NASA Taps Firefly Aerospace to Build Aeroshell for Nuclear-Powered Skyfall Mars Mission
NASA's nuclear-powered Skyfall mission to Mars has reached a new milestone. The agency selected Firefly Aerospace to design and manufacture the spacecraft's aeroshell — including both the heat shield and backshell — under a $13 million subcontract.
The aeroshell will provide thermal protection and aerodynamic deceleration as the spacecraft plunges through the Martian atmosphere. This marks Firefly's first interplanetary hardware project to be developed at its expanded Texas facility, Gloworks.
Skyfall, NASA's first nuclear-propelled interplanetary probe, is targeting a 2028 launch. The mission's centerpiece is three Mars helicopters, similar in design to Ingenuity, which will be released mid-descent in what NASA calls the "SkyFall Maneuver" — deploying directly from the descending spacecraft and taking flight immediately.
The helicopters are tasked with surveying water ice deposits on the Martian surface, scouting potential landing sites for future crewed missions. The mission is managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
Firefly previously demonstrated its deep-space capabilities with the successful Blue Ghost lunar lander mission. Ray Allensworth, Firefly's vice president of spacecraft, said the company is applying lessons learned and proven technologies from Blue Ghost to accelerate and lower costs for future missions to the moon, Mars, and beyond.
Once aeroshell development is completed at Gloworks, manufacturing and testing will move to Firefly's Rocket Ranch in Briggs, Texas, before delivery to JPL for spacecraft integration.
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Original article: https://www.space.com/space-exploration/missions/nasa-begins-funding-hardware-for-skyfall-mars-helicopter-mission