A Methodology for Lunar Base Architecting for Evolving Mission Growth Needs: A Systems-Engineering Approach

With global resurgence in a human return to the Moon, NASA released objectives detailing plans for establishing a long-term base on the lunar surface [1]. This study proposes a methodology for a system-of-systems-level architecting approach for a lunar base. Systems engineering and architecting techniques are deployed for decomposing high-level mission objectives and mapping them into the detailed systems, elements, functions, and physical layout of the lunar base. The ultimate goal is to develop a scalable, adaptable, and sustainable lunar base architecture, with the intention of serving as the baseline for a tradespace exploration environment for an evolving lunar base architecture. This capability will eventually enable the rigorous evaluation of systems architecture alternatives, leveraging operations modeling tools to assess the feasibility against requirements and cost viability.