Mars mission design and maximizing performance utilization

Considering the current investments being made in the Space Launch System and the Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV)/Orion, one must consider the implications of finding new architecture solutions which would maximize the performance utilization of these space transportation investments. This paper describes a Mars Design Reference Architecture (DRA) which utilizes a Gateway facility operating within the Earth-Moon Lagrange Point 2 (EML2) vicinity for the support of Mars transfer vehicle aggregation. The authors then present study findings regarding particular aspects of the architecture and potential design trade space and technology investment areas which would serve to bring us closer to realizing a human Mars mission as well as mature technologies which would propagate benefits on Earth.