NASA allocates $10 million to Mars sample return proposals
NASA has committed $10 million toward seven proposals, aimed at refining its 15-year $11 billion plan, to gather and return samples from Mars. The space agency has awarded contracts worth $1.5 million each to seven companies, including Lockheed Martin, SpaceX, Aerojet Rocketdyne, Blue Origin, Quantum Space, Northrop Grumman, and Whittinghill Aerospace. These were selected following a request for proposals issued by NASA in April.
Selected proposals encompass a wide range of mission designs
Lockheed Martin's proposal is titled "Rapid Mission Design Studies for Mars Sample Return," while SpaceX's is "Enabling Mars Sample Return With Starship." Other proposals include Aerojet Rocketdyne's "A High-Performance Liquid Mars Ascent Vehicle," Blue Origin's "Leveraging Artemis for Mars Sample Return," and Quantum Space's "Quantum Anchor Leg Mars Sample Return Study," Northrop Grumman is calling its proposal, "High TRL MAV Propulsion Trades and Concept Design for MSR Rapid Mission Design."
NASA seeks viable alternatives for the mission
The purpose of these studies is to help NASA determine, if there are feasible alternative mission designs or elements that can safely transport Martian samples back to Earth. As per the request for proposal, these studies could involve complete redesigns of the mission or designs incorporating elements of NASA's Mars Sample Return (MSR) mission or Artemis program. This initiative comes after NASA acknowledged the complexity of its original plan for the MSR mission.
Revisiting the MSR mission design
NASA's original plan for the MSR mission involved multiple vehicles including the Perseverance rover, a sample retrieval lander, a Mars Ascent Vehicle rocket, and an Earth return orbiter. However, due to concerns about its technical features and high costs raised by an independent review board last year, NASA is now seeking a less complex mission design, aiming to reduce costs and expedite return date. The selected companies are set to start work in July and complete their studies by October.
