Decadal White Paper: Accelerating Martian and Lunar Science through SpaceX Starship Missions
SpaceX is developing the Starship vehicle for both human and robotic flights to the surface of the Moon and Mars.
This two-stage vehicle offers unprecedented payload capacity and the promise of lowering the cost of surface access due to its full reusability. An individual Starship spacecraft is being designed to fly large crews to another planetary surface, many of whom could conduct long-term science investigations taking advantage of the support infrastructure SpaceX intends to build.
At present, the focus of SpaceX is on reaching Mars and providing relatively near-term opportunities for expanding humanity on the Red Planet. Our purpose here is to focus on the important research benefits that could arise from an effective partnership between NASA’s Science Mission Directorate and SpaceX.
