The National Aeronautics and Space Administration's three-day Lunar Capability Concept Review capped a nine-month study that incorporated science and exploration objectives earlier developed by representatives of 14 nations as part of a Global Exploration Strategy.

"The study looked at possible lunar mission scenarios and compared them to the capabilities of the emerging Ares V heavy lift launch vehicle and the Altair lunar lander design concepts," NASA said in a statement. "This review of those findings, led by the Constellation Program Office at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, established all the technical parameters that will be needed to begin … the first phase in preparing vehicle requirements."

Jeff Hanley, the Constellation Program manager at the space center, said the study confirmed Constellation's conceptual designs for both Ares V and Altair.

"This extensive review proves we are ready for the next phase: taking these concepts and moving forward to establish mature requirements," said Hanley.

The Constellation project seeks to return humans to the moon by 2020.