The Mars Scout Program is a NASA program to send a series of small, low-cost missions to Mars, competitively selected from innovative proposals by the scientific community.
First Scout mission
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The first robotic spacecraft in this program was Phoenix, a lander originally intended for the canceled Mars Surveyor mission. Phoenix was launched on August 4, 2007, and landed in the icy northern polar region of the planet on May 25, 2008. Phoenix was designed to search for environments suitable for microbial life on Mars, and to research the history of water there. The mission was declared concluded on November 10, 2008, after engineers were unable to contact the craft. The lander last made a brief communication with Earth on November 2.
Second Scout mission
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Originally planned for launch in 2011, the second scout mission is now targeted for launch in 2013 due to an organizational conflict of interest that was discovered in one of the mission proposal team's Phase A Concept Study. On September 15, 2008 NASA announced that it had selected MAVEN to be the Mars Scout 2013 mission.1
Finalists
On January 8, 2007, NASA announced the two finalists:2
| Mission Name |
Description |
| Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) |
Multiple lines of evidence suggest that Mars lost most of its atmosphere billions of years ago. The MAVEN orbiter would study the current rate of atmospheric loss with an emphasis on the role of the solar wind, whose rapidly moving ions and magnetic field may be responsible for Mars' current condition. |
| Great Escape |
The mission would have directly determined 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 have been measured. The principal investigator is Dr. Alan Stern, Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, Colorado. Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, will provide project management.3 |
Other candidates
| Mission Name |
Description |
| Artemis |
This mission would launch up to four saucer-shaped landers, two feet (0.61m) in diameter, from a "mother ship" orbiting Mars. Each would parachute onto the surface, analyzing the soil and atmosphere. Two of the four landers would be targeted at the polar regions. |
| Ares |
This mission plans to send an unmanned plane into the Martian atmosphere to observe the planet.4 |
| Chronos |
This mission would consist of a probe designed to melt through a polar ice cap using heated jets. It would travel up to 100 yards (91m) below the surface, analyzing the melted water to determine the climatic history of Mars.5 |
| KittyHawk |
This mission would create three or four winged gliders with approximately six-foot (1.83m) wingspans and would explore the Valles Marineris canyon system. The gliders would carry infrared spectrometers and cameras. |
| MOO |
Using a spectrometer on the Mars Express Orbiter, methane was discovered in the Martian atmosphere. The reason for this is a mystery as a typical methane molecule can only survive for about 100 years before being destroyed by UV light, so there must be an active source of methane somewhere beneath Mars' surface. The Mars Organics Observer would use an orbiter to characterize the Martian methane: where it's being emitted, how much is being emitted, and how often it's being emitted. |
| The Naiades |
Named for nymphs of springs, lakes, and rivers from Greek mythology, this mission would send two landers to a region which likely holds groundwater. The landers would search for the groundwater using low-frequency electromagnetics and other instruments. |
| SCIM |
A sample return mission that would briefly dip into the Martian atmosphere to scoop up about 1000 dust grains and a few liters of air without slowing from escape velocity. |
| THOR |
Similar to NASA's Deep Impact, this mission would slam two copper spheres into Mars' surface to create craters in a region known to have water ice, and maybe liquid water, a few meters under the surface. An accompanying orbiter would analyze the craters from orbit. |
| Urey |
This mission calls for a lander/rover pair designed to analyze the ages of rocks. It would be targeted for the Cerberus Highlands region, and would look for specific minerals to help scientists compare the cratering of Mars with that of the Moon. |
Third Scout mission
This third installment of the Mars Scout Missions is tentatively scheduled for 2018.
References
See also
External links
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