NASA Selects Lockheed Martin for Mars Sample Return Mission’s Rocket

NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) are working together towards a mission called Mars Sample Return. With the goal of taking Mars surface samples back to Earth, NASA has finally decided to contract Lockheed Martin to build a rocket that will take a Mars-Earth round-trip.

The rocket to be built by Lockheed Martin is called the Mars Ascent Vehicle (MAV), and it will transport Mars’ dust, silt, and rock to our planet for research. Landing a rocket on Mars and returning it to Earth is unprecedented, and the mission will pave the way for astronauts to set foot on Mars one day.

A lander, a rover, and a rocket for Mars Sample Return mission

In carrying out the mission, NASA will provide other allies for MAV, as it will not perform solo duty on the Martian surface. There will be NASA’s Sample Retrieval Lander that will ferry the MAV to Mars, landing it near Jazero Crater. The lander will also carry a sample-fetch rover that will pick up the samples obtained from those gathered by Perseverance. The rover is now being developed by ESA and NASA’s engineers.

Once the rover has finished collecting the samples, it will return to the lander and load the samples into the small rocket MAV. The mission process continues with the rocket’s launch into Mars orbit, where the ESA’s Earth Return Orbiter spacecraft is situated. The orbiter, outfitted with NASA’s Capture, Containment, and Return System payload, will host the MAV and prepare it for delivery to Earth.

Credit: NASA

The Sample Retrieval Lander is scheduled to land on the Red Planet in 2026 from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, Florida, with the return of the MAV rocket on ESA’s orbiter in 2030.

Bringing Mars samples to Earth appears to be quite a complex thing. The MAV’s rocket development will take a significant amount of time and effort, and it is likely to encounter challenges. The rocket is also small, but it has to be durable enough to withstand Mars’ harsh environment while still being versatile enough to work well with the other robots.

Contract with Lockheed Martin

According to NASA, the contract with Lockheed Martin will involve the design, development, testing, and evaluation of the integrated MAV system. The design and development of rocket ground support equipment will also be part of the project.

NASA has revealed that its agreement with Lockheed Martin may be worth up to $194 million. On February 25, the six-year working period will begin. Lockheed Martin will present multiple MAV test units as well as a flight unit as part of its agreement with NASA.

Here’s a NASA tweet on Twitter, retweeted by Lockheed Martin, announcing the award of the MAV development that went to Lockheed Martin.

5 things to know about Mars Sample Return mission

Launching from the official website of the Mars sample retrieval project, there are five things to know about this mission:

1 – For the first time, three vehicles (a lander, a rover, and a rocket) will land on Mars’ surface at the same time.

2 – The Mars Ascent Vehicle will be the first to launch from the surface of another planet.

3 – The first international, interplanetary relay endeavor using multiple missions to bring back samples from another planet.

4 – The return of the first set of samples to Earth from a place believed to be hospitable to life in the distant past.

5 – The most comprehensively documented set of samples ever returned from another planet.

“America’s investment in our Mars Sample Return program will fulfill a top priority planetary science goal and demonstrate our commitment to global partnerships, ensuring NASA remains a leader in exploration and discovery,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson.