Two startups compete with SpaceX to launch a Mars rover in 2024 – yqqlm

Beijing time on the morning of July 22nd, according to foreign media reports, space startup Relativity Space has never launched a rocket, and space transportation company Impulse Space has never tested any thrusters in space. Despite this, on July 19th, The two California-based space companies claim,They will join forces to launch an ambitious space mission expected to land on the surface of Mars in less than three years.

Two California-based space companies have announced that they will join forces to launch an ambitious space mission that is expected to land on the surface of Mars in less than three years.

This will be the first commercial Mars mission, and it seems unlikely that startups have plans to land on Mars, although the claim is overly aggressive, it may be worth taking seriously. Founded in 2015, Relativity Space has raised more than $1 billion and will launch a small “Terran 1” rocket later this year. The company is actively seeking to use 3D printing technology to build a space vehicle, and is currently in the process of developing a fully feasible space vehicle. A reused “Terran R” rocket. The booster will be more powerful than SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket and enable commercial Mars missions. The company is expected to launch the Terran R rocket in 2024 and complete its first Mars payload mission later that year.

Impulse Space, a new company less than a year old, but not without experienced engineers, was founded by Tom Mueller, the first engineer hired by SpaceX and has been in the propulsion department for more than a decade principal. The thrusters he developed to power the Falcon 9, Falcon Heavy and Dragon spacecraft, Mueller sees space launch as a “solved problem” and is developing a range of non-toxic, low-cost thrusters to serve the space propulsion market.

The picture shows the Mars lander designed by Impulse Space

Mueller said in an interview with reporters that this is a new era of space flight, and we hope to provide reliable, low-cost space propulsion systems.

mission concept

In 2021, Zach Dunn, vice president of engineering and manufacturing at Relativity Space, approached Mueller with a plan for Mars exploration. It is reported that the two were former colleagues. As early as 2006, Mueller hired Dunn at SpaceX. At that time, the young intern was quickly assigned to be responsible for engine testing, and then responsible for the company’s early Falcon rockets. Propulsion system, Relativity Space hopes to achieve a sensational effect on the first “Terran R” rocket launch mission, and after some exchanges between the two, Mueller decided to accept the challenge.

The two companies have designed a mission where the Terran-R rocket will propel Impulse Space’s “Mars Cruise Vehicle” into Mars orbit. Once on Mars, the lander will separate from the cruise stage and then land. The lander will utilize NASA’s housing technology for the Phoenix rover and other rovers, and use the same landing speeds and angles as the NASA mission, and the final Impulse Space lander will be propelled by four thrusters. Under the mission design, similar to a quadcopter, Impulse Space plans to deliver tens of kilograms of scientific payloads to the surface of Mars.

At present, only the United States and China have achieved Mars exploration missions, successfully landed on the surface of Mars, and related probes have survived and conducted scientific surveys. “I wouldn’t have done it if it wasn’t challenging, and I always felt that if people didn’t have the slightest doubt about what we were doing, we weren’t doing it right,” Mueller said.

That sentiment was echoed by Relativity Space CEO and co-founder Tim Ellis, who wanted to make a statement on the first launch of a Terran-R rocket carrying a Mars payload.

Ellis is understood to be involved in founding the company in part because he was inspired by SpaceX and Elon Musk’s attempts to make humans a multiplanetary species, a goal he believes will be driven by commercial space exploration missions .

Ellis said: “We are big fans of SpaceX and Starship, but space exploration is definitely not limited to a few companies, we want to join forces in space exploration, which is very important for future human exploration of extraterrestrial space, I’m sure more companies will do this!”

Is the Mars business model open?

Relativity Space has now signed an exclusive agreement with Impulse Space to conduct corresponding space missions, as well as other possible Mars missions, by 2029, and while the first space exploration mission will be funded by the two companies alone, Mueller and Ellis both believes that NASA and private commercial companies will be interested in relatively low-cost commercial capabilities to bring scientific payloads to the Martian surface.

Previously, through initiatives such as the Commercial Lunar Payload Service Program, commercial companies have achieved initial success in delivering scientific payloads to the moon. At present, NASA has expressed its willingness to continue to establish cooperation with commercial companies to carry out scientific survey missions on extraterrestrial planets in the future.

“Seeing new players embark on new missions in It’s a good thing that initiatives like this can advance the field of space science and lay the groundwork for new approaches to accelerate the pace of space science and exploration.”

The “Terran-R” is a two-stage methane-fueled rocket capable of delivering 20 tons into low-Earth orbit with the first and second stages returning to Earth. In the fully expendable mode, like other Mars missions, the rocket can send 35 tons of materials into low-Earth orbit. Ellis bluntly said that to launch this class of rockets in 2024, 3 million pounds of propulsion are needed, This is indeed a bold and challenging goal that is expected to be achieved as the development of the Aeon-R main engine continues to improve.

Inspired by Orion

Impulse Space has been testing space thrusters that offer a less toxic alternative to pyrophoric fuels, such as hydrazine, commonly used in spacecraft. “Our propulsion system is based on a blend of ethane and nitrous oxide propellants, which is storable and cost-effective, and the company plans to conduct a space test in 2023 that could potentially supply small satellites,” Mueller noted. “Last mile” service.

It is reported that within less than a year of its establishment, Impulse Space already has 40 employees, and Mueller’s favorite constellation is Orion, so the company’s first spacecraft is named after Orion, and the large space thrusters currently developed by the company are named “Rigel”, the brightest star in the constellation Orion, and another small space thruster named “Saiph”, one of the fainter stars in the constellation Orion .

When talking about the above two space thrusters, Mueller said: “They do not produce toxic substances, are non-corrosive, and use self-pressurized propellants, so their safety costs are low, mainly using spontaneous combustion rocket fuel or hydrogen peroxide, Although it is not the most ideal high-performance propellant, we are optimizing costs and look forward to further refining the upgrade.”