NASA & ESA Begin Development of Revolutionary Rocket to Bring Martian Rock Samples from Mars
NASA and ESA have announced that they are working together to develop a revolutionary new rocket that will bring Martian rock samples back to Earth. The goal of the Mars Sample Return campaign is to collect soil and rock specimens from the red planet and return them to Earth for further study.
Let us tell you, the agencies have planned to launch a rocket from the red planet. A US-based aerospace and weapons manufacturer “Lockheed” Martin has been selected for the rocket’s development.
“The mission to Mars has begun!” NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) informed that the design and construction for a rocket named “Mars Ascent Vehicle” or MAV are already underway.
Angie Jackman is the project manager for the Mars Ascent Vehicle. She has worked in advanced propulsion and engineering projects, state-of-the-art launch vehicle development programs, and complex space science missions for more than 35 years.
Her team includes many different kinds of engineers, like structural, thermal, mechanical, and systems engineers. It also includes technical experts and analysts. All of these people work together to make sure that NASA’s missions are successful.
While giving information about the development of the project, Jackman said “That the process of development went through a lot of design changes in order to reduce the weight of the vehicle, make sure it could be launched automatically, and reach the orbit necessary to meet up with the Earth Return Orbiter and send samples back to Earth.”
The MAV, which is loaded with the samples collected by the Perseverance rover, will be the first-ever rocket to be launched on another planet.
NASA says that the Mars Sample Return mission will help us understand Mars better. The mission would send back samples from the planet to Earth so scientists can study them.
This mission would also help scientists get closer to future human explorations on Mars.