NASA established the Lunar-Mars Program Office at its Washington headquarters to oversee human exploration on the Moon and Mars. The office will be chaired by Amit Kshatriya and will focus on hardware development, task integration and risk management for programs such as Artemis missions. Key development areas include Space Launch System rocket, Orion spacecraft, human landing systems, spacesuits and Gateway etc. The new office will also coordinate the planning and analysis of future human missions to Mars. It’s part of NASA’s efforts to establish a long-term presence on the Moon and prepare for human exploration of the Red Planet.

NASA has established a new Lunar-Mars Program Office at NASA headquarters in Washington DC to conduct the agency’s exploration activities on the Moon and Mars for the benefit of humanity. Amit Kshatriya will serve as the agency’s first office manager. This new office is located in the Research Systems Development Mission Office and reports to Assistant Director Jim Free.

“The Moon to Mars Program Office will help us prepare NASA for our bold missions to the Moon and the first humans to land on Mars,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “The golden age of exploration is upon us now, and this new office will help NASA successfully establish a long-term presence on the Moon necessary to prepare for humanity’s next giant leap to the Red Planet.”

Under NASA’s 2022 Authorization Act, the Moon to Mars Program Office focuses on hardware development, mission integration, and risk management functions for programs critical to the agency’s research approach using Artemis lunar missions to usher in a new era of scientific exploration. and preparing for human missions to Mars. This includes the Space Launch System rocket, Orion spacecraft, auxiliary ground systems, human landing systems, spacesuits, Gateway, etc. related to deep space exploration. includes. The new office will also oversee the planning and analysis of long-term developments to support human missions to Mars.

Kshatriya previously served as the Executive Vice President of General Research Systems Development and provided leadership and integration for several programs that now belong to the new office.

Lakisha Hawkins will be the Assistant Moon-Mars Program Office. As MP, Hawkins will support Kshatriya in all aspects of the office’s day-to-day management and operations. Steven Creech will serve as the office’s technical assistant. In this capacity, Creech will be responsible for identifying and resolving technical issues in all Moon to Mars Program Office offices and programs.

Mission Directorate updates also include the Office of Strategy and Architecture and NASA’s Science, Space Technology and Space Operations Mission Directorate, which have developed an integrated master plan based on the agency’s Moon to Mars objectives. With these changes, NASA will continue to lead the nation in exploration and build a coalition of international partners in deep space through the Artemis Accords.