Launch of a Mars climbing vehicle with examples: This image illustrates the concept of how NASA ‘s Ascent Vehicle, carrying pipes containing rock and earth samples, could be launched from the surface of Mars in one phase of a Mars sample return mission. Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech. Full image and title ›
The award moves NASA and ESA one step closer to realizing Mars Sample Return, an ambitious planetary observation program that builds on decades of science, knowledge and experience.
NASA has awarded a Mars Ascent Flight System (MAPS) contract to Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation in Elkton, Maryland, to provide motion and output support for spaceflight missions at the group’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. Coupled with this successful round of Mars Perseverance rover, this award moves NASA and ESA (European Space Agency) one step closer to implementing Sample Return (MSR), a research program an ambitious planet that builds on decades of science, knowledge, and experience studying Mars.
The cost-plus contract has a value of $ 60.2 million, a fixed fee and a maximum capacity value of $ 84.5 million. The contract begins on Thursday, March 4, with a 14-month base period, followed by two option periods that can be used at NASA’s discretion.
In the next phases of the MSR mission, NASA and ESA will provide components for the Sample Retrieval Lander mission and the Earth Return Orbiter mission. The Sample Retrieval Lander mission will deliver a Sample Fetch Rover and Mars Ascent Vehicle (MAV) to the surface of Mars. Marshall is responsible for the MAV element of the MSR Program, which is a two-tier vehicle that will be an essential element in supporting MSR to retrieve and return the samples collected by the Perseverance Mars 2020 rover for return to the Land. The Martian environment will play a key role in the design, development, manufacturing, testing and certification of two solid rocket motors with multiple deliveries each. Through the MAPS contract, Northrop Grumman will provide the transfer systems for the MAV, as well as support equipment and other logistics services.
Bringing Mars samples back to Earth allows scientists around the world to study the samples using too large and too complex solemn instruments to send them to Mars, and it allows for future generations to explore them using technology not yet available. Preserving the samples on Earth will allow the science community to try out new theories and models as they are developed, as the Apollo samples that have returned from the Moon have done for decades.
For information on NASA and other agencies’ programs, visit:
https://www.nasa.gov
Contact news media
Gray Hautaluoma / Alana Johnson / Joshua Handal
NASA Headquarters, Washington
202-358-0668 / 202-358-1501 / 202-358-2307
[email protected]/[email protected]/[email protected]
Janet Sudnik
Space Marshall Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala.
256-544-1216
[email protected]