We know the date of landing on Mars
NASA, as part of its Mars sample delivery program, is considering proposals from several key space industry players, including SpaceX and Lockheed Martin. Elon Musk’s company stands out for its particularly ambitious plan to land on the Red Planet.
It was too expensive, NASA is looking for solutions
After criticism about the high costs of the previous program, NASA decided to invite an outside company to the program to deliver samples from Mars. In April, the agency received 48 proposals, and in June it announced the list of finalists, which include: SpaceX, Blue Origin and Lockheed Martin. These three companies have gained special recognition thanks to their cooperation with NASA under the Artemis program. Space X stands out with its exceptionally ambitious landing date on the Red Planet.
SpaceX: We will land on Mars in 2029
SpaceX has proposed using Starship for all stages of the Mars mission. We’re talking about taking off from Earth, traveling through space, landing on Mars and returning to Earth. NASA appreciates the very solid SpaceX team and the support from the NASA research center – Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
Elon Musk plans a demonstration landing for 2029, and his Starship is supposed to transport much larger cargo than competitors’ solutions. Lockheed Martin and Blue Origin plan to use the experience from the Moon landing in their missions, but they are far from ready-made solutions.
Blue Origin, in cooperation with the European Space Agency, estimates that its Earth Return Orbiter (ERO) could return in 2033 carrying 30 samples from Mars. The plan is to use one ascending vehicle to transfer samples to ERO.
