NASA revises Mars mission master plan

[Madame Butterfly 0]

NASA revising its master plan for Mars

Next rover may be delayed amid ‘rebalancing’

 

 

 

Updated: 2:23 p.m. ET May 20, 2005

As the Spirit and Opportunity rovers continue their extended studies of Mars, NASA's Mars program appears headed for change. The shift will be driven by a variety of factors including technical and budget issues, as well as a "rebalancing" of science objectives.

 

NASA has been engaged since last year in what the agency calls a roadmapping effort to flesh out the details of a Mars master plan that would lead to an expeditionary crew landing on that remote world.

 

One scenario that has been under active discussion is slipping the mission of the mobile, nuclear-powered Mars Science Laboratory, or MSL, from 2009 to 2011. Another possibility was building two MSL rovers to double the data that could be gathered during that mission and reduce program risk.

 

 

James Garvin, the chief scientist at NASA Headquarters in Washington, said the space agency's science program is undergoing a "rebalancing." He said the status of MSL is still under review, but also said he thinks the prospect for launching two MSL rovers "is long gone."

 

"Right now, my aim is to ensure one, full-scope Mars Science Laboratory, at the least risky opportunity and best-suited to making revolutionary scientific discoveries," Garvin told Space.com.

 

Garvin also said that maintaining progress with the Phoenix Mars lander, which is being readied for a planned 2007 launch, and MSL in either 2009 or 2011 "is essential if the rapid pace of scientific progress is to be continued."

 

Mars matters

That rapid pace also involves NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, recently transported to Cape Canaveral, Fla., where it is being prepped for an August launch.

 

And in other Mars matters, NASA's Mars Telecommunications Orbiter is targeted for a 2009 launch slot. It is the first piece of communications infrastructure that will provide a link with Earth for all future Mars missions.

 

Lockheed Martin Space Systems in Denver has entered negotiations with NASA and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory to build the Mars Telecommunications Orbiter for a still-pending contract value, said Joan Underwood, a spokeswoman for the company.

 

The Mars Telecommunications Orbiter is scheduled to carry a science package still to be selected. It also will evaluate laser optical communications gear designed to speed the flow of data between Mars and Earth. In addition, NASA plans to demonstrate tracking, rendezvous and maneuvering with a football-sized canister that would be ejected from the main spacecraft — a test intended to help the agency hone future robotic Mars sample return procedures.

 

Visionary agenda

Newly appointed NASA chief Michael Griffin has accelerated the pace of all roadmapping, Garvin said, with emphasis on the Crew Exploration Vehicle and lunar activities in the near term.

 

"The Mars roadmapping has provided useful perspective, coming as it has after several years of communitywide strategic planning for robotic, discovery-responsive exploration of Mars," Garvin said.

 

The value of this Mars planning will come in the near term, Garvin said, as important decisions are made regarding the path ahead for the robotic Mars Exploration Program in the context of executing President Bush's "moon, Mars and beyond" vision for NASA.

 

"As such, there will necessarily be impacts on the Mars program," Garvin said. Given the criticality of maintaining Mars rover exploration at the surface while implementing a successful Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, "there may be some consequences," he added, "but the full scope of those won't be fully analyzed until this summer."