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After NASA solicited and then selected a new round of proposals for its Mars sample return program, a Freedom of Information request filed by user X in Australia shared details of the agency’s selection process. Earlier this month, NASA announced the list of finalists for the request to return a sample to Mars, and the list included big ticket names in the space industry like SpaceX and Lockheed Martin.
Now, the document sheds more light on the details of their plans to bring back samples collected by the Perseverance rover from the surface of Mars, and within those details is a tentative timeline for SpaceX’s plans to land on Mars.
SpaceX offers NASA a demonstration landing on Mars in 2029 for a sample return project
NASA released a request for a new set of proposals to recover samples taken by Perseverance on Mars in April after the previous project drew criticism for being too expensive. In response, the space agency received 48 proposals, and among them, seven proposals made the cut in June. In this list, SpaceX, Blue Origin and Lockheed Martin stood out from the pack due to their existing partnership with NASA for the Artemis program. SpaceX is NASA’s first choice to land humans on the moon, with Blue Origin also winning the lunar lander contract.
SpaceX’s plan included using a Starship to return a Mars sample, and a source selection document for the designs shared more details. They share that SpaceX plans to use Starship for all aspects of the Martian journey. This includes lift off from Earth, transit in space, landing on Mars and final ascent for return to Earth. NASA was particularly impressed by SpaceXvery strong team“, who not only has the required experience for the mission, but also “Support, support” from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL).
SpaceX has proposed a demonstration landing in 2029, with Starship also enabling “ significantly more weight/volume” according to NASA for the lander and ascent for ascent.
While SpaceX’s proposal shared the Starship as the vehicle of choice for the mission, Lockheed proposed “a comprehensive architecture assessment based on a commercial approachAlthough it doesn’t specify the vehicle, Lockheed is NASA’s main contractor for the Orion spacecraft, which has already flown to the moon once for the Artemis 1 mission. Lockheed also offered its “proven results across many landing and orbital missions[s]” to Mars in its proposal, and NASA agreed that the firm had the right skills to carry out the complex mission.
As for Blue Origin, like SpaceX, it plans to use its experience with the lunar lander mission to return samples from Mars. The vehicle, called the Blue Mars Lander, impressed NASA with its intention to use thrusters only for the entry, descent and landing (EDL) phase of the mission. This makes the vehicle relatively simple, eliminating the need for complex components such as a heat shield, parachutes and airbags, according to the space agency.
Blue Origin also plans to work with the European Space Agency (ESA) on its proposal to return a sample from Mars, relying on the agency’s Earth Return Orbiter (ERO). The plan calls for a single-engine add-on vehicle to transfer samples to the ERO and suggests a return date of 2033 with 30 samples.