[meteorite-list] NASA Selects Investigations For Future Key Planetary Mission

[Ron Baalke]

May 05, 2011

Dwayne C. Brown 
Headquarters, Washington 
202-358-1726 
dwayne.c.brown at nasa.gov 


RELEASE: 11-132

NASA SELECTS INVESTIGATIONS FOR FUTURE KEY PLANETARY MISSION

WASHINGTON -- NASA has selected three science investigations from 
which it will pick one potential 2016 mission to look at Mars' 
interior for the first time; study an extraterrestrial sea on one of 
Saturn's moons; or study in unprecedented detail the surface of a 
comet's nucleus. 

Each investigation team will receive $3 million to conduct its 
mission's concept phase or preliminary design studies and analyses. 
After another detailed review in 2012 of the concept studies, NASA 
will select one to continue development efforts leading up to launch. 
The selected mission will be cost-capped at $425 million, not 
including launch vehicle funding. 

NASA's Discovery Program requested proposals for spaceflight 
investigations in June 2010. A panel of NASA and other scientists and 
engineers reviewed 28 submissions. The selected investigations could 
reveal much about the formation of our solar system and its dynamic 
processes. Three technology developments for possible future 
planetary missions also were selected. 

"NASA continues to do extraordinary science that is re-writing 
textbooks," said NASA Administrator Charles Bolden. "Missions like 
these hold great promise to vastly increase our knowledge, extend our 
reach into the solar system and inspire future generations of 
explorers." 
The planetary missions selected to pursue preliminary design studies 
are: 

-- Geophysical Monitoring Station (GEMS) would study the structure and 
composition of the interior of Mars and advance understanding of the 
formation and evolution of terrestrial planets. Bruce Banerdt of 
NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, Calif., is 
principal investigator. JPL would manage the project. 

-- Titan Mare Explorer (TiME) would provide the first direct 
exploration of an ocean environment beyond Earth by landing in, and 
floating on, a large methane-ethane sea on Saturn's moon Titan. Ellen 
Stofan of Proxemy Research Inc. in Gaithersburg, Md., is principal 
investigator. Johns Hopkins University's Applied Physics Laboratory 
in Laurel, Md., would manage the project. 

-- Comet Hopper would study cometary evolution by landing on a comet 
multiple times and observing its changes as it interacts with the 
sun. Jessica Sunshine of the University of Maryland in College Park 
is principal investigator. NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in 
Greenbelt, Md., would manage the project. 

"This is high science return at a price that's right," said Jim Green, 
director of NASA's Planetary Science Division in Washington. "The 
selected studies clearly demonstrate a new era with missions that all 
touch their targets to perform unique and exciting science." 

The three selected technology development proposals will expand the 
ability to catalog near-Earth objects, or NEOs; enhance the 
capability to determine the composition of comet ices; and validate a 
new method to reveal the population of objects in the poorly 
understood, far-distant part of our solar system. During the next 
several years, selected teams will receive funding that is determined 
through contract negotiations to bring their respective technologies 
to a higher level of readiness. To be considered for flight, teams 
must demonstrate progress in a future mission proposal competition. 

The proposals selected for technology development are: 

-- Primitive Material Explorer (PriME) would develop a mass 
spectrometer that would provide highly precise measurements of the 
chemical composition of a comet and explore the objects' role in 
delivering volatiles to Earth. Anita Cochran of the University of 
Texas in Austin is principal investigator. 

-- Whipple: Reaching into the Outer Solar System would develop and 
validate a technique called blind occultation that could lead to the 
discovery of various celestial objects in the outer solar system and 
revolutionize our understanding of the area's structure. Charles 
Alcock of the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory in Cambridge, 
Mass., is principal investigator. 

-- NEOCam would develop a telescope to study the origin and evolution 
of NEOs and study the present risk of Earth-impact. It would generate 
a catalog of objects and accurate infrared measurements to provide a 
better understanding of small bodies that cross our planet's orbit. 
Amy Mainzer of JPL is principal investigator. 

Created in 1992, the Discovery Program sponsors frequent, cost-capped 
solar system exploration missions with highly focused scientific 
goals. The program's 11 missions include MESSENGER, Dawn, Stardust, 
Deep Impact and Genesis. NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in 
Huntsville, Ala., manages the program for the agency's Science 
Mission Directorate. 

For more information about the Discovery Program, visit: 

http://discovery.nasa.gov 
	
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