Launch of the next Mars Scout mission will be delayed by two years to 2013 due to an undisclosed conflict of interest with one of two finalists, Doug McCuistion, NASA’s Mars Exploration program director, said in a Dec. 21 teleconference with reporters.
Upon discovering the conflict, the evaluation panel was disbanded, and an entirely new panel has been formed, McCuistion said. New proposals for the next Mars Scout mission will be due in August, and the selection will occur in December 2008, he said
December 21st, 2007
Conflict Delays NASA’s Mars Scout Launch to 2013
November 17th, 2004
Multiple Mars UAV Proposals Likely In Next Scout Competition Aerospace Daily & Defense Report
Several competing unmanned aerial vehicle missions are likely to be proposed for flight on Mars in NASA’s next Scout competition, according to Andy Gonzales, program manager for NASA Ames Research Center’s MATADOR project. Set to begin in roughly a year, the next Mars Scout competition will select one or more missions for launch to Mars in 2011. If upcoming flight-tests of MATADOR (Mars Advanced Technology Airplane for Deployment, Operations, and Recovery) are successful, the team may propose a mission, according to Gonzales. “We’re hopeful that the [Mars] airplane’s time has finally come.”
September 3rd, 2003
Candidates for exploring Mars Machine Design
NASA plans on launching its first Mars Scout mission in 2007 at a cost capped at $325 million. But what that mission will actually be is still unknown. It’s up to a jury of experts to choose from among four mission concepts: Phoenix, Marvel, Ares, and Scim. May the best concept win.
June 9th, 2003
Canadians in bid for Mars launch Fort Frances Times
While stormy weather forced NASA to postpone yesterday
March 27th, 2003
MDA Team Selected for 2007 Mars Scout Study Canada NewsWire
MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Ltd. (TSX: MDA) announced today that the company’s subsidiary, MD Robotics has been awarded a $150,000 study contract by the Canadian Space Agency for the Canadian contribution to a U.S.-led Phoenix Mars Scout mission. During this mission definition study, MD Robotics will work with Toronto- based Optech and with members of the Canadian scientific community to carry out engineering studies and conceptual design for potential Canadian elements of the mission. The elements include a laser-based scientific instrument to conduct atmospheric studies on the planet, as well as a laser sensor that will ensure a safe and accurate spacecraft landing on Mars.
January 14th, 2003
NASA recruits robotics, sensors for Mars Scout mission EE Times
NASA has moved up the deadline for submission of the “final four” proposals for its planned Mars Scout mission. The four finalists are now expected to submit their designs for remote exploration systems, blending advanced robotics with lab-on-chip technology, by May 15 instead of July. The finalists have each been given an extra $100,000, on top of the $500,000 already promised, to get their designs and feasibility studies in to the agency by the new deadline. NASA has set aside $325 million to build the winning system for a Scout mission to Mars in 2007.
December 13th, 2002
Next in Line for Mars Astronomy.com
In five years, a new class of spacecraft will be heading to the Red Planet. This week, NASA announced the four finalists that will compete for the opportunity to be the first “Mars Scout.” Of the 25 proposals submitted in August, NASA selected these four because of their innovative scientific goals and cost effectiveness. Each mission is designed to answer many unknown questions about the planet’s chemical composition and biological activity. A full-scale model of the ARES Mars airplane NASA / LARC The four finalists are: ARES, Aerial Regional-scale Environmental Survey; Marvel, Mars Volcanic Emission and Life Scout; Phoenix; and SCIM, Sample Collection for Investigation of Mars.
December 11th, 2002
Meet the Four Finalists in NASA’s Search for the Mars Scout Mission
A Mars airplane soaring over wild and windy terrain. An orbiter scanning for evidence of Martian microbes. A lander to probe for water deposits on the red planet, and a novel way to scoop up Mars samples for return to Earth. For its 2007 Mars Scout program last week NASA selected four innovative candidate missions for further investigation. Each of the proposed spacecraft missions is capable of returning a treasure trove of impressive science data. NASA’s Mars exploration program has taken a bold step to help unravel the enigmatic planet’s past and present – including its potential as a distant abode for life.
December 10th, 2002
Aurora Chosen for NASA Mars Scout Mission Study
Aurora Flight Sciences Corporation announced today that it is a member of the Aerial Regional-Scale Environmental Survey (ARES) team, whose proposal is one of four selected for Phase II of NASA’s Mars Scout mission. Aurora is the airframe provider for the ARES team, which is led by the NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. The ARES mission will use a small robotic aircraft to provide the first direct measurements of the near-surface chemistry of the Martian atmosphere. These measurements will yield information critical to helping scientists understand the evolution, climate, and potential for life on Mars.
December 6th, 2002
NASA selects four Mars Scout mission concepts for study
In the first step of a two-step process, NASA selected four proposals for detailed study as candidates for the 2007 “Scout” mission in the agency’s Mars Exploration Program.