The Planetary Society Blog
By Emily Lakdawalla
Mars Scout selections have been made
Jan. 8, 2007 | 15:16 PST | 23:16 UTC
Today NASA announced the selection of two proposed mission concepts for the next Mars Scout launch opportunity. One of these will become the second Mars Scout mission, after Phoenix, which launches this year. Like the Discovery selections that were announced last October, this announcement does not guarantee a mission, but instead frees up money ($2 million, to be exact) for a nine-month study of each two mission concepts. The most likely outcome of the further study is that one of the two mission concepts will be selected late next year to be developed for launch in 2011 at a cost cap of $475 million.
The two proposed concepts selected for further study are: - Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution mission, or MAVEN: The mission would provide first-of-its-kind measurements and address key questions about Mars climate and habitability and improve understanding of dynamic processes in the upper Martian atmosphere and ionosphere. The principal investigator is Bruce Jakosky, University of Colorado, Boulder. NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md., will provide project management.
- The Great Escape mission: The mission would directly determine the basic processes in Martian atmospheric evolution by measuring the structure and dynamics of the upper atmosphere. In addition, potentially biogenic atmospheric constituents such as methane would be measured. The principal investigator is Alan Stern, Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, Colorado. Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, will provide project management.
It's interesting that the first Scout mission will be a lander, focused primarily on the ground, while the second will study the upper atmosphere of Mars. In fact, though, both Phoenix and MAVEN or Great Escape have Mars' climate as their central scientific theme. NASA's Mars program appears to have climate change on their collective mind.
The Scout announcement was accompanied by the announcement of the selection of two proposals for technology development studies for instruments that NASA could provide to ESA's ExoMars rover, currently planned for a 2011 launch. Again, the money is just for development studies, not for actual development; presumably formal decisions whether or not to construct either depends on the outcome of the studies as well as ESA's review. The two technology development studies are:- Urey Mars Organic and Oxidant Detector: The Urey instrument would investigate organics and oxidant materials on Mars using three complementary detection systems. The principal investigator is Jeffrey Bada, University of California at San Diego.
- Mars Organic Molecule Analyzer, or MOMA: The instrument would investigate organic molecular signatures and the environment in which they exist using a mass spectrometer and gas chromatograph. The principal investigator is Luann Becker, University of California at Santa Barbara.
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