Mars Base Camp

Mission Profile

Mars Base Camp was a Lockheed Martin concept unveiled in 2016 for a crewed Mars orbital outpost that would place astronauts in Mars orbit for 30 months beginning in the 2028 timeframe, conducting remote science operations and deploying excursion vehicles to Phobos, Deimos, and potentially the Martian surface. The concept envisioned a habitat module, science airlock for sample retrieval from small spacecraft, and a pair of two-person Mars Ascent/Descent Vehicles for brief forays to the Martian moons. Lockheed Martin proposed the concept as a foundation for eventual crewed Mars surface missions and as a more technically achievable precursor than direct Mars landing. The concept was not funded by NASA but reflected industry thinking about the architecture for human Mars orbital missions.