Suggested Searches

Orion spacecraft in the foreground and the Moon and Earth in the background on Flight Day 13 of the Artemis I mission. Orion reached its maximum distance from Earth during the Artemis I mission when it was 268,563 miles away from our home planet.

Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate

The Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate defines and manages systems development for programs critical to NASA’s Artemis program and planning for NASA’s Moon to Mars exploration approach. ESDMD manages the human exploration system development for lunar orbital, lunar surface, and Mars exploration. 

NASA has established the Moon to Mars Program Office within ESDMD to focus on hardware development, mission integration, and risk management functions for programs critical to the agency’s exploration approach. Artemis missions will open a new era of scientific discovery and economic opportunity at the Moon while validating operations and systems and to prepare for human missions to Mars. The Moon to Mars Program Office oversees development of the Space Launch System rocketOrion spacecraft, supporting ground systemshuman landing systemsspacesuitsGateway, and more related to deep space exploration. The new office will also lead planning and analysis for long-lead developments to support Mars missions.

ESDMD Leadership

Meet the leaders who are guiding NASA's return to the Moon through Artemis, and the future of human exploration at Mars.

Cathy Koerner is associate administrator of the Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters.

Catherine Koerner

Associate Administrator for Exploration Systems Development

Dr. Lori Glaze is the Acting Deputy Associate Administrator for NASA’s Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate (ESDMD).

Lori Glaze

Deputy Associate Administrator (Acting) for Exploration Systems Development

Ned Penley, Deputy Associate Administrator for Management

Ned Penley

Deputy Associate Administrator for Management

Official NASA portrait of John McCullough, Deputy Associate Administrator for Integration in the Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate.

John A. McCullough

Deputy Associate Administrator for Integration

Moon to Mars Program Office

Portrait of Amit Kshatriya, who is deputy associate administrator for the Moon to Mars Program Office in NASA's Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate.

Amit Kshatriya

Deputy Associate Administrator, Moon to Mars Program Office

Official NASA portrait of Lakiesha Hawkins, Assistant Deputy Associate Administrator, Moon to Mars Program Office.

Lakiesha Hawkins

Assistant Deputy Associate Administrator, Moon to Mars Program Office

Photo of Stephen Creech, Assistant Deputy Associate Administrator for Technical, Moon to Mars Program Office

Steve Creech

Assistant Deputy Associate Administrator for Technical, Moon to Mars Program Office

Strategy and Architecture Office

Nujoud Merancy

Nujoud Merancy

Deputy Associate Administrator, Strategy and Architecture Office

ESDMD Programs

Explore the programs developing the hardware and systems to send humans to the Moon and Mars

Space Launch System (SLS)

Orion Spacecraft

Exploration Ground Systems Overview

Extravehicular Activity and Human Surface Mobility

Gateway Space Station News

Human Landing System

NASA astronaut Mike Hopkins in a spacesuit outside of the International Space Station during a spacewalk.

Humans in Space

Learn more about NASA's work in low Earth orbit and future plans for human missions to the Moon and Mars.

Latest News

Stay up-to-date with the latest on humanity's return to the Moon under Artemis and our future plans to explore Mars.

Artemis I Radiation Measurements Validate Orion Safety for Astronauts
3 min read

NASA’s Orion spacecraft is designed to keep astronauts safe in deep space, protecting them from the unforgiving environment far from…

Article
Gateway Stands Tall for Stress Test
1 min read

The Gateway space station’s Habitation and Logistics Outpost has successfully completed static load testing in Turin, Italy. With this phase…

Article
NASA Prepares for Lunar Terrain Vehicle Testing
3 min read

When astronauts return to the Moon as part of NASA’s Artemis campaign, they will benefit from having a human-rated unpressurized…

Article
Mariachi and Moonshots: Melissa Moreno Orchestrates Gateway Communications  
2 min read

As a radio frequency wireless engineer in NASA’s Johnson Space Center Avionic Systems Division in Houston, Melissa Moreno makes an…

Article
NASA’s Artemis Science Instrument Gets Tested in Moon-Like Sandbox
1 min read

Scientists and engineers tested NASA’s LEMS (Lunar Environment Monitoring Station) instrument suite in a “sandbox” of simulated Moon “soil.”

Article
NASA Michoud Continues Work on Evolved Stage of SLS Rocket for Future Artemis Missions
3 min read

Manufacturing equipment that will be used to build components for NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket for future Artemis missions…

Article