Mars Surface Access Module

Mars Surface Access Module
General Information
Alias	MSAM
Function	Mars landing vehicle
Specifications
Propulsion	Chemical
History
Missions	Helios Mars mission
First used	1995

The Mars Surface Access Module (MSAM) is a crewed Mars landing vehicle designed and built by Helios Aerospace for their 1994 Mars mission. It is used to transfer crew and cargo between the mother ship Phoenix in orbit and the base station on the planet's surface.

History

First landing attempt

Helios' spacecraft Phoenix carried an MSAM named Popeye. In February 1995, Helios' Mars mission commander, Ed Baldwin, wanted to be the first human to land on Mars using Popeye. However, he decided to abort the landing attempt due to a dangerous dust storm that impaired navigation, leaving NASA's Sojourner 1 the seemingly first crewed spacecraft to reach the surface of the planet. Popeye with Ed and Danny Stevens aboard returned to its mother ship in orbit and landed at a later date.

As Sojourner got damaged during landing and was not able to lift off from the Martian surface again, making Phoenix the only remaining functioning spacecraft to bring everybody back to Earth, Popeye remained the only possibility for all astronauts and cosmonauts to ever leave the planet's surface again.

Damage after landslide

During a disastrous landslide, the MSAM was buried and heavily damaged. The front right window was cracked open and the solar pannels on either side of the craft were destroyed. Although there was no structural damage, the craft's docking system was destroyed. With the spare part being aboard Pheonix, docking back with the mothership became impossible.

After replacing the damaged docking system with the one from the North Korean capsule, Ed Baldwin was able to return his daugter Kelly to Phoenix, barely surviving a ballistic reentry.

Gallery

MSAM Popeye docked to the Phoenix spacecraft

Popeye descending to Mars surface

Popeye making a suborbital flight to Happy Valley base

Popeye's initial landing

Helios landing site with the MSAM in the background and Edward Baldwin and Danny Stevens in the foreground

Popeye landing beside NASA's Happy Valley base

MSAM heavily damaged after landslide

Excavation after landslide

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See also

• Lunar Surface Access Module (LSAM)
• Lunar Excursion Module (LEM)
• Helios Mars mission