science

Mars Base Camp

Mars Base Camp is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Mars Base Camp rather than just read about it. In short: Mars Base Camp (MBC) is a crewed Mars laboratory orbiter concept under study commissioned by NASA from Lockheed Martin in the US. It would use both future and proven concepts as well as the Orion MPCV, also built by Lockheed Martin.

Key takeaways

Mars Base Camp belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Mars Base Camp to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Mars Base Camp from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Mars Base Camp (MBC) is a crewed Mars laboratory orbiter concept under study commissioned by NASA from Lockheed Martin in the US. It would use both future and proven concepts as well as the Orion MPCV, also built by Lockheed Martin. The Mars Base Camp concept has been proposed to NASA as a possible version of the Deep Space Transport, a crewed interplanetary spacecraft to support science exploration missions to Mars of up to 1,000 days. It would be part of a larger architecture that includes the Lunar Gateway 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 communication 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 Mars’s 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.

Hardware Mars Base Camp lays out a proposed technology road map to support NASA's Moon to Mars through the Deep Space Transport and the Lunar Gateway. The main systems and modules are:

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 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.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Mars Base Camp

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Mars Base Camp claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Mars Base Camp before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Mars Base Camp ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Mars Base Camp

In research: Mars Base Camp appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Mars Base Camp in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Mars Base Camp is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Deep Space Habitat, Human missions to Mars, Human spaceflight, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Mars Base Camp outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Mars Base Camp in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Mars Base Camp means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Mars Base Camp out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Mars Base Camp in simple terms?

Why does Mars Base Camp matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Mars Base Camp?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Mars Base Camp.