Leonard David's INSIDE OUTER SPACE

Credit: Lockheed Martin

Space planners are scoping out an outpost for humans to work in cis-lunar space – the space around Earth’s moon.

The work is expected to help plot out other deep-space destinations, perhaps to an asteroid, but also provide a leg-up on the larger leap to distant Mars.

Under NASA’s Next Space Technologies for Exploration Partnerships (NextSTEP) Projects, how best to utilize the Orion spacecraft and future habitats to set up a cis-lunar outpost is being fleshed out.

Credit: Lockheed Martin

NASA’s Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle, is the agency’s first spacecraft designed for long-duration, human-rated deep space exploration.

For detailed information, go to my new Space.com story at:

Plans Being Devised for Human Outpost Near the Moon

By Leonard David, Space.com’s Space Insider Columnist

February 23, 2016 08:00am ET

http://www.space.com/32014-human-outpost-near-moon-cislunar-space.html