A concept image shows the Ares V cargo launch vehicle launching from NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Florida. The heavy-lifting Ares V, part of NASA's Constellation program which replaces the Space Shuttle in 2010, is the primary vessel for safe, reliable delivery of large-scale hardware to space. This includes the lunar lander, materials for establishing a permanent moon base, and the vehicles and hardware needed to extend a human presence beyond Earth orbit. Ares V can carry approximately 290,000 pounds to low Earth orbit and 144,000 pounds to lunar orbit.