Angie Jackman – who has spent more than 35 years leading some of the agency’s most advanced propulsion and engineering projects, has been chosen to be the Mars Ascent Vehicle project manager. Set to be the first rocket ever to launch from the surface of another planet, the Mars Ascent Vehicle will play a big role in the Mars Sample Return mission, launching into low orbit around the Red Planet to deliver samples gathered by the Perseverance rover from the crater floor of Jerzo crater.
They’ll be transferred there to ESA’s Earth Return Orbiter. The Marshall team is partnering with Lockheed Martin Space which is building the Mars Ascent Vehicle system and designing and developing the rocket’s ground support equipment, and Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation which leads development of the ascent vehicle’s propulsion system.
