NASA plans to award contracts to seven companies to study affordable ways to transport rock samples from Mars to Earth.NASA put out a call in April for proposals on how that transport could happen sometime in the next 16 years for under $11 billion. Many companies threw their hats in the ring for the project; a NASA representative told Ars Technica it received 48 submissions. From that group, NASA selected seven finalists to conduct more detailed studies.Selected companies include SpaceX and Blue Origin. Five are from the agency’s current roster of large contractors including Lockheed Martin, the only company that has built a spacecraft that has successfully landed on Mars thus far. Other companies include Aerojet Rocketdyne, Quantum Space Northrop Grumman, and Wittinghill Aerospace.Mars Sample Return has been a long-term goal of international planetary exploration over the past 20 years. NASA’s Perseverance rover has been collecting samples to eventually return to Earth since it landed on Mars in 2021.The studies are expected to last for 90 days; each company will get $1.5 million.
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“Mars Sample Return will be one of the most complex missions NASA has undertaken, and it is critical that we carry it out more quickly, with less risk, and at a lower cost,” says NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “I’m excited to see the vision that these companies, centers, and partners present as we look for fresh, exciting, and innovative ideas to uncover great cosmic secrets from the red planet.”The project is part of a strategic partnership between NASA and the European Space Agency. The hope is that creating a way to bring samples back from Mars successfully will revolutionize our understanding of the planet.
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