Icebreaker Life
Proposed NASA Mars lander / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Icebreaker Life is a Mars lander mission concept proposed to NASA's Discovery Program.[5] The mission involves a stationary lander that would be a near copy of the successful 2008 Phoenix and InSight spacecraft, but would carry an astrobiology scientific payload, including a drill to sample ice-cemented ground in the northern plains to conduct a search for biosignatures of current or past life on Mars.[1][6]
Mission type | Mars lander |
---|---|
Operator | NASA |
Mission duration | 90 sols |
Spacecraft properties | |
Bus | Based on Phoenix and InSight landers |
Manufacturer | Lockheed Martin Space Systems |
Launch mass | ~670 kg (1,480 lb) |
Landing mass | ~350 kg (770 lb) |
Dimensions | Deployed: 6.0 × 1.56 × 1.0 m (19.7 × 5.1 × 3.3 ft)[3] |
Power | ~450 W, Solar array / NiH2 battery |
Start of mission | |
Launch date | 2026 (proposed)[4] |
Mars lander | |
Landing site | Between 60°N and 70°N (68.22°N 125.7°W / 68.22; -125.7 (Icebreaker Life) proposed - near the Phoenix site[1] ) |
The science goals for Icebreaker Life focus on sampling ice-cemented ground for its potential to preserve and protect biomolecules or biosignatures.[2][7]
Icebreaker Life was not selected during the 2015 or 2019 Discovery Program competitions.