JPL NASA seeks fresh ideas for missions to Mars for $300,000
NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory is asking the American space industry to provide commercial services for missions to Mars. The request is called Exploring Mars Together: Commercial Services Studies and calls on industry to submit proposals to NASA for one of four private missions to the Red Planet.
«The goal of the Mars exploration plan for the next two decades — conduct frequent and lower-cost missions to satisfy scientific interests. To achieve this goal, government and the space industry must collaborate using current and emerging programs, as well as commercial services, to significantly reduce the overall cost and accelerate deep space exploration», — are given in the request document.
Participants will be paid a reward of $200,000 for completing one of the specified missions or $300,000 for two missions. NASA describes four “mission design targets” for which companies can apply. These milestones include delivery and deployment of small payloads up to 20 kg, delivery and deployment of large payloads up to 1250 kg, provision of electro-optical services for two years, and relay services for objects on the surface of Mars and in orbit for four years.
This approach not only reduces the costs of Mars exploration, but also stimulates the commercial space industry. Missions to Mars require unique technical solutions, and NASA's request provides an opportunity for new participants to take on the challenges and come up with innovative solutions.
NASA continues to develop its commercial operating model, this time applying it to the exploration of Mars. In the context of this approach, bids from commercial companies are significant, although small amounts of money are currently being discussed.
An important factor for the commercial exploration of Mars is SpaceX's Starship rocket, which is specifically designed to deliver astronauts to this planet. However, NASA is exploring collaboration opportunities with a wide range of potential participants. Opening up the possibility of delivering cargo weighing only 20 kg allows us to attract more suppliers, and image broadcasting services may be of interest to companies engaged in similar tasks in low Earth orbit.
Scientific expert Tanya Harrison of the Institute for Earth and Planet Studies in Canada noted: «It will be interesting to see whether this application will attract many new participants or whether its low commercial value will force established players to join» .
This way, NASA will be able to test the activity of commercial partners on Mars missions and perhaps find replacements for the aging fleet. For example, the agency's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, which has been on Mars since 2006, performs multifunctional tasks, including high-resolution imaging. NASA plans to see if commercial offerings can replace some of these features. However, at the moment the agency is not looking for a commercial force to send vehicles to the surface of Mars — this is too ambitious a goal at this time and would limit the number of potential participants to a few companies such as SpaceX and Lockheed Martin.