The Latest Update on the Mars Sample Return Campaign...

Rocket Lab

Rocket Lab Awarded NASA Study Contract to Explore Bringing Rock Samples from Mars to Earth for the First Time (Press Release - October 7)

The study proposes using Rocket Lab’s vertically-integrated technologies to retrieve samples from the Red Planet for the first time in history as part of NASA’s Mars Sample Return Program.

Long Beach, California. Rocket Lab USA, Inc. (Nasdaq: RKLB) (“Rocket Lab” or “the Company”), a global leader in launch services and space systems, today announced that the Company has been selected by NASA to complete a study for retrieving rock samples from the Martian surface and bringing them to Earth for the first time. The mission would fulfill some of the highest priority Solar System exploration goals for the science community – to revolutionize humanity’s understanding of Mars, potentially answer whether life ever existed on the Martian surface, and help prepare for the first human explorers to the Red Planet.

NASA’s Rapid Mission Design Studies for Mars Sample Return solicits industry proposals to carry out rapid studies of mission designs and mission elements capable of delivering samples collected by the Mars Perseverance rover from the surface of Mars to Earth. The results of this study will inform a potential update to NASA’s Mars Sample Return Program and may result in future procurements with industry. Rocket Lab’s study will explore a simplified, end-to-end mission concept that would be delivered for a fraction of the current projected program cost and completed several years earlier than the current expected sample return date in 2040.

“Retrieving samples from Mars is one of the most ambitious and scientifically important endeavors humanity has ever embarked upon. We’ve developed an innovative mission concept to make it happen affordably and on an accelerated schedule,” said Rocket Lab founder and CEO, Sir Peter Beck. “Rocket Lab has been methodically implementing a strategy for cost-effective planetary science in recent years, making us uniquely suited to deliver a low-cost, rapid Mars Sample Return. We’ve demonstrated this strategy by delivering a NASA mission to the Moon, enabling rendezvous and proximity operations in orbit, successfully re-entering a capsule from orbit to Earth, delivering two spacecraft to NASA for a Mars mission, and much more. We look forward to bringing our proven capabilities together to deliver a compelling, innovative mission solution that puts Mars rocks in the hands of scientists sooner.”

Rocket Lab’s proposed mission architecture will be revealed once the study is complete in the coming months.

Source: Rocket Lab

Rocket Lab's First Interplanetary Spacecraft Will Now Head to the Red Planet Next Year...

James Rattray / Rocket Lab USA

NASA Stands Down from October Launch for ESCAPADE to Mars (News Release)

NASA announced Friday that it will not fuel the two ESCAPADE (Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers) spacecraft at this time, foregoing the mission’s upcoming October launch window. While future launch opportunities are under review, the next possible earliest launch date is spring 2025.

The agency’s decision to stand down was based on a review of launch preparations and discussions with Blue Origin, the Federal Aviation Administration, and Space Launch Delta 45 Range Safety Organization, as well as NASA’s Launch Services Program and Science Mission Directorate. The decision was made to avoid significant cost, schedule and technical challenges associated with potentially removing fuel from the spacecraft in the event of a launch delay, which could be caused by a number of factors.

“This mission can help us study the atmosphere at Mars — key information as we explore farther and farther into our Solar System and need to protect astronauts and spacecraft from space weather,” said Nicky Fox, associate administrator for science at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “We’re committed to seeing ESCAPADE safely into space, and I look forward to seeing it off the ground and on its trip to Mars.”

The alignment of Earth and Mars constrains ESCAPADE’s windows of launch opportunities to the Red Planet. This means that small schedule changes can result in months-long delays in launch. The mission team is analyzing larger planetary window opportunities.

NASA and Blue Origin are discussing an additional opportunity to launch the spacecraft to Mars no earlier than spring 2025.

“This is an important mission for NASA, and it’s critical we have sufficient margin in our prelaunch work to ensure we are ready to fly a tight planetary window,” said Bradley Smith, NASA’s Launch Services Office director at NASA Headquarters.

The ESCAPADE mission will use two identical spacecraft to study how the solar wind interacts with Mars’ magnetic environment, driving the planet’s atmospheric escape. The mission falls under NASA’s Heliophysics Division and is part of NASA's Small Innovative Missions for Planetary Exploration program. The mission is led by the University of California, Berkeley’s Space Sciences Laboratory, with key partners Rocket Lab; NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland; Embry Riddle Aeronautical University; and Advanced Space LLC.

NASA’s Launch Services Program, based at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, secured the launch service with Blue Origin under the VADR (Venture-class Acquisition of Dedicated and Rideshare) contract.

Source: NASA.Gov

The ESCAPADE Spacecraft Move One Step Closer to Venturing to the Red Planet Later This Year...

Rocket Lab

Rocket Lab Ships Twin Satellites to Launch Site for NASA Mars Mission (Press Release)

Long Beach, Calif. – Rocket Lab USA, Inc. (Nasdaq: RKLB) (“Rocket Lab” or “the Company”), a global leader in launch services and space systems, has successfully packed and shipped two Mars-bound spacecraft to Cape Canaveral, FL in preparation for launch. These twin spacecraft for the Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers (ESCAPADE) heliophysics mission were designed, built, integrated and tested by Rocket Lab for the University of California Berkeley’s Space Science Laboratory and NASA.

The spacecraft, known as Blue and Gold, recently completed comprehensive assembly, integration and test at Rocket Lab’s Spacecraft Production Complex and headquarters in Long Beach, California. Following this milestone, the Rocket Lab team conducted final closeout activities, including the installation of spacecraft solar arrays and multi-layer insulation (MLI) blankets, before they were packaged and shipped to Florida for launch.

Upon arrival at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) Launch Complex, Rocket Lab team members will transfer the spacecraft to a cleanroom for post-transport inspections and tests. Following thorough checks, the team will commence preparation for fueling the spacecraft in anticipation of their upcoming launch on Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket.

“We’ve already been to the Moon for NASA, so we’re excited to build on that and send Rocket Lab technology deeper into the solar system, this time to the Red Planet,” said Rocket Lab founder and CEO Sir Peter Beck. “Our Space Systems team has built a beautiful and highly-capable pair of spacecraft to help NASA and the University of California Berkeley further humanity’s understanding of Mars. We couldn’t be prouder to be an ESCAPADE mission partner enabling science and exploration missions beyond our planet. After a meticulous but speedy build and test phase, we’re excited to have Blue and Gold on their way to the Cape and a step closer to Mars.”

"The successful delivery of the spacecraft to Kennedy Space Center marks a significant milestone and the culmination of over three years of dedicated teamwork from individuals across the project, especially our partners at Rocket Lab,” said Rob Lillis, ESCAPADE Principal Investigator and Associate Director for Planetary Science at the UC Berkeley Space Sciences Laboratory. “Interplanetary spacecraft must be much more resilient than earth satellites, and developing not one, but two of these probes almost from scratch was no small feat. Time and again, Rocket Lab’s agility and tireless efforts have impressed me, exemplified by their frequent 'hero mode' (a saying we have on the project) to troubleshoot and keep the project on course. We couldn’t ask for better partners in this endeavor. Now, we’re thrilled to embark on this first step of our journey to Mars!"

Once launched, the ESCAPADE mission will measure plasma and magnetic fields around the Red Planet. These observations will help scientists unravel the processes that strip atoms from Mars’ magnetosphere and upper atmosphere, offering critical insights into Martian climate evolution.

Source: Rocket Lab

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Rocket Lab

A Rocket Has Been Chosen for Two Rocket Lab-built Spacecraft Heading to the Red Planet...

Rocket Lab USA / UC Berkeley

NASA Selects Blue Origin to Launch Mars’ Magnetosphere Study Mission (Press Release)

NASA has awarded Blue Origin, LLC of Kent, Washington a task order to provide launch service for the agency’s Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers (ESCAPADE) mission as part of the agency's Venture-Class Acquisition of Dedicated and Rideshare (VADR) launch services contract.

ESCAPADE will launch on Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket from Space Launch Complex-36 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Launch is targeted for late 2024.

Blue Origin is one of 13 companies NASA selected for VADR contracts in 2022. NASA’s Launch Services Program, based at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, manages the VADR contracts.

As part of VADR, the fixed-price indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contracts have a five-year ordering period with a maximum total value of $300 million across all contracts.

ESCAPADE will study Mars’ magnetosphere – the magnetized area of space around the planet – using two identical small spacecraft, which will provide simultaneous two-point observations. The spacecraft will help provide researchers a better understanding of how the magnetosphere interacts with the solar wind, and how energy and plasma enter and leave the magnetosphere.

Each satellite will carry three instruments: a magnetometer for measuring magnetic field, an electrostatic analyzer to measure ions and electrons, and a Langmuir probe for measuring plasma density and solar extreme ultraviolet flux.

It will take ESCAPADE about 11 months to arrive at Mars after leaving Earth’s orbit, where both spacecraft will spend several months adjusting their orbits before they are in position to best capture data about the magnetosphere. Studying different magnetospheres gives scientists a better understanding of space weather, which can protect both astronauts and satellites as they orbit Earth and explore the solar system.

ESCAPADE is part of the NASA Small Innovative Missions for Planetary Exploration program.

Building on NASA's previous procurement efforts to foster development of new launch vehicles for NASA payloads, VADR provides FAA-licensed commercial launch services for payloads that can tolerate higher risk. By using a lower level of mission assurance, and commercial best practices for launching rockets, these highly-flexible contracts help broaden access to space through lower launch costs.

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Blue Origin

Two Photons Might Head to the Red Planet Three Years from Now...

Rocket Lab

Rocket Lab Awarded Subcontract to Design Twin Spacecraft for Mars (Press Release - June 15)

The two Rocket Lab Photon spacecraft for the ESCAPADE mission to Mars are part of NASA’s Small Innovative Missions for Planetary Exploration (SIMPLEx) program

Long Beach, California. Rocket Lab, a global leader in dedicated launch and space systems, has been awarded a subcontract by the University of California Berkeley Space Sciences Laboratory (UCBSSL) to design two Photon spacecraft for a scientific mission to Mars.

The Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers (ESCAPADE) mission, led by Rob Lillis at UCBSSL, is a twin-spacecraft science mission that will orbit two spacecraft around Mars to understand the structure, composition, variability, and dynamics of Mars' unique hybrid magnetosphere. The mission will leverage its unique dual viewpoint on the Mars environment to explore how the solar wind strips atmosphere away from Mars to better understand how its climate has changed over time.

ESCAPADE is being developed under NASA’s Small Innovative Missions for Planetary Exploration (SIMPLEx) program in the Science Mission Directorate (SMD). The mission is led by UCBSSL with spacecraft design provided by Rocket Lab. The two spacecraft are planned for launch in 2024 to Mars ridesharing aboard a NASA-provided commercial launch vehicle.

Following an 11-month interplanetary cruise, the two Photons (named Blue and Gold) will insert themselves into elliptical orbits around Mars and conduct a 1-year primary science mission. ESCAPADE’s Photons will use the flight-proven Curie propulsion system to perform Mars orbit insertion and will be equipped with other subsystems that enable planetary science, including star trackers and reaction wheels for precision pointing from Rocket Lab’s Sinclair Interplanetary team, as well as ranging transceivers for deep space navigation.

Rocket Lab founder and CEO, Peter Beck says: “This is a hugely promising mission that will deliver big science in a small package. Planetary science missions have traditionally costed hundreds of millions of dollars and taken up to a decade to come to fruition. Our Photon spacecraft for ESCAPADE will demonstrate a more cost-effective approach to planetary exploration that will increase the science community’s access to our solar system for the better.”

ESCAPADE is one of three missions selected in 2019 by NASA’s SIMPLEx program to conduct compelling planetary science and provide more opportunities for flight experience to the science community. ESCAPADE will undergo a NASA preliminary design review in June and a confirmation review in July determining whether the mission proceeds to implementation and flight.

Source: Rocket Lab

SpaceX Update: Getting 'Psyched' Up for Another Falcon Heavy Flight!

SpaceX

NASA Awards Launch Services Contract for the Psyche Mission (Press Release)

NASA has selected SpaceX of Hawthorne, California, to provide launch services for the agency’s Psyche mission. The Psyche mission currently is targeted to launch in July 2022 on a Falcon Heavy rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

The total cost for NASA to launch Psyche and the secondary payloads is approximately $117 million, which includes the launch service and other mission related costs.

The Psyche mission will journey to a unique metal-rich asteroid, also named Psyche, which orbits the Sun between Mars and Jupiter. The asteroid is considered unique, as it appears to largely be made of the exposed nickel-iron core of an early planet – one of the building blocks of our solar system.

Deep within rocky, terrestrial planets, including Earth, scientists infer the presence of metallic cores, but these lie unreachably far below the planet’s rocky mantles and crusts. Because we cannot see or measure Earth’s core directly, the mission to Psyche offers a unique window into the violent history of collisions and accretion that created terrestrial planets.

The launch of Psyche will include two secondary payloads: Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers (EscaPADE), which will study the Martian atmosphere, and Janus, which will study binary asteroids.

NASA’s Launch Services Program at Kennedy Space Center in Florida will manage the SpaceX launch service. The mission is led by Arizona State University. NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory is responsible for the mission’s overall management, system engineering, integration, testing and mission operations. Maxar Technologies is providing a high-power solar electric propulsion spacecraft chassis.

Source: NASA.Gov

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NASA / JPL - Caltech