Bethesda-based Lockheed Martin has delivered to NASA the spacecraft that will next explore the surface of Mars.
The Phoenix Mars Lander, deliveredto Kennedy Space Center on Tuesday, is part of a $415 million contract that includes research and construction of a rocket to take the lander to Mars. A team of scientists from the University of Arizona, Tucson are in charge of the mission.
The Phoenix is expected to undergo three months at Kennedy. It will then be integrated into a Delta II launch vehicle sometime in August.
The spacecraft is expected to arrive on the surface of Mars next May. After landing on an arctic plain in northern polar region of the red planet, the lander will spend 90 days taking samples of the planet’s icy surface. It will use on-board instruments to analyze the samples to determine if conditions are favorable to life.
“We’ve worked closely with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the University of Arizona to design and build an amazing spacecraft,” said Jim Crocker, a vice president at Lockheed. “The Phoenix mission is thrilling as it will be the first spacecraft to land in the polar regions of Mars and will also be the first to touch water.”
The project was originally known as the 2001 Mars Surveyor Lander, but the project was canceled. It was resurrected in 2006 and became known as the Phoenix mission.
“It’s taken a great deal of dedication and hard work to bring us to this moment,” said Ed Sedivy, Lockheed’s Phoenix program manager. “I’m proud that we have been able to get a well-tested Phoenix to the launch site ahead of schedule and maintain focus on ensuring mission success for our customer.”
Winning the Phoenix contract in 2004 was a step towards the domination of the American space exploration industry by Lockheed, experts told The Examiner last year. In 2006 the company was awarded a multibillion dollar contract to take man back to the moon and lead the first manned mission to Mars.
