NASA has published its space exploration roadmap for the next several years, detailing efforts that will transition human space-based activities from low-Earth orbit towards the moon, Mars and beyond.
The roadmap, referred to as the National Space Exploration Campaign, has five strategic goals, namely: the maturation of commercial LEO spaceflight; the installation of space facilities – such as the Gateway lunar orbital station – that will facilitate missions to the surface of the moon; robotic missions to the lunar surface; manned lunar missions; and the testing and evaluation of technologies that would eventually allow for manned missions to the rest of the solar system.
The National Space Exploration Campaign is the agency’s response to the challenge put forth by President Donald Trump’s Space Policy Directive-1 as well as the requirements itemized in the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Transition Authorization Act of 2017.
Furthermore, NASA said that the document will help “revitalize and add direction†to the agency’s mission of “expanding the frontiers of human experience and scientific discovery†on the planet and in the cosmos while addressing critical national concerns including economic growth and social development.