Mars Base Camp

Artist's concept of a fully integrated Mars Base Camp vehicle, consisting of several modular elements in Mars orbit.

Mars Base Camp

Function	Crewed Mars laboratory orbiter
Manufacturer	Lockheed Martin
Country of origin	United States
Launch history
Status	Under study
Notable payloads	Orion MPCV

Mars Base Camp (MBC) is a crewed Mars laboratory orbiter concept that proposes to send astronauts to Mars orbit as early as 2028.^[1] The vehicle concept was developed by Lockheed Martin in the U.S. and proposed in 2016. It would utilize both future and proven concepts as well as the Orion MPCV, also built by Lockheed Martin.

The purpose of MBC is 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.

Vehicle and mission design

Mars Base Camp lays out a proposed technology road map to support NASA's Journey to Mars. The main systems and modules are:^[1][2][3][4]

• Orion MPCV - 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 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 Deimos and Phobos. 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 an exercise equipment.

• Excursion Module - Module designed to house one or multiple excursion vehicles to be utilized by crews performing scientific work on the surface of the Martian moons.

MBC manifest

Year	Vehicle Assembly Objective	Mission Name	Launch Vehicle	Human/Robotic Elements
2020	Next Martian Orbiter (NEMO) 2020 departure to Mars orbit insertion	NEMO 2020	TBD	N/A
2021	Delivery of a proposed NextSTEP habitat to cis-lunar space	EM-2	Space Launch System	Crewed
2022	Next Mars Orbiter Comm Relay Staging and Remote Sensing	TBD	TBD	TBD
2023	Solar Electric Propulsion Enabled Cis-lunar	EM-3	Space Launch System	Crewed
2024	Perform Cis-lunar Science with Deep Space Lab and Propulsion	EM-4	TBD	TBD
2025	Long-duration Low-Gravity Asteroid Science Operations	EM-5	TBD	TBD
2026	Deployment and delivery of Mars planetary and orbital assets	TBD	TBD	TBD
2027	MBC-1 pre-mission checkouts and final system tests	EM-6, EM-7	Space Launch System	Crewed/Uncrewed
2028	Trans-Martian trajectorial injection initiated, transit to Phobos/Deimos orbit insertion begins; arrival at Mars	MBC-1	Space Launch System	Crewed

References

1. "Mars Base Camp". Lockheed Martin. Retrieved 2016-09-01.
2. "Want Humans on Mars? Start With a Martian Space Station". National Geographic. Retrieved 2016-05-19.
3. "Lockheed Martin building an orbiting Mars base to send humans to Red Planet by 2028". International Business Times. Retrieved 2016-05-19.
4. "Lockheed Martin Wants To Send Humans To Mars In 12 Years". Popular Science. Retrieved 2016-05-19.

External links

• Mars Base Camp homepage at Lockheed Martin
• 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"