Destination Mars: NASA commissions new orbiter designs

Putting a person on Mars has long been a dream of science fiction writers, but that vision took a step closer to reality Monday when NASA announced it had commissioned five US aerospace companies to conduct concept studies for a future Mars orbiter mission. NASA already has a small armada of robots studying the Red Planet, with two rovers on the ground and three spacecraft in orbit. The new orbiter mission would seek to boost capabilities in support of the next stages of the US space agency's Journey to Mars, which aims to culminate with humans setting foot on the Martian surface in the 2030s. "We're excited to continue planning for the next decade of Mars exploration," said Geoffrey Yoder, acting associate administrator for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington, in a NASA press release. The five companies selected for the concept studies are The Boeing Company, Northrop Grumman Corporation, and Space Systems/Loral from California, Lockheed Martin in Colorado, and Orbital ATK in Virginia.