[meteorite-list] NASA Receives Mars 2020 Rover Instrument Proposals for Evaluation

[Ron Baalke]

January 21, 2014

Dwayne Brown
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1726
dwayne.c.brown at nasa.gov
     
RELEASE 14-023
     
NASA Receives Mars 2020 Rover Instrument Proposals for Evaluation

NASA has received 58 proposals for science and exploration technology  
instruments to fly aboard the agency's next Mars rover in 2020, twice the  
usual number submitted for instrument competitions in the recent past, and an  
indicator of the extraordinary interest in exploration of the Red Planet.

The agency is beginning a thorough review to determine the best combination  
of science and exploration technology investigations for the mission and  
anticipates making final selections in the next five months.

"Proposal writing for science missions is extremely difficult and time  
consuming. We truly appreciate this overwhelming response by the worldwide  
science and technical community and are humbled by the support and enthusiasm  
for this unique mission," said John Grunsfeld, NASA's associate administrator  
for science in Washington. "We fully expect to be able to select an  
instrument suite that will return exciting science and advance space  
exploration at Mars."

NASA opened competition for Mars 2020 research proposals in September and  
closed it January 15. Several NASA facilities, academia, industry, research  
laboratories, and other government agencies submitted proposals. Seventeen  
proposals came from international partners.

The Mars 2020 mission is designed to accomplish several high-priority  
planetary science goals and will be an important step toward meeting  
President Obama's challenge to send humans to Mars in the 2030s. The mission  
will conduct geological assessments of the rover's landing site, determine  
the habitability of the environment, search for signs of ancient Martian  
life, and assess natural resources and hazards for future human explorers.

The science instruments aboard the rover also will enable scientists to  
identify and select a collection of rock and soil samples that will be stored  
for potential return to Earth in the future. This will achieve one of the  
highest-priority objectives recommended by the National Research Council's  
2011 Planetary Science Decadal Survey. Analysis of such samples in  
laboratories here on Earth will help determine whether life existed on Mars  
and help inform planning for human exploration missions to the planet.

The rover also may help designers of a human expedition understand the  
hazards posed by Martian dust and demonstrate how to collect carbon dioxide  
from the atmosphere, which could be a valuable resource for producing oxygen  
and rocket fuel.

"NASA robotic missions are pioneering a path for human exploration of Mars in  
the 2030s," said William Gerstenmaier, NASA's associate administrator for  
human exploration and operations in Washington. "The Mars 2020 rover mission  
presents new opportunities to learn how future human explorers could use  
natural resources available on the surface of the Red Planet. An ability to  
live off the land could reduce costs and engineering challenges posed by Mars  
exploration."

The instruments developed from the selected proposals will be placed on a  
rover similar to Curiosity that has been exploring Mars since 2012. Using a  
proven landing system and rover chassis design to deliver these new  
experiments to Mars will ensure mission costs and risks are minimized as much  
as possible while still delivering a highly capable rover.

The 2020 mission will build on the achievements of Curiosity and other Mars  
missions, and offer opportunities to deploy new capabilities developed  
through investments by NASA's Space Technology Program, Human Exploration and  
Operations Mission Directorate, and contributions from international  
partners.

"New and more advanced space technologies are essential for future human  
expeditions to the Red Planet," said Michael Gazarik, NASA's associate  
administrator for space technology. "These technologies will enable the life  
support and transportation resources needed for future astronauts to live and  
work on Mars."

The Mars 2020 rover will join the agency's robust Mars Exploration Program,  
which includes the Curiosity and Opportunity rovers, the Odyssey and Mars  
Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft currently orbiting Mars, and the MAVEN  
orbiter, recently sent to study the Martian upper atmosphere. In 2016, a Mars  
lander mission called InSight will launch to take the first look into the  
deep interior of Mars. The agency also is participating in the European Space  
Agency's (ESA's) 2016 and 2018 ExoMars missions, including providing  
"Electra" telecommunication radios to ESA's 2016 orbiter and a critical  
element of the premier astrobiology instrument on the 2018 ExoMars rover.

For more information about NASA's Mars programs, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/mars 

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