A component of the Vision for Space Exploration, the MPVC's development is taking place in parallel with missions to complete the International Space Station using the space shuttle before the shuttle is retired in 2010. The MPVC will be capable of carrying crew and cargo to the space station. It will be able to rendezvous with a lunar landing module and an Earth departure stage in low-Earth orbit to carry crews to the moon and, one day, to Mars-bound vehicles assembled in low-Earth orbit.
