[1] It would use both future and proven concepts as well as the Orion MPCV, also built by Lockheed Martin.

The Mars Base Camp concept is being proposed to NASA as a possible version of the Deep Space Transport, a crewed interplanetary spacecraft to support science exploration missions to Mars of up to 1,000 days.

[2] [3] It would be part of a larger architecture that includes the Lunar Gateway space station.

[3] As of April 2018, the Mars transit vehicle is still a concept to be studied, and NASA has not officially proposed the mission in an annual U.S. federal government budget cycle.

[4][5] The purpose of MBC would be to conduct real-time telerobotic science, both in Mars orbit and on the surface of its moons (Deimos and Phobos), and serve as a proving ground in preparing humans for future missions to the Martian surface.