Mars Base Camp (MBC) is a crewed

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Roman god of war. Mars is a terrestrial planet with a thin atmos ...

laboratory orbiter concept under study that was commissioned by NASA from Lockheed Martin in US. It would use both future and proven concepts as well as the

Orion MPCV Orion (officially Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle or Orion MPCV) is a partially reusable crewed spacecraft used in NASA's Artemis program. The spacecraft consists of a Crew Module (CM) space capsule designed by Lockheed Martin and the Euro ...

, also built by Lockheed Martin. The Mars Base Camp concept is being proposed to NASA as a possible version of the

Deep Space Transport The Deep Space Transport (DST), also called Mars Transit Vehicle, is a crewed interplanetary spacecraft concept by NASA to support science exploration missions to Mars of up to 1,000 days.

, a crewed interplanetary

spacecraft A spacecraft is a vehicle or machine designed to spaceflight, fly in outer space. A type of artificial satellite, spacecraft are used for a variety of purposes, including Telecommunications, communications, Earth observation satellite, Earth ...

to support science exploration missions to

of up to 1,000 days. Mars Base Camp - Habitats
Lockheed Martin. It would be part of a larger architecture that includes the

Lunar Gateway The Lunar Gateway, or simply Gateway, is the first planned extraterrestrial space station in lunar orbit intended to serve as a solar-powered communication hub, science laboratory, and short-term habitation module for government-agency ast ...

space station. 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. The purpose of MBC would be to conduct real-time

telerobotic Telerobotics is the area of robotics concerned with the control of semi-autonomous robots from a distance, chiefly using television, wireless networks (like Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and the Deep Space Network) or tethered connections. It is a comb ...

science, both in Mars orbit and on the surface of its moons (

Deimos Deimos, a Greek word for ''dread'', may refer to: * Deimos (deity), one of the sons of Ares and Aphrodite in Greek mythology * Deimos (moon), the smaller and outermost of Mars' two natural satellites * Elecnor Deimos, a Spanish aerospace company * ...

and

Phobos Phobos (Greek for "fear") most commonly refers to: * Phobos (moon), a moon of Mars * Phobos (mythology), the Greek god and personification of fear and panic Phobos may also refer to: Comics * Phobos (Marvel Comics) * Phobos (''W.I.T.C.H.''), a ...

), and serve as a proving ground in preparing humans for future missions to the Martian surface.

History

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. Mars Base Camp harnesses many NASA technologies in development, or technology goals at the time of the 2010s. 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.

Proposed timeline and operation

Hardware

Mars Base Camp lays out a proposed technology road map to support NASA's Moon to Mars through the

and the

. The main systems and modules are: *''

'' - Command-and-control heart of the orbiting spacecraft, housing vital navigation, communications and life support for extended missions. *''Solar arrays'' - Generate the power for spacecraft operations and

solar electric propulsion Solar electric propulsion (SEP) refers to the combination of solar cells and electric thrusters to propel a spacecraft through outer space. This technology has been exploited in a variety of spacecraft by the European Space Agency (ESA), th ...

engines. *''Radiators'' - Regulate heat of electronics and crew habitation quarters. *''Cryogenic propulsion stage'' - Provide thrust for injection trajectory burns from the Moon heading to Mars. In addition, the propulsion stage will have the capability to provide maneuverability via impulse burn thrusters for excursions to

and

. During these missions, the Cryogenic Propulsion Stage will transport Orion, a Service Module, and Excursion Module for the purpose of delivering scientist-astronauts to the satellite surfaces. *''Laboratory'' - Houses scientific equipment, sample analysis tools and workstations to remotely pilot drones and rovers on the Martian surface. *''Habitat'' - Provides additional living quarters for crew, as well as consumables storage, radiation protection, and exercise equipment. *''Mars Ascent/Descent Vehicle'' (MADV) would be the ''Excursion Module'', designed to house one or multiple excursion vehicles to be utilized by crews performing scientific work on the surface of the Martian moons. A prototype has been suggested to first operate on the Moon: the

Lockheed Martin Lunar Lander The Lockheed Martin Lunar Lander is a series of design concepts by Lockheed Martin for a crewed lunar lander. The first proposal, Mars-Precursor Lunar Lander is a reusable crewed lunar lander first unveiled in October 2018, and it is being prop ...

References

External links

Mars Base Camp
homepage at Lockheed Martin *
''Mars Base Camp. An Architecture for Sending Humans to Mars by 2028'' - Oct 2016 summary, 25 pages

SpacePolicyOnline.com: "Lockheed Martin to Propose 2028 Orbiting "Mars Base Camp" Today"

Newsweek: "Lockheed Martin Plans Mars Base Camp"

International Business Times: "Lockheed Martin building an orbiting Mars base to send humans to Red Planet by 2028"
{{Human missions to Mars Human spaceflight Proposed space stations Exploration of Mars Missions to Mars Human missions to Mars Deep Space Habitat Lunar Gateway

History

Proposed timeline and operation

Hardware

See also

References

External links