NASA is calling for submissions of design ideas for small science and technology payloads as part of its plan to explore Mars, the agency announced on Sept. 20.

The agency said that registration is already open for the Mars Balance Mass Challenge, which seeks payloads that have the potential of serving a "dual purpose as ejectable balance masses on spacecraft entering the Martian atmosphere."

"NASA is committed to engaging the public, and specifically the maker community through innovative activities like the Mars Balance Mass Challenge,” said David Miller, chief technologist at NASA.

The payloads will perform technology or scientific functions to help the agency in learning more about Mars and also provide essential weight that will give balance to planetary landers.

Lisa May, lead program executive for the project, said they want people to be involved in their journey to the Red Planet.

"This challenge is a creative way to bring innovative ideas into our planning process, and perhaps help NASA find another way to pack more science and technology into a mission," May said.

The Mars Balance Mass Challenge aims to develop new ideas on how the agency can convert available entry, landing balance mass, and descent on a future mission to the Red Planet into a technological or scientific payload.

Proposed payload concepts should specify uses for ejectable mass of up to 150kg before the atmospheric entry to Mars or another 150kg in the entry and landing phases of the mission.

The space agency is looking for design concepts that will widen technological capabilities or scientific knowledge, while demonstrating a high degree of practicality.

The Center of Excellence for Collaborative Innovation (CoECI) of NASA manages the Mars challenge. The challenges are said to be on release at the NASA Innovation Pavilion, one of the platforms of CoECI that is available to team members of the space agency, by way of its contract with InnoCentive, Inc.

Deadline of submissions is on Nov. 21. The winner, to be announced sometime in January 2015, will receive $20,000.

The SMD Mars Exploration Program and Office of the Chief Technologist sponsored the challenge.

NASA also announced the launching of its new website called NASA Solve, which is "a great way for members of the public, makers and other citizen scientists to see all NASA challenges and prizes in one location."

NASA Solve will list opportunities currently available to the public in order to help solve difficult problems related to the mission of the agency through crowdsourcing activities, prize competitions, and other challenges.