The Lunar and Planetary Laboratory may receive a $284M grant from NASA to explore Mars in 2007

NASA officials said Friday that they are considering UA's proposal to explore Mars in 2007, among three other universities' proposals, in what would be the largest grant ever received by the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory.

The UA became one of four finalists for project, partly by bidding to do the project for $284 million. The maximum cost for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's first "Mars Scout Mission" is $325 million.

The UA proposal ÷ dubbed the "Phoenix Mission" ÷ has its roots in the crashed Mars Polar Lander mission of 1999.

After the crash, a 2001 mission to Mars was cancelled. UA scientists have incorporated the spacecraft and equipment that would have been used in the 2001 mission into their own proposal.

If the proposal is accepted, UA researchers will conduct a series of experiments on Mars' more habitable terrain for conditions that may be favorable to life. The team would use a robotic arm to dig to an icy layer about one foot under the surface of Mars to check for organic molecules.

Peter H. Smith, a senior research scientist in the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, said using the existing spacecraft allowed the UA stay well below the cost cap for the project.

"We could keep our costs low by using something already built," he said.

Smith, who is a science team member of NASA's next mission to Mars and was principal investigator for the Imager from Mars Pathfinder, said he thinks the UA has a "very good chance" of winning the bid because some of the other projects involve riskier missions and are more expensive.

Smith said that the project would bring several new jobs to the university and would involve the sub-contracting of projects to other departments within the university.

"It's going to bring a tremendous amount of money to the university," he said.

Friday morning, Smith received a call from a colleague who told him UA was in the running for the project. Smith said he started dancing around the room.

NASA is expected to announce the winning proposal next summer.