This paper identifies potential risk reduction, cost savings and programmatic procurement benefits of a Mars Forward Lunar Surface System architecture that provides commonality or evolutionary development paths for lunar surface system elements applicable to Mars surface systems. The objective of this paper is to identify the potential benefits for incorporating a Mars Forward development strategy into the planned Project Constellation Lunar Surface System Architecture. The benefits include cost savings, technology readiness, and design validation of systems that would be applicable to lunar and Mars surface systems. The paper presents a survey of previous lunar and Mars surface systems design concepts and provides an assessment of previous conclusions concerning those systems in light of the current Project Constellation Exploration Architectures. The operational requirements for current Project Constellation lunar and Mars surface system elements are compared and evaluated to identify the potential risk reduction strategies that build on lunar surface systems to reduce the technical and programmatic risks for Mars exploration. Risk reduction for rapidly evolving technologies is achieved through systematic evolution of technologies and components based on Moore's Law superimposed on the typical NASA systems engineering project development "V-cycle" described in NASA NPR 7120.5. Risk reduction for established or slowly evolving technologies is achieved through a process called the Mars-Ready Platform strategy in which incremental improvements lead from the initial lunar surface system components to Mars-Ready technologies. The potential programmatic benefits of the Mars Forward strategy are provided in terms of the transition from the lunar exploration campaign to the Mars exploration campaign. By utilizing a sequential combined procurement strategy for lunar and Mars exploration surface systems, the overall budget wedges for exploration systems are reduced and the costly technological development gap between the lunar and Mars programs can be eliminated. This provides a sustained level of technological competitiveness as well as maintaining a stable engineering and manufacturing capability throughout the entire duration of Project Constellation

Griffin, Brand

Maples, Dauphne

Mulqueen, Jack

Smitherman, David

NASA Technical Reports Server

American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
1
Benefits of Using a Mars Forward Strategy
for Lunar Surface Systems
Jack Mulqueen1
Marshall Space Flight Center, MSFC, Alabama 35812
Brand Griffin2
Marshall Space Flight Center, MSFC, Alabama 35812
David Smitherman3
Marshall Space Flight Center, MSFC, Alabama 35812
and
Dauphne Maples4
Marshall Space Flight Center, MSFC, Alabama 35812
This paper identifies potential risk reduction, cost savings and programmatic 
procurement benefits of a “Mars Forward” Lunar Surface System architecture that 
provides commonality or evolutionary development paths for lunar surface system elements 
applicable to Mars surface systems. The objective of this paper is to identify the potential 
benefits for incorporating a Mars Forward development strategy into the planned Project 
Constellation Lunar Surface System Architecture. The benefits include cost savings, 
technology readiness, and design validation of systems that would be applicable to lunar and 
Mars surface systems. The paper presents a survey of previous lunar and Mars surface 
systems design concepts and provides an assessment of previous conclusions concerning 
those systems in light of the current Project Constellation Exploration Architectures. The 
operational requirements for current Project Constellation lunar and Mars surface system 
elements are compared and evaluated to identify the potential risk reduction strategies that 
build on lunar surface systems to reduce the technical and programmatic risks for Mars 
exploration. Risk reduction for rapidly evolving technologies is achieved through systematic 
evolution of technologies and components based on Moore’s Law superimposed on the 
typical NASA systems engineering project development “V-cycle” described in NASA NPR 
7120.5. Risk reduction for established or slowly evolving technologies is achieved through a 
process called the “Mars-Ready Platform” strategy in which incremental improvements lead 
from the initial lunar surface system components to “Mars-Ready” technologies. The 
potential programmatic benefits of the Mars Forward strategy are provided in terms of the 
transition from the lunar exploration campaign to the Mars exploration campaign. By 
utilizing a sequential combined procurement strategy for lunar and Mars exploration 
surface systems, the overall budget wedges for exploration systems are reduced and the 
costly technological development gap between the lunar and Mars programs can be 
eliminated. This provides a sustained level of technological competitiveness as well as 
maintaining a stable engineering and manufacturing capability throughout the entire 
duration of Project Constellation.
                                                       
1 Aerospace Engineer, MSFC Advanced Concepts Office/ED04
2 Aerospace Engineer, MSFC Advanced Concepts Office/ED04
3 Space Architect, MSFC Advanced Concepts Office/ED04
4 Systems Engineer, MSFC Advanced Concepts Office/ED04
https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=20090038178 2019-08-30T08:04:37+00:00Z
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I. Introduction
The objective of this paper is to present a strategy to develop lunar and Mars surface system infrastructure 
elements for future human lunar and Mars Exploration. This strategy is called “Mars Forward” because it is based 
on a technology development approach, and possibly even more importantly, a budgetary procurement approach that 
provides for the development of lunar mission surface system architectures while maintaining a clearly defined and 
integrated path for evolving system elements for applications at Mars. This strategy is more than merely defining 
common systems. It is a sequential approach for developing surface system architecture elements that takes into 
account the different rates of technology development as well as the different requirements for lunar and Mars 
surface systems.
II. Literature Search of Lunar and Mars Surface Systems
The study began with a survey of previous human lunar and Mars exploration studies. Figures 1 and 2 illustrate 
the timelines, spanning over fifty years, of previous studies and reports on human exploration of the moon and Mars. 
Many of these studies were reviewed for this study to identify characteristics and general requirements that have 
been identified for lunar and Mars surface systems. The Marshall Space Flight Center’s Advanced Concepts Office 
has developed an extensive electronic library of the most significant human lunar and Mars studies, dating back to 
the 1960’s. These documents were systematically reviewed to identify information related to surface system design. 
The information included descriptions of surface system habitats, mobility systems, extravehicular activities, and the 
use of in-situ resources. Design and technology information was gathered on subsystems such as power, thermal 
control, communications and life support. It was found that even though most of the studies focused on the 
transportation systems rather than surface systems, specific information on surface system designs and requirements 
was found in 26 studies. Despite the fact that the studies reviewed spanned almost 50 years, basically covering the 
range from the Apollo era to the present time, there is remarkable consistency in the description of the surface 
systems and the technological requirements to develop self-sustaining surface system architectures on the moon or 
Mars. This consistency is the foundation of the Mars Forward strategy.
1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000
The Lunar Base
G.V.E. Thompson
Collier’s
W. von Braun
Conquest of the Moon
W. von Braun
The Exploration of the Moon
A.C. Clarke
Lunar Exploration Plan
Air Force Systems Command
Manned Lunar Landing
through use of Lunar orbit
NASA
Basic Criteria for Moon Building
J.S. Rinehart
The Next Decade in Space
Science Advisory
America at the Threshold
SEI Synthesis Group
Report on the 90-Day 
Study on Human 
Exploration…, NASA
Leadership and America’s
Future in Space, NASA
Pioneering the Space
Frontier, NCS
Directions for the
Future Space, NASA
Planetary Engineering
On Mars, C. Sagan
The L1 Transportation
Node, N. Lemke
First Lunar Outpost,
A.L. Dupont, et al
The Moon as a Way station
for Planetary Exploration, M. Duke
Exploration Tech Stud ies,
Office of Explor., NASA
A Rocket for Manned Lunar 
Exploration, W.M. Rosen, 
F.C. Schwenk
Lunar Basing
J. DeNike,
S. Zahn
Lunar Mission
Planning Data Book,
NASA
Space Settlements
R. Johnson, C Holbrow
Manned Lunar, Asteroid 
& Mars Missions SAIC
Human Lunar 
Return, NASA
A Lunar Reference 
Strategy, M. Duke
Gateway, B. Drake
OASIS, NASA
Lunar Backside Landing 
for Apollo 17, NASA
Lunar Base Synthesis 
Study, Final Report
Exploration Tech Studies,
Office of Explor., NASA
An Infrastructure for Early Lunar 
Development, Griffin
Lunar Transportation
System, NASA
A Lunar Exploration Program
N.W. Hinners
Man & Robots for
Lunar Base Development
Iwata
Lunar Base 
Reference Design, M.B. Renton
Figure 1. Timeline for Lunar Studies.
American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
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1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000
Electromagnetic Launching
As a Major Contribution to
Spaceflight, A.C. Clarke
Collier’s
W. von Braun
The Mars Project
W. von Braun
Can we Get to Mars?
W. von Braun
A Study of Manned
Nuclear-Rocket Missions
To Mars, S. Himmel, et al
The Exploration of Mars
W. Ley & W. von Braun
Study of Conjunction
Class Manned Mars Trips
Douglas Missile & Space
Capability of the Saturn V
To Support Planetary Exploration
G.R. Woodcock
Manned Entry Missions
To Mars and Venus,
Lowe & Cervais
Conceptual Design for a
Manned Mars Vehicle, P. Bono
Concept for a Manned Mars
Expedition with Electrically...
E. Stuhlinger & J. King
Manned Interplanetary
Mission Study, Lockheed
EMPIRE, Study of Early
Manned Interplanetary…,
Ford Aeronautic
A Study of Early Inter-
planetary Missions…,
General Dynamics
Study of NERVA-Electric
Manned Mars…,
E. Stuhlinger, et al
Design Reference
Mission 1.0, NASA
ExPO Mars Program
Study, NASA
America at the Threshold
SEI Synthesis Group
The Mars Transit
System, B Aldrin
A Smaller Scale Manned
Mars Evolutionary Program
I. Bekey
Report on the 90-Day Study on
Human Exploration…, NASA
Leadership and America’s
Future in Space, NASA
Pioneering the Space
Frontier, Nat’l 
Comm on Space
Manned Mars
Exploration, NASA
Planetary Engineering
On Mars, C. Sagan
243 Annotations
The Annotated Bibliography
D.S. Portree
The Viking Results-The
Case for Man on Mars, B. Clark
Libration-Point Staging
Concepts for Earth-Mars
R. Farquhar & D. Durham
A Case for Mars: Concept
Devlpmt for Mars Research
Mars Direct: A Simple,
Robust…, R. Zubrin
The L1 Transportation
Node, N. Lemke
First Lunar Outpost,
A.L. Dupont, et al
The Moon as a Way station
for Planetary Exploration, M. Duke
Combination Lander
All-Up Mission, NASA
Design Reference
Mission 3.0, NASA
(2) Design Reference Mission 4.0,
Bimodal and SEP, NASA
Three-Magnum Split
Mission, NASA
Dual Landers Presentation
NASA (B. Drake)
Exploration Tech Studies,
Office of Explor., NASA
Exploration Tech Studies,
Office of Explor., NASA
**Bold type represents selected studies*A Comparison of  Transportation Systems for Human Missions to Mars, AIAA 2004-3834
Figure 2. Timeline for Mars Studies.
III. Mars Forward Strategy
The goal of implementing a Mars Forward strategy for the development of surface system elements is to provide 
cost and risk reduction for lunar and Mars exploration surface systems. The potential cost savings can be achieved 
by eliminating the gap of five or more years between the end of the lunar program procurements and the beginning 
of the Mars program procurements. This gap is shown graphically in the top diagram of Figure 3. It is likely that a 
gap of this duration would result in decrease of corporate experience, engineering continuity, manufacturing 
capability and possibly commercial competitiveness. Many of the start-up activities associated with the lunar 
program would have to be repeated for the Mars program at a higher cost. The Mars Forward strategy would employ 
a combined procurement strategy to meet the requirements for both lunar and Mars programs. This procurement 
approach would provide a program to build up to the level required to meet the goals of the lunar program and yet 
maintain engineering and manufacturing continuity to build up the required systems to meet the needs of the Mars 
program. Since this strategy takes advantage of the initial procurement investments for the lunar program, the 
magnitude of manufacturing investments for Mars surface systems may actually taper off as shown in the lower 
diagram of Figure 3. 
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08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 3423
Combined Procurement
Mars
Procurement Mars Campaign
Combined
Procurement
Mars Campaign
Lunar
Procurement Lunar Campaign
Lunar Campaign
Gap
Sustained Vision, Competitiveness, Engineering & Manufacturing
Vision
Competitiveness
Engineering
Manufacturing
Figure 3. Procurement Approaches for Lunar and Mars Programs
Using the Mars Forward strategy, the lunar systems would be developed to provide direct risk reduction benefits 
for the Mars program. This can be illustrated by examining elements of the current Project Constellation. Three 
areas of potential commonality between lunar and Mars surface systems are shown in Figure 4. Both programs 
include an integrated surface habitat/lander, pressurized rovers and unpressurized rovers. With proper design early 
in the development cycle these systems could be developed to common requirements such that the lunar program 
provides a path to evolve from lunar applications to Mars applications. This forward investment is illustrated in 
Figure 5, using the unpressurized rover as an example. Rather than develop the rover for the 1/6 gravity of the moon, 
the basic structure of the rover would be developed for the 3/8 gravity of Mars. Rover subsystems such as the 
suspension system could be tuned for either environment. By making a relatively small investment to impose 
additional requirements on the development of the lunar rover, the Mars program would have lower cost, shorter 
delivery schedule and most importantly reduced risk because the lunar rover would become a “Mars Ready” surface 
architecture element.
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CxAT Mars Campaign CxAT Lunar Campaign
Integrated
Hab/Lander
Pressurized
Rover
Unpressurized
Rover
CxAT Mars Campaign CxAT Lunar Campaign
CxAT Mars Campaign CxAT Lunar Campaign
Figure 4. Candidates for Mars Ready Platforms.
Lunar Campaign
Requirements
Investment
Additional
Requirements
Example:
Rover Chassis
Return
Mars Campaign
Requirements
Common
Chassis (3/8g)
Suspension tuned
Reduced Risk
Lower Cost
Shorter Delivery Schedule
Lunar
Requirement (1/6 g)
Mars
Requirements (3/8 g)
Figure 5. Mars Forward Investment and Return.
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IV. Mars Ready Platforms
The proposed use of the lunar program to provide “Mars Ready” platforms to allow surface system evolution 
from lunar needs to Mars requirements is based on many similar examples in aerospace technology development. 
One of the best examples of the platform approach to system evolution is the B-52 aircraft shown in Figure 6. This 
aircraft has been in use since the 1950’s and engineering analysis has shown it could be utilized for several decades 
into the future. The basic aircraft configuration has served as a platform that has undergone approximately 31 
upgrade programs resulting in a modernized aircraft that meets requirements that did not even exist when the aircraft 
was initially developed. The evolution from lunar systems to Mars ready systems can be accomplished at many 
levels of system development ranging from integrated architecture elements, to the individual part level, as shown in 
Figure 7. The foundation technology platforms would be based on the technologies with relatively slow technology 
advancement, these platforms would evolve to Mars Ready systems with the implementation of rapidly developing 
technologies at the subsystem, component and part levels. 
Original Configuration
Source: Global Security.com, Weapons of Mass Destruction
Evolution
31 Technology Upgrades
Current Configuration
Figure 6. B-52 Platform Evolution.
Included as
Developed
Level of
Integration
Number of Units
High
Low
Mars Ready Platform
Assembly
Component
Part
Subsystem
Slow Technology
Development
Rapid Technology
Development
Element
Figure 7. Mars Forward Technology Evolution Levels.
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An example of how incorporation of rapidly improving technology into a Mars Ready platform would benefit 
the Mars program is the area of crew resource automation. The evolution of a basic platform technology is evident 
in the pictures of the Boeing 707 and 787 aircraft cockpits shown in Figure 8. The original Boeing 707 aircraft 
required a four person crew for trans-Atlantic flights. Through the application of advanced avionics and resource 
automation in the design of the cockpit operations, the Boeing 787 requires only a two person crew. Current Project 
Constellation scenarios assume a crew of four for lunar surface exploration and a crew of six for Mars exploration. 
By assuming continued development of crew resource automation it should be possible to reduce the Mars crew size 
to four. This would allow commonality between the lunar and Mars programs. The lunar habitats, crew systems and 
life support systems could serve as platforms for evolving technologies needed for Mars.
Boeing 707 Boeing 787
Aircraft Cockpit Resource Automation
Figure 8. Aircraft Example of Technology Evolution.
V. Benefits to Project Development Cycle
NASA programs generally follow a cycle of development, fabrication, and integration verification as shown in 
the Project Cycle “V” diagram shown in Figure 9, from NASA Procedural Document, NPR 7120.5. In complex 
programs, each architecture element and system component undergoes its’ own development cycle, resulting in 
multiple “V” cycles occurring simultaneously, but at different rates, all feeding into the integrated program. The 
technology platform approach to technology evolution allows a sequential technology development path that allows 
rapidly developing technologies, some of which may not even exist at the beginning of the lunar program, to be 
integrated into the standard NASA Project processes. These rapidly developing new technologies often follow 
Moore’s law in which system performance doubles at a rapid rate, as has been the case with the number of 
transistors on an integrated circuit as shown in Figure 10. When superimposing or infusing these rapidly evolving 
technologies into the standard NASA program V cycle, programmatic efficiency is achieved through incremental 
development fabrication and integration of technologies resulting in enhanced functionality of existing systems. This 
process is illustrated in Figure 11, which shows how incremental technology evolution would benefit the lunar 
campaign and then feed forward into the Mars campaign. This enhanced functionality provides a direct evolutionary 
development path as well as risk reduction for meeting the Mars program requirements.
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Figure 9. NASA NPR 7120.5 Project “V” Cycle.
Year
Figure 10. Moore’s Law for Rapidly Improving Technologies
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Year: 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 31 32 33 3430
Lunar Campaign
Evolutionary Development
Mars Campaign
New or enhanced functionality is 
added to the functioning system at 
each iteration to meet  evolving needs
Mars Specific
Developments
Mars Forward
Technology Platforms
Figure 11. Evolutionary Technology Development Applied to Lunar and Mars Development Cycles.
VI. Conclusions
A Mars Forward development strategy for developing lunar exploration surface systems provides a highly 
efficient approach to achieving the technology development requirements for the Project Constellation surface 
systems. The foundation of the Mars Forward strategy is the commonality between the lunar and Mars surface 
system functionality. The key to the Mars Forward approach is the development of Mars Ready Technology 
Platforms that provide sequential and continuous development cycles providing incremental technology evolution 
and system risk reduction to meet Mars exploration requirements.


Benefits of Using a Mars Forward Strategy for Lunar Surface Systems

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