[meteorite-list] Orlando Figueroa: NASA's Mars Czar Gives a Status Report on Red Planet Plans

From: Ron Baalke <baalke_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Apr 22 10:00:12 2004
Message-ID: <200207301629.JAA19718_at_zagami.jpl.nasa.gov>

http://www.space.com/news/mars_czar_020730.html

Orlando Figueroa: NASA's Mars Czar Gives a Status Report on Red Planet Plans
By Leonard David
space.com
30 July 2002

NASA is shaping plans for the next decade to dot Mars with highly capable
robotic craft, including a probe that rockets back to Earth samples of
Martian terrain.

Recent exploratory talks between NASA and Russian scientists may also lead
to joint experiments using Mars penetrators and other devices to expand
exploration of the red planet.

Space agency Mars planners, however, currently face a cloudy financial
picture beyond 2009. But building on the output of data gleaned by
spacecraft already at Mars will demand fresh funds.

In an exclusive SPACE.com interview, NASA's "Mars Czar", Orlando Figueroa,
Director of the Mars Exploration Office at NASA Headquarters in Washington,
D.C., discussed the challenges ahead.

Scooping up samples

For decades, NASA's wish list of Mars robotic probes included picking up
Martian samples and lobbing the precious cargo back to Earth for detailed
study. For decades, pulling off such a mission has come with an astronomical
asking price - in the billion dollars plus range. That pushes it into the
flagship mission category.

"It's a very complex and difficult mission, with a price tag to go along
with it," Figueroa said. In essence, the mission is three missions in one,
he said, and requires a complex set of technologies.

Now being studied is a "simplified" Mars return sample mission, focused on
the minimum requirements to bring a sample back to Earth. "We don't want to
load an already complex mission with other complexities," Figueroa said.

Grab bag or selected specimens?

A Mars return sample would not be a one-shot affair.

Space science advisory groups have told NASA that multiple sites must be
visited. From three to ten sites should be targeted is one recommendation.

"I happen to think that the upper-end of that is out of the question. Even
three would be very difficult to do, unless we go one decade at a time,"
Figueroa noted.

Another issue is a "grab" sample from Mars versus a carefully selected
specimen. Some scientists say any bits and pieces from Mars will do. Others
contend great care should be taken in picking the best of the best.

"On the first mission, to make it affordable within the guidelines I'm
working to, we need to stick to gathering samples from the vicinity of where
you land. That's opposed to using a sophisticated rover to do sample
selection - looking for and carefully selecting samples to bring back to a
lander. Mobility is a huge issue that adds a significant amount of cost. The
first mission tends to be 'simpler'," Figueroa explained.

Practice run on the Moon

A recent National Research Council (NRC) report has advocated that NASA
carry out a lunar return sample effort. That probe would touch down within
the Aitkin Basin at the Moon's South Pole.

While good for science, the NRC report stressed that lunar sample
acquisition, handling, and return technologies would also help on the
comparable Mars sample project.

"Some of the technologies required, not only for sample return but also for
our Smart Mars Lander in 2009, would be applicable to such a [lunar]
mission. Having said that, I am not sure I'm ready to jump - that the [lunar]
mission in itself would be a good technology demonstration. I haven't begun
to explore that," Figueroa said.

U.S.-Russian collaboration

Russian involvement in NASA's future Mars plans are on the table, Figueroa
said. He recently traveled to Russia, a follow up to talks held last summer.

"We're working with their scientists to see if we can reach a better
commonality in our strategic plans," Figueroa said. While NASA's
step-by-step Mars effort is largely scripted, "it was our perception this
isn't quite the case on the Russian side," he added.

Russian space scientists are hungry to carry out a sample return mission
from Phobos - one of two Martian moons. "Frankly, that's not a high priority
for the U.S. science community," Figueroa said.

Now being eyed are specially built Russian Mars surface penetrators. This
gear would punch into the Martian surface at high velocity. The equipment
could be upgraded and outfitted with both U.S. and Russian science
experiments, Figueroa said. Another item is flying a next-generation neutron
spectrometer to Mars, a sensor that would actually be carried to the Martian
surface. Working close to Mars topside, the apparatus would survey for
strong signals of water, he said.

"Those are a couple of examples that both U.S. and Russian scientists have a
great interest in - but how we plug them into longer-term collaboration, it's
still a little bit early to tell," Figueroa said.

Scouting season

NASA is set to receive on August 1 proposals for the Scout program - a hoped
for series of low-cost, focused Mars spacecraft. The first Scout mission to
fly is targeted for 2007. NASA's hope is to establish a long-running Scout
program. These novel research craft can pepper Mars on a regular basis well
into next decade.

Scout-class probes can address the recent discovery that Mars appears loaded
with subsurface water ice.

"I'm sure there are some investigators out there who want to target those
[water ice] sites for investigation," Figueroa said.

Scout probes that better characterize the water ice on Mars, Figueroa added,
might become a high priority, although the program is a fully open and
competed process. All sorts of craft, from Mars gliders to subsurface probes
are conceivable candidate missions.

Onward to 2009, but then what?

Next year, NASA's twin Mars Exploration Rovers are to head for the red
planet. Teams at Jet Propulsion Laboratory are in full swing, readying the
two rovers for liftoff in 2003.

Also underway is the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. This 2005 spacecraft will
zoom lens Mars, yielding high-resolution images of select terrain.

A major effort has begun to develop a Mars Smart Lander for a 2009 sendoff.

"There's been a tendency to just view the Mars Smart Lander as a technology
demonstration. Indeed, it requires many of the technologies needed for
sample return. But in truth, this mission is an incredibly powerful
scientific mission in its own right," Figueroa said.

Looking beyond the Mars horizon of 2009, NASA falls into a "to be
determined" dream state.

Humans on Mars - safety first

The White House budget masters have removed all monies for Mars planning
beyond the Mars Smart Lander project.

"Now it's a matter of arguing for reestablishing that wedge," Figueroa said.
Scripting a credible and affordable next decade of Mars exploration is
underway, he said.

When will humans plant their feet on Martian sands? Figueroa said that
technology and human safety issues must first be tackled.

"Before we embark on human exploration - there are scientific questions as to
the safety of crews on the surface. We need to know more about the
properties of the dust and the Mars environment. Within the present robotic
program we can probably accommodate those scientific questions," Figueroa
said.

"As for the other technologies that lead you into a serious human
exploration mission, we are only starting to address those. I wouldn't even
guess when we would start on those," Figueroa said.
Received on Tue 30 Jul 2002 12:29:10 PM PDT