Lockheed Martin has won contract from NASA for their Mars Ascent Vehicle (MAV)

[Huxter]

https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2022/06/lockheed-martin-mars-sample-return/
Pretty Cool looking MAV!



The article does not say how the Perseverance samples will be placed in the MAV tho?

 

[cls]

I know there's not enough atmosphere on Mars that fins would work, but gosh there oughttabe a law or something, new cool rocket designs gotta have fins, for the benefit of the modelling community!

 

[kuririn]

The article does not say how the Perseverance samples will be placed in the MAV tho?

See Scott Manley's video for the process:

Short answer, there will be two landers, one with the MAV and one with a "fetch" rover. The MAV lies horizontally and will be covered. The fetch rover retrieves the cached sample that Percy left on the surface and places it into the MAV. The MAV is ejected into the air (via a spring mechanism) and when the orientation is correct the motor fires and places the sample into orbit where it will rendezvous with the return craft.
Extremely complex mission. Hope they pull it off.

 

[kuririn]

Well, I guess this design is now obsolete:

Heh.

 

[rharshberger]

And the new version looks even more like a flying phallus....

 

[Bill S]

It'll cost $500 billion, no bid contract, and it'll never actually fly.

 

[RocketPro]

It'll cost $500 billion, no bid contract, and it'll never actually fly.

Nope…<$200M, multiple contractors bid at various times, and it will fly twice…once to Mars as a passenger, and once back into Mars orbit.

This program is nothing like the manned program in scale and scope so there’s a much higher confidence that it will occur reasonably on schedule (for something that’s never been done before).

 

[cls]

ost $500 billion, no bid contract, and it'll never actually fly.

The contractor is Lockheed, not Boeing. So it has a much better chance of working.

 

[rharshberger]

Nope…<$200M, multiple contractors bid at various times, and it will fly twice…once to Mars as a passenger, and once back into Mars orbit.

This program is nothing like the manned program in scale and scope so there’s a much higher confidence that it will occur reasonably on schedule (for something that’s never been done before).

Will still end up costing $500M+, its a government project. "An Elephant is a mouse built to government specifications", one of my fathers favorite quotes, he spent 37 years with GSA, the entire time talking about just how much money a government project can waste. Name a NASA space project that has come in UNDER or even AT budget AND on schedule ?
I can wait 30 or so years so no rush.

 

[RocketPro]

Will still end up costing $500M+, its a government project. "An Elephant is a mouse built to government specifications", one of my fathers favorite quotes, he spent 37 years with GSA, the entire time talking about just how much money a government project can waste. Name a NASA space project that has come in UNDER or even AT budget AND on schedule ?
I can wait 30 or so years so no rush.

On Budget: DART; OSAM-1; PACE; Roman; SEP; SPHEREx; and SWOT
Under Budget: Landsat 9; Psyche; Europa Clipper; Lucy
Source: https://www.gao.gov/assets/gao-21-306.pdf, p. 13

I’m not saying that there aren’t issues with costs on NASA missions, however, there are a LOT of missions that are completed on time and on budget, even with a Pandemic going on.

Disclaimer…I am the Manager of one of those “On Budget” missions, so I have an insider’s view and associated biases.

 

[Funkworks]

Pretty Cool looking MAV!

View attachment 521690

I don't care what anyone says, that would make a geat looking camping thermos and/or sports hydration flask.

Not even one of these looks like a rocket.

https://keepithot.co/best-hiking-camping-thermos