[ad_1]
WASHINGTON – NASA and three international partners have signed a cooperation agreement on a proposed mission to search for ice deposits beneath the surface of Mars, the precursor to human missions there.
In a February 3 statement, NASA said it has signed a “declaration of intent” with the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and the Italian space agency ASI regarding the ‘International Mars Ice Mapper. Under this agreement, the agencies will consider mission concepts and potential roles and responsibilities.
NASA introduced the concept of mission in its budget proposal for fiscal year 2021 a year ago. The spacecraft would be launched as early as 2026 and go into orbit around Mars, using radar to search for deposits of ice beneath the Martian surface that could be studied by future missions to the Martian surface, including human missions.
In its statement, NASA did not reveal the potential roles of international partners in the mission. However, in previous advisory committee meetings, agency officials said ASC will provide the radar instrument, JAXA the spacecraft bus, and ASI the spacecraft communication subsystem. NASA would be responsible for the overall management of the mission and the launch of the spacecraft.
“This innovative partnership model for Mars Ice Mapper combines our global experience and enables cost sharing at all levels to make this mission more achievable for all interested parties,” Jim Watzin, NASA senior advisor responsible for planning the mission to Mars and former director of the agency. Mars exploration program, said in the statement.
NASA has not established an official cost estimate for its part of the mission, but Watzin, speaking at a November meeting of a committee supporting the ongoing 10-year planetary science survey, said said the agency had estimated its share of the mission would cost $ 185 million.
At this meeting, Watzin said the Mars Ice Mapper is an essential part of long-term planning for human missions to Mars, identifying places where water ice can exist within 5-10 meters of the surface. and therefore be accessible by crewed expeditions. “The Mars Ice Mapper mission was identified as an essential precursor mission needed to get this critical information so that we can decide where to go for the first human mission, and also how to prepare for that mission,” he said.
The mission faced some skepticism from Mars scientists, who question the prioritization of an ice-mapping mission over other science goals. Watzin said at this November meeting that Mars Ice Mapper is a “precursor exploration mission” that also has scientific advantages, comparing it to the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter mission initially launched to support the Lunar Constellation exploration effort. , but which is now part of NASA’s planetary science program.
In its announcement of the statement of intent, NASA said the partners will “explore carpooling opportunities for missions” in the next phase of the Mars Ice Mapper study. “All scientific data from the mission would be made available to the international scientific community for planetary science and Mars reconnaissance.”
“Mapping near-surface water ice would reveal a still hidden part of the Martian hydrosphere and the stratification above, which may help uncover the history of environmental change on Mars and allow us to respond to fundamental questions about whether Mars was ever home to microbial life or could still be today, ”Eric Ianson, director of the Mars exploration program, said in the statement.
At a Jan. 27 meeting of the Mars Exploration Program Analysis Group, Ianson said that in addition to the statement of intent, NASA was preparing for a “pre-acquisition strategy meeting.” in a close future. This meeting will decide on a primary focus for the Mars Ice Mapper mission and other matters before officially starting mission development.
Watzin, speaking at the same meeting, expected that a formal memorandum of understanding between the agencies participating in the mission would be ready in late spring or early summer. “This will bring the mission team together and then we can seriously begin to move forward in implementing this,” he said.
NASA’s statement of intent announcement included an illustration of Mars Ice Mapper communicating with three spacecraft in Martian orbit, acting as communication relays to Earth. The announcement did not address these relays, but agency officials have previously discussed developing a satellite communications network on Mars, possibly through public-private partnerships, to support Mars Ice. Map.
[ad_2]
Source link