JAKARTA – Last April, NASA opened the possibility for companies that want to develop the concept of Marine Sample Removal (MSR). All interested companies must submit a concept proposal. After receiving proposals from various companies, NASA finally chose seven concepts on June 7. The selected companies are Aerojet Rocketdyne, Blue Origin, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Quantum Space, SpaceX and Whittinghill Aerospace. Based on Spacenews reporting, seven private companies are expected to develop alternative concepts to the MSR program over 90 days. The prizes awarded to each company amount to 1.5 million US dollars (24 billion IDR). NASA has not released details of all of the selected proposals. However, Aerojet Rocketdyne, Northrop Grumman, and Whittinghill Aerospace are known to be focusing on the Mars Ascent Vehicle (MAV), a rocket-carrying rocket.
In addition to supporting conceptual studies from seven companies, NASA also supports studies conducted by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the Applied Physics Laboratory and other groups. These various studies have the same work schedule as the industrial studies. Surveys of NASA companies and facilities will begin in mid-July. After working for 90 days, NASA will review the studies that have been done, both with the company and the facilities of its institutions.
Tag: nasa mars technology
