The participation of seven private companies, including SpaceX and Lockheed Martin, will provide various technical aspects of the Mars sample return mission.
American The space agency announced a partnership with seven private companies as part of a mission to return samples of Martian rocks to Earth. NASA took this step after it was recognized in April 2024 that the current schedule of the Mars Sample Return mission had been disrupted, and optimistic forecasts pushed back the sample return to the 2040s .
This development forced NASA to turn to the private sector in search of innovative solutions to overcome the financial and technological challenges of the mission.
Channel 24 writes about this.
In an effort to restart the MSR mission, NASA is offering fixed-price contracts of up to $1.5 million for 90-day exploration. These studies will explore new approaches to returning Martian samples to Earth earlier than expected.
In addition to seven private companies, the initiative includes NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California and the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, with the European Space Agency (ESA) expected to be a potential tenth partner.
“Returning samples from Mars will be one of NASA's most challenging missions, and it is critical that we accomplish it faster, with less risk and at lower cost,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson.
The NASA administrator also added that he supports the vision of selected companies, centers and their partners as the agency seeks fresh and innovative ideas to “unlock the big cosmic mysteries of the Red Planet.”
Here are seven companies participating in this project :
Each of these companies will contribute to different aspects of the mission.
SpaceX is expected to use its Starship spacecraft, designed to return large payloads to Earth.
Aerojet Rocketdyne, known for its rocket engine technology, will focus on developing a liquid rocket engine for a Mars ascent vehicle.
Blue Origin has proposed adapting its technology from the Artemis lunar mission to return samples to Mars.
Northrop Grumman will work on the propulsion system for the descent module.
Whittinghill Aerospace will develop a single-stage rocket to lift samples into Mars orbit.
Lockheed Martin offers a range of solutions for various aspects of the mission.
Quantum Space has not yet revealed its specific plans.
Mars exploration mission continues
NASA's Perseverance rover, which lands on the Red Planet in 2021, is currently carefully collecting samples. To date, he has filled 24 of the 40 tubes, with each sample taken in duplicate – one tube remains on the surface of Mars, and the other is stored inside the rover.
The original sample recovery plan called for either taking them directly from Perseverance, or using mini-rovers or helicopters to collect samples from the surface and transport them to the ascent module.
However, after China announced its mission to return Martian samples by the 2030s, NASA is facing increased pressure to speed up its efforts.
Recall that earlier the Pentagon announced the creation of a new group to investigate reports of the presence of UFOs.
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