The Mars Orbiter for Resources, Ices, and Environments (MORIE) Mission Concept Study

Abstract:

The MORIE mission concept study team examined the science and technical trade space to address high priority questions related to ice reservoirs and environmental transitions. The team converged on a medium-class solar electric propulsion (SEP) orbiter with seven instruments to unlock the extent and volume of shallow subsurface ice, polar layer stratigraphy, and mineralogy of ancient environmental transitions and geologic sequence stratigraphy through time. The mission would address three major objectives under the theme “Evolution of a Habitable World”: 1) Determine when elements of the cryosphere formed and how ice deposits are linked to current, recent, and ancient climate; 2) Explore the evolution of surface environments and their transition through time; 3) Prospect for in situ resources necessary to support future human activities on the surface. Observations would include the first radar imaging from orbit, the first radar sounding directly over the poles, and surface mineral mapping at unprecedented spatial scales.

These objectives are met by a payload complement of seven instruments: full polarization synthetic aperture radar (SAR), a dual-band radar sounder, a 1-m per pixel multiband imager, both short-wave and long-wave infrared spectrometers, dual stereo cameras, and a wide-angle imager. MORIE utilizes a large, SEP-powered spacecraft that drives the power requirement providing ample power to run the radar and telecommunications on orbit. A 2026 launch is baselined, requiring ~ 2 years to cruise to Mars and spiral down into an equator-crossing sun-synchronous orbit with an inclination of 92.7 degrees. The spacecraft spends a full Mars year in this orbit, then transitions to a 90-degree true-polar orbit to enable radar sounding of previously unobserved regions of the polar caps. The design does not present any major technical challenges or novel risks. The team costed both the full mission and, due to the recent programmatic interest in a Mars Ice Mapper, an ice-focused radar version. Cost models suggest the full mission point design is larger than the current New Frontiers cost cap without instrument or hardware contributions or further design maturity.