WASHINGTON — NASA has awarded a contract to Rocket Lab to study alternative concepts for Mars Sample Return (MSR), joining several other efforts to

NASA awards Rocket Lab study contract for Mars Sample Return

submited by

Style Pass

2024-10-09 15:30:07

WASHINGTON — NASA has awarded a contract to Rocket Lab to study alternative concepts for Mars Sample Return (MSR), joining several other efforts to improve the cost and schedule of the program.

Rocket Lab said Oct. 7 that it received a contract to study what it called “a simplified, end-to-end mission concept” for MSR that would deliver samples being collected by the Perseverance rover to Earth for a “fraction” of currently projected costs, estimated to be as high as $11 billion, and several years earlier than 2040.

NASA solicited concepts for industry studies to look at alternative architectures for MSR or key elements of it, like the Mars Ascent Vehicle (MAV) rocket that will launch the collected samples into orbit around Mars. NASA selected seven companies in June for those studies, but Rocket Lab was not among them.

The Rocket Lab statement came after a Sept. 27 entry in a federal procurement database, which noted that the company received a $625,000 contract from NASA for Mars studies. NASA did not announce at the time, or since then, the selection of Rocket Lab for a contract.