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NASA Awards Mars Science Lab Launch Contract
Washington DC (SPX) Jun 05, 2006 NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida has selected Lockheed Martin Commercial Launch Services Inc. to deliver an Atlas V rocket for the Mars Science Laboratory mission, which aims to land a large rover on the red planet in the fall of 2009. The six-wheeled, Volkswagen-sized rover would explore Mars for a designed mission lifetime of two years, examining sites to identify where the building blocks for life once may have existed. The total MSL launch service price is $194.7 million. That cost includes NASA launch services and mission integration requirements. This is a firm-fixed price contract. The launch services for the mission are being acquired under NASA's existing launch services multiple-award procedures. Principal work for the Atlas V Centaur propellant tank will be performed at LM's San Diego facility in California, while the primary work location for the Atlas V booster propellant tank's production will be done at the company's facility in Waterton, Colo. The MSL is scheduled to launch from Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. The mission is managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., a division of the California Institute of Technology. JPL is responsible for spacecraft design and integration, integration of science instruments, spacecraft system testing, launch operations support, and support of mission operations. Community Email This Article Comment On This Article Related Links - Mars News and Information at MarsDaily.com Lunar Dreams and more
Opportunity Gets Dug Into Loose Soil Again
Pasadena CA (SPX) May 31, 2006Opportunity's wheels dug into loose soil during a drive on sol 833 (May 29, 2006). The drive was planned for about 24 meters (79 feet) but resulted in only 1.5 meters (5 feet) of forward progress. The flight team directed Opportunity on sol 834 to take images for studying the situation and planning a way to drive out of the loose material. |
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