NASA reported that the rocket's four first-stage, solid-fuel booster segments come from the space shuttle program. A booster segment contains Atlas-V-based avionics, and the rocket's roll control system comes from the Peacekeeper missile. However, the launch abort system, simulated crew and service modules, upper stage, and various connecting structures are original.

NASA's Ares rockets are expected to return and later take them to Mars.

NASA has been planning on a move to the moon and then on to Mars for several years now. The space agency has been working toward setting up a lunar outpost by 2020.

However, the schedule, if not the mission itself, has come into some question as President Barack Obama's administration oversees an independent 's human space flight activities. With budgetary concerns in the forefront, the review is looking at possible alternatives to programs already in the pipeline.