Mission type | Crewed Mars laboratory orbiter/interplanetary spacecraft |
---|---|
Spacecraft properties | |
Spacecraft type | Interplanetary |
Mars Base Camp (MBC) is a crewed Mars laboratory orbiter concept under study that was commissioned by NASA from Lockheed Martin in US.[1] It would use both future and proven concepts as well as the Orion MPCV, also built by Lockheed Martin.
The Mars Base Camp concept is being proposed to NASA as a possible version of the Deep Space Transport, a crewed interplanetary spacecraft to support science exploration missions to Mars of up to 1,000 days.[2] [3] It would be part of a larger architecture that includes the Lunar Gateway space station.[3] As of April 2018, the Mars transit vehicle is still a concept to be studied, and NASA has not officially proposed the mission in an annual U.S. federal government budget cycle.[4][5]
The purpose of MBC would be to conduct real-time telerobotic science, both in Mars orbit and on the surface of its moons (Deimos and Phobos), and serve as a proving ground in preparing humans for future missions to the Martian surface.
The concept was published in May 2016 by Lockheed Martin, and it is a design for a spacecraft for carrying humans to Mars orbit and conducting operations in Mars orbit.[6] Mars Base Camp harnesses many NASA technologies in development, or technology goals at the time of the 2010s.[6]
In September 2017, the plan was updated including a concept for a reusable crewed shuttle called MADV (Mars Ascent Descent Vehicle), which would connect to the MBC Mars space station.[7]
Mars Base Camp lays out a proposed technology road map to support NASA's Moon to Mars through the Deep Space Transport and the Lunar Gateway.[2] The main systems and modules are:[1][8][9][10]