Mars 2018 MAX-C Caching Rover

The proposed 2018 Mars Astrobiology Explorer-Cacher (MAX-C) caching rover would be a NASA-built mid-class rover that would be the first component in a Mars sample return campaign strategy. NASA is projecting to launch the proposed MAX-C rover with the European Space Agency''s (ESA''s) ExoMars mission on a U.S.-provided launch vehicle in mid 2018; the entry, descent, and landing systems would use the "Sky Crane" approach developed for Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) to land a pallet with both rovers secured onboard onto the surface of Mars.