British-built space vehicle to collect first ever samples from Mars

LONDON - Britain has won a multi-million dollar contract from new European Space Agency (ESA) to design a vehicle that will be used to collect the first ever samples from the surface of the planet Mars.

Science Minister Sam Gyimah announced the winning of the contract Friday after a visit to the Harwell space cluster with Tim Peake, the first British ESA astronaut.

The new rover, set to visit Mars and collect the first ever samples from the planet to be brought back safely to Earth, will be designed in Stevenage by Airbus following the award of a $5.2 million contract from ESA.

The rover will retrieve samples left by NASA's Mars 2020 rover and transfer them to an ascent vehicle. This will put them into orbit about the planet, where they will then be brought back to Earth by a separate spacecraft.

Gyimah said: "This remarkable new project, which will see samples brought back from Mars to Earth for the first time ever, demonstrates Britain's world-leading scientific and engineering innovation.

"Winning this contract builds on the UK's world-renowned expertise in space and robotics which the government is supporting through the UK Space Agency and the major investments in our modern Industrial Strategy."

"One rover bound for Mars in 2020 is already under construction by Airbus in Stevenage and the knowledge and expertise honed there will now be applied to designing this new mission, which aims to safely deliver - for the first time - material to Earth from another planet."

Britain is a founding member of ESA, which is independent of the European Union. It means membership will continue after Britain leaves the EU.

Astronaut Peake said: "This is an exciting new era where businesses and space agencies are working closer than ever before on ambitious missions to expand our knowledge of the Solar System and deliver benefits to people's lives. The close collaboration between the UK and ESA will place Britain at the forefront of innovative missions to explore the Moon, Mars and beyond."

The UK Space Agency said Britain's growing space sector is worth more than $18 billion to the British economy, employing more than 38,000 people across the country.