Northrop Grumman Corporation has been selected by NASA to provide solid propulsion systems and controls for NASA's Mars Ascent Vehicle (MAV). The MAV will launch to Mars in 2026 along with a "fetch" rover that will collect soil and rock samples prepared by NASA's Perseverance rover, which launched in July 2020 and landed on Mars on February 18.
“We are committed to helping build the rockets that will orbit the samples collected by Perseverance so they can be returned to Earth,” said Rebecca Torzone, vice president of missile products for Northrop Grumman. "We play a vital role with NASA, as we have for decades, providing key propulsion and control subsystems in of human spaceflight and robotic exploration missions."
Northrop Grumman will supply its first and second stage STAR™ high-performance solid rocket engines, first stage thrust vector control system, and second stage rotary rockets for the MAV. Once the MAV and search rover reach the surface of the Red Planet, the search rover will spend approximately 18 months collecting samples and transferring collection tubes to the MAV for storage. Upon completion of the mission, the MAV will be launched back into Mars orbit to rendezvous with the Earth Return Orbiter. The performance of the Northrop Grumman control and propulsion system is critical to achieving a precise rendezvous orbit.
Similar to the strides scientists have made in studying samples from the Moon for decades, current and future NASA scientists will study the samples returned from Mars to learn more about the composition of the Red Planet. The general campaign also s efforts to one day send humans to Mars. Work under the contract will be performed in Elkton, Maryland, and San Jose, California.
Historically, Northrop Grumman has also supplied mission critical components on all past Mars Rovers missions. The Perseverance Rover utilizes the LN-200S Inertial Measurement Unit, which provides attitude and acceleration information for guidance, as well as pressurizer tanks for the Rover's de-dusting tool and propellant tanks for the Rover's controlled descent element. Rover.
Source: Northrop Grumman
