NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) have fleshed out possible programs and technologies that if done together might support a human outpost on the Moon.

That assessment has been underway over the last six months. Teams of experts from NASA and ESA weighed in on various lunar exploration concepts that could complement, augment, or enhance the exploration plans of one another.

Both ESA capabilities as well as NASA's Ares I and Ares V -- the set of Constellation boosters now under development -- were reviewed in the joint assessment.

ESA program officials included in their study potential future use of an automated, Ariane 5-based lunar cargo landing system, as well as ESA-developed lunar surface hardware, such as habitation and mobility systems.

In an ESA-released statement today, Geoff Yoder, Directorate Integration Office Director of NASA's Exploration Systems Mission Directorate said: "As future exploration plans mature around the world, it is becoming increasingly important that we seek compatibilities between NASA's plans and those of its potential future partners."

Bruno Gardini, ESA Exploration Program Manager added that ESA is preparing itself to make decisions that will "mark Europe's role in human spaceflight and exploration for the decades to come."

Gardini said that the Moon serves as an important case study and a useful test bed to ready plans and technology for more distant destinations.

-- Leonard David