Mars Exploration

CHALLENGE

Mars Exploration

$1 MILLION (Prize amount to be confirmed. Announcement expected for next year)

The planet Mars is being explored remotely by spacecraft. Probes sent from Earth, beginning in the late 20th century, have yielded a large increase in knowledge about the Martian system, focused primarily on understanding its geology and habitability potential.

Engineering interplanetary journeys is complicated and the exploration of Mars has experienced a high failure rate, especially the early attempts. Roughly sixty percent of all spacecraft destined for Mars failed before completing their missions and some failed before their observations could begin. Some missions have met with unexpected success, such as the twin Mars Exploration Rovers, Spirit and Opportunity which operated for years beyond their specification.

Several missions are underway to keep exploring planet mars in preparation of manned missions, such as a sample return mission and others.

MARS EXPLORATION

The solution can include:

This competition calls for strategies, concepts, plans to explore planet Mars with existing and new technologies that could accelerate its knowledge and support future manned missions . Other type of devices than rovers can be considered, from balloons to airships (specific due to extremely low pressure of mars atmosphere) or probes.

The goal is to know the planet before the beginning of the human era to prepare plans and strategies for its development.

Proposal:

This is a single phase proposals.
They must be in writing, not over 40 pages including images, charts and diagrams.