UC Irvine today announced that a researcher within The Henry Samueli School of Engineering has been awarded a contract with NASA, through the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) to develop guidance algorithms aimed at pinpointing future Mars landers within 100 meters of the desired site. The total contract value is $679,000. Kenneth Mease, a professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering, is the principal investigator for the three year project, a collaborative effort involving his research group and researchers at JPL.