Northrop Grumman to build first rocket to blast samples off Mars

For story suggestions or custom animation requests, contact [email protected]. Visit http://archive.nextanimationstudio.com to view News Direct's complete archive of 3D news animations. RESTRICTIONS: Broadcast: NO USE JAPAN, NO USE TAIWAN Digital: NO USE JAPAN, NO USE TAIWAN The Mars Ascent Vehicle, or M.A.V., will be the rocket that will launch samples of rock from Mars to space — which would be one of many stages needed to bring back samples from Mars for the first time in history. RUNDOWN SHOWS: 1. Sample Retrieve Lander hangs from rocket cradle, touches down, cuts cables 2. Fetch Rover emerges from Lander, starts to follow tracks left by previous rover 3. Show sample tube between tracks, Fetch Rover arrives, starts to pick up tube 4. Rover finish picking up tube, proceeds to put it in its tube rack 5. Fetch Rover arrives back at Lander, hands tubes to Lander via robot arm and claw 6. Rover in foreground as MAV blasts off, show MAV from afar, rising into space VOICEOVER (in English): NASA reports that it has awarded Northrop Grumman a contract worth up to 84.5 million dollars to help develop the propulsion system that will be used to power the Mars Ascent Vehicle, or M.A.V. The M.A.V. will be the rocket that will launch samples of rock from Mars to space — which would be one of many stages needed to bring back samples from Mars for the first time in history. NASA's plan is to let its Perseverance rover, which is currently starting its mission on Mars, collect soil and rock samples, then sealing the samples in protective tubes and dropping them randomly on the Martian surface. In the next few years, the Sample Retrieval Lander will touch down and deploy the Sample Fetch Rover, which will follow in Perseverance's tracks, recover the sample tubes, return them to the lander, and load them into the M.A.V. The M.A.V. will then blast off from the lander, launching the sample capsule into orbit, where another spacecraft will rendezvous, collect the sample capsule, and return it to Earth. SOURCES: NASA, New Atlas, Engadget https://newatlas.com/space/northrop-g... https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/na... https://www.engadget.com/nasa-awards-... *** ---------------------------------------­­---------------------------------------­-­--------------- Next Animation Studio’s News Direct service provides daily, high-quality, informative 3D news animations that fill in for missing footage and help viewers understand breaking news stories or in-depth features on science, technology, and health. Sign up for a free trial of News Direct's news animations at http://newsdirect.nextanimationstudio... To subscribe to News Direct or for more info, please visit: http://newsdirect.nextanimationstudio...