What is the Reference Mission?

We are planning many flights to the moon; however, one flight has the distinction of being named the Reference Mission. This is the flight which places the initial exploration base on the moon and establishes the transportation system to support it.

We use the Reference Mission to determine the financial, technical, and political issues ahead of us in our journey to establish that critical foothold on the moon. Analysis of this mission provides us with a data base of costs and anticipated revenues, from which we can extrapolate the financial performance of each flight we conduct.

Refer to these sections of the Artemis Data Book for more information on the Artemis Project Reference Mission:

• Section 1.3 presents a brief overview of the Reference Mission.
  
  
• Section 4 has all the detailed mission plans, spacecraft concepts, system designs, and mission operations scenarios.