US Space Agency March 2020 In February 2021, its mission carried out a successful landing in the Jezero Crater area on the Red Planet. The Perseverance rover, the larger version and successor to the hugely successful Curiosity rover, blasted off to the desolate planet, carrying 43 titanium sampling tubes and an Ingenuity rover.
Like all other Mars missions, Perseverance's primary mission was to detect life. To do this, he took 27 different samples of rocks, soil and air in the once-flooded area, placed the tubes containing them on the surface, and left them behind for a later mission to collect them.
So far, Mars 2020 may have looked like a triumphant march, thanks to Perseverance's cutting-edge technology, stunning images, and Ingenuity's pioneering flights. As for the main mission, which is to discover life, the story fades into obscurity – at least for now.
Neither money nor time
The reason for the ambiguity is that according to the indicators, the program was not only divided, but also considered into two parts. $4.4 billion has been allocated to the internal program, simply called Mars Sample Return (MSR). However, the Investigative Committee reviewed the plans and decided that instead of the original ideas, the samples would realistically reach Earth around 2040, for $11 billion. They found neither the deadline nor the costs acceptable, so the MSR project, prepared jointly with the European Space Agency and involving 1,300 employees, was neither cancelled, but blown up for reconsideration.
Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS
This fall, the story continued with an unexpected twist: On October 7, NASA tasked Rocket Lab with “developing a simplified and complete mission concept.” The federal public procurement database also revealed that the company received $625,000 for the work.
An interesting detail is that private sector participation was not without its dramatic twists: NASA announced an invitation-only tender in June, to which seven companies were invited. Among them were SpaceX, Blue Origin and Aerospace Rocketdyne, which in the meantime were also exposed to the Starliner spacecraft's faulty nozzles. The companies presented their current and ongoing developments that are not relevant in all respects. Rocket Lab at the same time
He was not among the guests
But by the end of the summer, it turned out that they were actually getting close to what the office wanted to see.
Rocket Lab is a company founded in New Zealand that was originally the most successful private space company in the Southern Hemisphere before moving to California. Their primary field of activity is launching and launching vehicles, so they move to SpaceX or the joint venture between Boeing and Lockheed Martin, United Launch Alliance. It is a small company compared to those mentioned, but it makes up for this with technical innovations: with rockets made from 3D-printed parts, with a self-developed rocket motor built with an electric pump.
MSR represents a serious opportunity for them to move forward.
They bring it, they take it
We have developed an innovative mission plan that can be implemented quickly and inexpensively. In recent years, Rocket Lab has been systematically working on cost-effective space exploration solutions, which makes us particularly well-suited to carry out Mars sample return.
Peter Beck, the company's CEO, summarized their role.
The mission will cost $2 billion, with a launch in 2028, return in September 2033, and a possible early return in 2031.
The mission will be carried out by two modules launched on Neutron launch vehicles two weeks apart. One of the two components will be the return module to Earth, and the other will be the landing and ascent module on Mars. Samples will be collected by Perseverance itself, then rendezvoused with the lander, which will receive the tubes with a built-in robotic arm. The surface module will then launch from Mars and deliver the samples to a ground-based return module orbiting the planet, which will bring them back.
Roket Lab noted that they have the technical skills necessary to carry out the two deliveries from the previous two missions, with which they can carry out the practical implementation within a short period of time. The short deadline is justified not only by the financial aspect of time and scientific interest, but also by the fact that the technical reserves and lifetime of Perseverance, which has been operating for almost five years, are also limited.
This may be the light at the end of the tunnel for the previous Martian water exploration program.
Follow Index on Facebook too!
