolutionary Architecture | source page |
| 2025 | Architecture Definition | source page |
| 2025 | Architecture-Driven Planetary Protection Considerations | source page |
| 2025 | Architecture-Driven Data Gaps | source page |
| 2025 | Integrated Lunar Power Strategy Considerations | source page |
| 2025 | Communications and Navigation Needs for the Foundational Exploration Segment | source page |
| 2024 | Lunar Surface Cargo | source page |
| 2024 | Lunar Mobility Drivers and Needs | source page |
| 2024 | Priority Science Enabled through Architecture | source page |
| 2024 | Lunar Reference Frames | source page |
| 2024 | Mars Crew Complement Considerations | source page |
| 2024 | Mars Surface Power Technology Decision | source page |
| 2024 | Mars Entry, Descent, and Landing Challenges | source page |
| 2024 | Mars Ascent Propellant Considerations | source page |
| 2024 | Architecture-Driven Technology Gaps | source page |
| 2024 | Humans in Space to Accomplish Science Objectives | source page |
| 2024 | International Partnerships | source page |
| 2024 | Responsible Exploration | source page |
| 2023 | Lunar Communications and Navigation Architecture | not held |
| 2023 | Lunar Site Selection | held as the file the Workshops page lists as a February 2024 "White Paper Briefing": source page. Same size as this page's link (964 kB); not compared by hash (open question 92) |
| 2023 | Analytical Capabilities In-situ vs. Returned | not held |
| 2023 | Safe and Precise Landing at Lunar Sites | not held |
| 2023 | Surface Extravehicular Activity Architectural Drivers | not held |
| 2023 | Lunar Logistics Drivers and Needs | not held |
| 2023 | Mars Communications Disruption and Delay | not held |
| 2023 | Mars Mission Abort Considerations | not held |
| 2023 | Mars Surface Power Generation | not held |
| 2023 | Round-Trip Mars Mission Mass Challenges | not held |
| 2023 | Human Health and Performance for Mars Missions | not held |
| 2023 | Exploration Lessons Learned from the Space Station | not held |
| 2022 | Why NRHO: The Artemis Orbit | not held |
| 2022 | Why Artemis will Focus on the Lunar South Pole Region | not held |
| 2022 | Gateway: The Cislunar Springboard for International and Sustainable Deep Space Exploration | not held |
| 2022 | Mars-Forward Capabilities to be Tested at the Moon | not held |
| 2022 | Mars Transportation | not held |
"Not held" means no file in sources/manifest.csv has the title or link. Several are cited by papers
the wiki holds (open question 30).
What the page shows¶
- Two papers are missing from the list, and they are the two that "Architecture Definition" supersedes. The 2023 executive overview lists 13 papers published in January 2024 (source page); this page lists 12 of them, all but "Key Mars Architecture Decisions". The workshops page lists a 2022 paper, "Systems Analysis of Architectural Drivers" (Workshops page, "June 2023"), which this page doesn't. "Architecture Definition" (2025) says it updates "Systems Analysis of Architecture Drivers (2022)" and "Key Mars Architecture Decisions (2023)" (source page). That the page drops superseded papers is the wiki's reading; the page doesn't say so.
- No "Lunar Logistics and Mobility". No paper of that title in any year (open question 30).
- The descriptions of the 2025 papers are the 2025 Architecture Update's lines, nearly word for word (Update source page).
- 2023 line on Mars aborts: "An abort in transit to Mars will take months, not days. Early Mars missions will have limited abort options from the surface" ("Mars Mission Abort Considerations"). Compare RT-3 Crew Return.
- 2022 line on Mars transportation: "Four propulsion systems are currently under consideration: nuclear thermal, hybrid nuclear electric/chemical, hybrid solar electric/chemical, and all chemical" ("Mars Transportation"). In 2025 gap #1104 still lists the options open.
Related pages¶
Architecture definition process · Workshops page · Architecture Definition Documents page · 2023 Executive Overview · 2024 Executive Overview