SpaceDev to produce gear boxes for NASA Mars Science Laboratory

POWAY, Calif., 29 Feb. 2008.SpaceDev Inc. won a subcontract in support of the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL), a key part of NASA's Mars Exploration Program. MSL is scheduled for launch to Mars in late 2009 to determine if Mars maintains an environment able to sustain microbial life.

The subcontract is for the design, development, and delivery of various SpaceDev gearbox subsystems used on the rover's sample acquisition system, which will be used to acquire, process, and deliver soil samples from the Martian surface. This is SpaceDev's second program it is supporting on MSL. Last year, SpaceDev was awarded a subcontract for the design, development and delivery of the MSL descent brake system.