Our Progress and Plans on the
Journey to Mars
SpaceX’s uncrewed
Dragon cargo spacecraft
is berthed to the ISS after
arriving on September 23,
2014 with 2.5 tons of
supplies and equipment.
NASA’s current efforts focus on strategic investments to extend human
access to deep space, learn how to operate with reduced logistics, and
understand future destinations through science-guided robotic explorers. We
will use the Proving Ground to demonstrate capabilities that evolve beyond
the Earth Reliant exploration systems currently used on the ISS. As these
capabilities are proven, NASA and our partners will further define future
missions. Efforts made today and in the next decade will lay the foundation
for an Earth Independent, sustained presence in deep space, addressing a
challenge worthy of our nation’s expertise, perseverance, and ingenuity.
The following sections describe specific architecture elements in each
phase of the journey to Mars: Earth Reliant, Proving Ground, and Earth
Independent. These investments, selected with guidance from strategic
partners and through the lens of the pioneering principles, enable near-term
missions, support resilient space infrastructure, are affordable within NASA’s
current budget, and offer multiple opportunities for academic, commercial,
and international partnerships. They work together as an interloc