NASA announced on June 7 its decision to proceed with 10 studies looking into more economical and quicker ways to bring samples from Mars back to Earth. Lockheed Martin in Littleton and its proposal “Lockheed Martin Rapid Mission Design Studies for Mars Sample Return” is one of the studies selected to participate.
This initiative falls under the Mars Sample Return Program. A part of this initiative includes awarding a firm-fixed-price contract, up to $1.5 million, to the seven industrial proponents for conducting 90-day research studies.
In addition to Lockheed Martin, the other six industrial companies chosen to participate include SpaceX in Hawthorne, Calif.; Aerojet Rocketdyne in Huntsville, Ala.; Blue Origin in Monrovia, Calif.; Quantum Space, in Rockville, Md.; Northrop Grumman in Elkton, Md.; and Whittinghill Aerospace in Camarillo, Calif.
In addition to the seven industry proposals, NASA’s internal centers, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory at CalTech, and Johns Hopkins’ Applied Physics Laboratory are also undertaking studies. Upon completion, NASA plans to appraise all the studies and contemplate changes or enhancements to the Mars Sample Return plan.
For the past quarter-century, NASA has instituted a consistent drive to unravel the early history of Mars. This endeavor aids our comprehension of the formation and evolution of habitable worlds, including Earth. As such, the Mars Sample Return has been a long-term aim of international planetary exploration for the last two decades.
The Perseverance rover, which belongs to NASA, has been gathering samples for future collection and return to Earth since its Martian landing in 2021. The firms selected for the new studies responded to a request for proposals on April 15.