[SatNews] MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Ltd. (TSX: MDA), a provider of essential information solutions, announced today the award of several strategic contracts to develop advanced technology concepts for NASA's New Frontiers Program. NASA’s New Frontiers program will explore the solar system with frequent, medium class spacecraft missions designed to enhance our understanding of the solar system. The program objective is to launch high science return planetary science investigations on an average of one every 36 months. The contracts are funded by the Canadian Space Agency.

MDA is on all three candidate teams selected by NASA to conduct initial studies for a deep space exploration mission in the 2014-16 timeframe. Following the 12-month mission concept phase, one of these three projects will be selected by NASA to proceed. The three candidates include a mission to return samples from the Moon, a mission to return samples from an asteroid, and a mission to characterize the surface of Venus.

‘This work continues MDA’s heritage of providing advanced technology solutions to international space exploration programs, and further extends our longstanding collaboration with leading university researchers across Canada’ said Steve Oldham, MDA’s vice president responsible for this business.