In the first step of a two-step process, NASA selected
four proposals for detailed study as candidates for the 2007
“Scout” mission in the agency’s Mars Exploration Program.
NASA’s Mars 2007 Scout selection process is the first fully
competed opportunity for scientific missions to the Red
Planet.
“This Scout selection will serve as a trailblazer for what we
plan to be a continuing line of a small, yet exciting, class
of Mars missions,” said Orlando Figueroa, Director for the
Mars Exploration Program at NASA Headquarters, Washington.
“These four outstanding proposals represent innovative ideas
for exploring Mars on a modest budget to answer several
priority questions about the Red Planet,” said Dr. Ed Weiler,
Associate Administrator for Space Science at NASA
Headquarters. “I’m very pleased that this competition
produced such a wide range of incredibly exciting ideas and I
congratulate all members of the science teams involved,” he
said.
Following detailed mission-concept studies, due for
submission by July 2003, NASA intends to select one of the
mission proposals by August 2, 2003, for full development as
the first Mars Scout mission. The mission developed for
flight will be launched in 2007.
The selected proposals were judged to have the highest
science value among 25 proposals submitted to NASA in August
2002 in response to the Mars Scout 2002 Announcement of
Opportunity. Each will receive up to $500,000 to conduct a
six-month implementation feasibility study focused on cost,
management and technical plans, including educational
outreach and small business involvement.
“Each of the selected missions pursues some of the greatest
unknowns about potential biological activity on Mars,
including such issues as the presence of organic molecules or
their byproducts,” said Dr. Jim Garvin, NASA’s Lead Scientist
for Mars Exploration in Washington.
The selected mission concepts, and the Principal
Investigators, are:
* SCIM (Sample Collection for Investigation of Mars):
Professor Laurie Leshin, Arizona State University, Tempe.
This innovative mission would sample atmospheric dust and gas
using aerogel and use a “free-return trajectory” to bring the
samples back to Earth. Such samples could provide
breakthrough understanding of the chemistry of Mars, its
surface, atmosphere, interior evolution and potential
biological activity.
* ARES (Aerial Regional-scale Environmental Survey): Dr. Joel
Levine, NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, Va. ARES
offers to provide the first in situ measurements of the near-
surface atmospheric chemistry within the Mars planetary-
boundary layer, thereby providing critical clues to the
chemical evolution of the planet, climate history, and
potential biological activity.
* Phoenix: Dr. Peter Smith, University of Arizona, Tucson.
This mission proposes to conduct a stationary, in situ
investigation of volatiles (especially water), organic
molecules and modern climate. It aims to “follow the water”
and measure indicator molecules at high-latitude sites where
Mars Odyssey has discovered evidence of large ice
concentrations in the Martian soil.
* MARVEL (Mars Volcanic Emission and Life Scout): Dr. Mark
Allen, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. This
mission proposes to conduct a global survey of the Martian
atmosphere’s photochemistry to search for emissions that
could be related to active volcanism or microbial activity,
as well as to track the behavior of water in the atmosphere
across a full annual cycle.
The Mars Scout competition is designed to augment or
complement, but not duplicate, major missions being planned
as part of NASA’s Mars Exploration Program or those under
development by foreign space agencies. The selected Scout
science mission must be ready for launch before December 31,
2007, within a total mission cost cap of $325 million.
The Mars Scout Program is managed by NASA’s Jet Propulsion
Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., for the Office of Space
Science, Washington.