Design Reference Mission
In 1997, NASA issued a report detailing a design reference mission for a Manned mission to Mars. This report was updated in 1998, and the two versions became known as DRM-I and DRM-II. Versions DRM 3 and DRM 4.0 were later released. The estimated cost for the mission was $50 billion.
NASA's DRM's were clearly inspired by analysis of another then recently proposed mission profile being promoted by the Mars Society, Mars Direct. In addition to sharing some innovative ideas of Mars Direct, most notably in situ resource utilization (ISRU), the DRM reports proposed the use of construction by in-orbit docking to allow greater payload.
New Mars Forum Discussions
Mars Design Reference Mission 4.0 - Good or Bad?
External Links
NASA's Design Reference Mission for Human Exploration of Mars
