NASA Chooses Three Finalists for Future Space Science Mission to Venus, an Asteroid or the Moon

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Veronica McGregor 818-354-9452
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Ca.
Veronica.mcgregor@jpl.nasa.gov

Dwayne Brown 202-358-1726
NASA Headquarters, Washington
dwayne.c.brown@nasa.gov

NEWS RELEASE: 2009- 205 Dec. 29, 2009

NASA Chooses Three Finalists for Future Space Science Mission to Venus, an Asteroid or the Moon

The full version of this story with accompanying images is at:
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2009-205

WASHINGTON -- NASA has selected three proposals as candidates for the agency's next space
venture to another celestial body in our solar system. The final project selected in mid-2011 may
provide a better understanding of Earth's formation or perhaps the origin of life on our planet.

The proposed missions would probe the atmosphere and crust of Venus; return a piece of a near-Earth
asteroid for analysis; or drop a robotic lander into a basin at the moon's south pole to return lunar
rocks back to Earth for study.

NASA will select one proposal for full development after detailed mission concept studies are
completed and reviewed. The studies begin during 2010, and the selected mission must be ready for
launch no later than Dec. 30, 2018. Mission cost, excluding the launch vehicle, is limited to $650
million.

"These are projects that inspire and excite young scientists, engineers and the public," said Ed Weiler,
associate administrator for the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington.
"These three proposals provide the best science value among eight submitted to NASA this year."

Each proposal team initially will receive approximately $3.3 million in 2010 to conduct a 12-month
mission concept study that focuses on implementation feasibility, cost, management and technical
plans. Studies also will include plans for educational outreach and small business opportunities.

The selected proposals are:

- The Surface and Atmosphere Geochemical Explorer, or SAGE, mission to Venus would release a
probe to descend through the planet's atmosphere. During descent, instruments would conduct
extensive measurements of the atmosphere's composition and obtain meteorological data. The probe
then would land on the surface of Venus, where its abrading tool would expose both a weathered and
a pristine surface area to measure its composition and mineralogy. Scientists hope to understand the
origin of Venus and why it is so different from Earth. Larry Esposito of the University of Colorado in
Boulder, is the principal investigator. The proposed mission is managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion
Laboratory, Pasadena, Ca.

- The Origins Spectral Interpretation Resource Identification Security Regolith Explorer spacecraft,
called Osiris-Rex, would rendezvous and orbit a primitive asteroid. After extensive measurements,
instruments would collect more than two ounces of material from the asteriod's surface for return to
Earth. The returned samples would help scientists better undertand and answer long-held questions
about the formation of our solar system and the origin of complex molecules necessary for life.
Michael Drake, of the University of Arizona in Tucson, is the principal investigator. The proposed
mission is managed by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md

- MoonRise: Lunar South Pole-Aitken Basin Sample Return Mission would place a lander in a broad
basin near the moon's south pole and return approximately two pounds of lunar materials for study.
This region of the lunar surface is believed to harbor rocks excavated from the moon's mantle. The
samples would provide new insight into the early history of the Earth-moon system. Bradley Jolliff, of
Washington University in St. Louis, is the principal investigator with mission management by JPL.

The proposals were submitted to NASA on July 31, 2009, in response to the New Frontiers Program
2009 Announcement of Opportunity. New Frontiers seeks to explore the solar system with frequent,
medium-class spacecraft missions that will conduct high-quality, focused scientific investigations
designed to enhance understanding of the solar system.

The final selection will become the third mission in the program. New Horizons, NASA's first New
Frontiers mission, launched in 2006, will fly by the Pluto-Charon system in 2014 then target another
Kuiper Belt object for study. The second mission, called Juno, is designed to orbit Jupiter from pole to
pole for the first time, conducting an in-depth study of the giant planet's atmosphere and interior. It is
slated for launch in August 2011.

For more information about the New Frontiers Program, visit:
http://newfrontiers.nasa.gov

-end-

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