Nasa has contracted six US companies to develop ground prototypes and concepts for deep space habitats in order to advance manned missions to Mars during the 2020s.

The newly selected companies include Bigelow Aerospace of Las Vegas; Boeing of Pasadena, Texas; Lockheed Martin of Denver; Orbital ATK of Dulles, Virginia; Sierra Nevada’s Space Systems of Louisville, Colorado; and NanoRacks of Webster, Texas.

Selected through the space agency’s next space technologies for exploration partnerships-2 (NextSTEP-2) initiative, the companies will develop ground prototypes and/or conduct concept studies for deep space habitats in around 24 months.

The total value of the contract is estimated to be around $65m, with additional efforts and funding continuing into 2018.

Selected companies will have to bear at least 30% of the cost of the overall proposed effort.

"We’re utilising the innovation, skill and knowledge of both the government and private sectors."

Nasa advanced exploration systems director Jason Crusan said: “Nasa is on an ambitious expansion of human spaceflight, including the Journey to Mars, and we’re utilising the innovation, skill and knowledge of both the government and private sectors.

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“The next human exploration capabilities needed beyond the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion capsule are deep space, long duration habitation and in-space propulsion.

“We are now adding focus and specifics on the deep space habitats, where humans will live and work independently for months or years at a time, without cargo supply deliveries from Earth.”

Once developed, the ground prototypes will be used mainly for three purposes, which include supporting integrated systems testing, human factors and operations testing, and to help define overall system functionality.

The contracts have been awarded to advance commercial investment in low-Earth orbit and paving way for an operational deep space habitation capability for missions in the area of space near the moon.

The NextSTEP contracts also aim to inform the acquisition and deployment approach for the next phase of flight systems for deep space mission.

Image: Concept image of the interior of a deep space habitat. Photo: courtesy of Nasa.