Mars Scout 2013

Mars Scout 2013 is a space probe mission planned by NASA as the second mission of the Mars Scout Program. On January 8, 2007 two mission proposals were selected as finalists. Revised proposals will be due in August 2008, and the evaluation and selection will take place in December 2008.

NASA announced on December 21, 2007 that launch of the spacecraft, originally planned for 2011, had been changed because of an organizational conflict of interest. Launch is currently scheduled for 2013. While this mission was originally supposed to be a "double" in which two scientific units were sent, NASA is currently only planning to fund one mission. [http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2007/dec/HQ_07283_Mars_Scout_Missions.html]

On September 15, 2008, NASA announced that it had selected MAVEN as the Mars Scout 2013 mission.

Finalists

On January 8, 2007, NASA announced the two finalists: [http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2007/jan/HQ_07003_Mars_missions.html]

; MAVEN: Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution. Multiple lines of evidence suggest that Mars lost most of its atmosphere billions of years ago. The MAVEN orbiter would study the current rate of atmospheric loss with an emphasis on the role of the solar wind, whose rapidly moving ions and magnetic field may be responsible for Mars' current condition.

; Great Escape : An upper-atmosphere orbiter intended to study the evolution of the Martian atmosphere. [http://www.swri.org/3pubs/ird2004/Synopses/159366.htm]

Due to the subsequent conflict of interest in the bidding process, these finalist may change after the evaluation and selection phase in December 2008.

Other candidates

; Artemis: This mission would launch up to four saucer-shaped landers, two feet (0.61m) in diameter, from a "mother ship" orbiting Mars. Each would parachute onto the surface, analyzing the soil and atmosphere. Two of the four landers would be targeted at the polar regions.

; Ares: This mission plans to send an unmanned plane into the Martian atmosphere to observe the planet. [ [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmZiOKjYMyI ARES Mars Aircraft] youtube.com video of model and test flight]

; Chronos: This mission would consist of a probe designed to melt through a polar ice cap using heated jets. It would travel up to 100 yards (91m) below the surface, analyzing the melted water to determine the climatic history of Mars. [ [http://planetary.chem.tufts.edu/chronos.html CHRONOS - A Journey Through Martian History] ]

; KittyHawk: This mission would create three or four winged gliders with approximately six-foot (1.83m) wingspans and would explore the Valles Marineris canyon system. The gliders would carry infrared spectrometers and cameras.

; MOO: Using a spectrometer on the Mars Express Orbiter, methane was discovered in the Martian atmosphere. The reason for this is a mystery as a typical methane molecule can only survive for about 100 years before being destroyed by UV light, so there must be an active source of methane somewhere beneath Mars' surface. The Mars Organics Observer would use an orbiter to characterize the Martian methane: where it's being emitted, how much is being emitted, and how often it's being emitted.

; The Naiades: Named for nymphs of springs, lakes, and rivers from Greek mythology, this mission would send two landers to a region which likely holds groundwater. The landers would search for the groundwater using low-frequency electromagnetics and other instruments.

; SCIM: A sample return mission that would briefly dip into the Martian atmosphere to scoop up about 1000 dust grains and a few liters of air without slowing from escape velocity.

; THOR: Similar to NASA's Deep Impact, this mission would slam two copper spheres into Mars' surface to create craters in a region known to have water ice, and maybe liquid water, a few meters under the surface. An accompanying orbiter would analyze the craters from orbit.

; Urey: This mission calls for a lander/rover pair designed to analyze the ages of rocks. It would be targeted for the Cerberus Highlands region, and would look for specific minerals to help scientists compare the cratering of Mars with that of the Moon.

This mission is budgeted (as of January 2007) for no more than US$475 million, however with the recent delay it is expect that this cost will change. [ [http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2007-002 JPL.NASA.GOV: News Releases ] ]

References

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