We reconsider the ingredients of moduli stabilization in heterotic M-theory. On this line we close a gap in the literature deriving the Kaehler potential dependence on vector bundle moduli and charged matter. Crucial in this derivation is our supersp
ace formulation of 5d heterotic M-theory taking into account the Bianchi identities modified by brane terms. Likewise, we obtain the Fayet-Iliopolous terms due to brane localised anomalous U(1)s. After assembling perturbative and non-perturbative contributions to the superpotential, we study supersymmetric (adS) vacua. It is found that the susy condition decouples the bundle moduli from the geometric moduli. We show that M-theory supersymmetric vacua without five-branes can be found, albeit not at phenomenologically interesting values of the geometric moduli. This result is fairly independent of the choice of vector bundle at the observable brane.
