Collaboration between NASA and ISRO

A Mars Working has been formed by ISRO and NASA under the US-India Civil Space Joint Working Group  with the objective of cooperation in exploration of Mars. Discussions are underway as to the possibility of co-operations in Mars Science and exploration.

The Charter for the ISRO-NASA Mars Working Group was signed during September 2014. This group will seek to identify, define and implement those scientific, programmatic, and technological goals that ISRO and NASA have in common in regard to the exploration of Mars. This working group will explore possibilities for enhanced cooperation between the two countries in the exploration of Mars.

This information was provided by Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Development of North-Eastern Region, Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space Jitendra Singh in a reply to an unstarred question in Lok Sabha today.

Meanwhile, NASA is planning a new launch to Mars in May 2018 and landing on Mars on November 26, 2018.

The Geodesy and Heat Transport (InSight) mission to study the deep interior of Mars using seismic investigations.

InSight’s primary goal is to help us understand how rocky planets – including Earth – formed and evolved. The spacecraft had been on track to launch this month until a vacuum leak in its prime science instrument prompted NASA in December to suspend preparations for launch.

InSight project managers recently briefed officials at NASA and France's space agency, Centre National d'Études Spatiales (CNES), on a path forward; the proposed plan to redesign the science instrument was accepted in support of a 2018 launch.

“The science goals of InSight are compelling, and the NASA and CNES plans to overcome the technical challenges are sound," said John Grunsfeld, associate administrator for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington. "The quest to understand the interior of Mars has been a longstanding goal of planetary scientists for decades. We’re excited to be back on the path for a launch, now in 2018.” 

NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California, will redesign, build and conduct qualifications of the new vacuum enclosure for the Seismic Experiment for Interior Structure (SEIS), the component that failed in December. CNES will lead instrument level integration and test activities, allowing the InSight Project to take advantage of each organization’s proven strengths. The two agencies have worked closely together to establish a project schedule that accommodates these plans, and scheduled interim reviews over the next six months to assess technical progress and continued feasibility.

The cost of the two-year delay is being assessed. An estimate is expected in August, once arrangements with the launch vehicle provider have been made.

The seismometer instrument's main sensors need to operate within a vacuum chamber to provide the exquisite sensitivity needed for measuring ground movements as small as half the radius of a hydrogen atom. The rework of the seismometer's vacuum container will result in a finished, thoroughly tested instrument in 2017 that will maintain a high degree of vacuum around the sensors through rigors of launch, landing, deployment and a two-year prime mission on the surface of Mars.

Update:

NASA successfully tested the first deep space RS-25 rocket engine for 500 seconds on March 10, clearing a major milestone toward the next great era of space exploration. The next time engine rocket engine No. 2059 fires for that length of time, it will be carrying humans on their first deep-space mission in more than 45 years.

The hot fire marked the first test of an RS-25 flight engine for NASA's new Space Launch System (SLS), being built to carry humans on future deep-space missions, including an asteroid and Mars. Four RS-25 engines will help power the SLS core stage.