According to a news release from Mars One, the not-for-profit foundation has contracted lead suppliers for its first mission to the Red Planet. The mission, scheduled to launch in 2018, will include a robotic lander and a communications satellite. The Mars lander will be constructed by Lockheed Martin and the communications satellite will be made by Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd.

This 2018 mission will be a demonstration mission and will offer proof of concept for some of the technologies that are crucial for a permanent human settlement on the Red Planet; the goal of Mars One. The foundation will select and train the human crew for permanent settlement on Mars. Within two weeks of the application launch date, more than 78,000 registered for the selection program.

“We’re very excited to have contracted Lockheed Martin and SSTL for our first mission to Mars. Both are significant players in their field of expertise and have outstanding track records,” said Bas Lansdorp, Mars One co-founder and CEO, in a statement. “These will be the first private spacecraft to Mars and their successful arrival and operation will be a historic accomplishment.”

According to Mars One, the Mars Lander will be based on the 2007 NASA Phoenix mission spacecraft and will display some of the technologies needed for the manned mission. For the Phoenix mission, Lockheed Martin designed, constructed, tested and operated the lander for the space agency.

“This will be the first private mission to Mars and Lockheed Martin is very excited to have been contracted by Mars One. This is an ambitious project and we’re already working on the mission concept study, starting with the proven design of Phoenix,” posited Ed Sedivy, Civil Space chief engineer at Lockheed Martin Space Systems. “Having managed the Phoenix spacecraft development, I can tell you, landing on Mars is challenging and a thrill and this is going to be a very exciting mission.”

According to Mars One, the lander will be able to scoop up Martian soil with a robotic arm. The lander will also be able to extract water from the Red Planet soil. In addition, a power experiment will show the deployment and operation of thin-film solar panels on the surface, and a camera on the lander will be utilized to conduct continuous video recordings of the mission.

The demonstration satellite will offer a high bandwidth communications system in a Red Planet synchronous orbit and will be utilized to send data and a live video feed from the lander back to Earth.

“SSTL believes that the commercialization of space exploration is vital in order to bring down costs and schedules and fuel progress,” said Martin Sweeting, Executive Chairman of SSTL. “This study gives us an unprecedented opportunity to take our tried and tested approach and apply it to Mars One’s imaginative and exhilarating challenge of sending humans to Mars through private investment.”

Mars One has chosen to launch the lander and communications satellite in 2018, two years later than the foundation’s original departure date. This new schedule allows time for the creation of the two spacecraft.

Mars One’s mission to the Red Planet will be funded by sponsorships and exclusive partnerships. “Landing the first humans on Mars should be everyone’s mission and not just the mission of one country or organization,” Lansdorp posited.