As Perseverance explores the site of an ancient lake that existed billions of years ago, it collects rocks and soil. This material is of interest because it may contain evidence of past microscopic organisms that would reveal whether life once existed on Mars. Scientists will have the chance to use some of the most sophisticated instruments in the world to examine these precious samples.
The ambitious Mars sample return program involves collaboration between the two agencies to retrieve 30 samples from the red planet. Multiple missions will launch to Mars later this decade to safely retrieve the samples and return them.
The program is nearing the end of its conceptual design phase, and NASA has completed its system requirements review. The review resulted in changes that will reduce the complexity of future missions and increase the likelihood of success, according to NASA officials.
“The conceptual design phase is when every aspect of the mission plan is put under the microscope,” Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, said in a statement. “There are some significant and beneficial changes to the plan that can be directly attributed to Perseverance’s recent successes at Jezero and the amazing performance of our Mars helicopter.”
Originally, the plan was to launch a data retrieval rover in the mid-2020s along with a sample retrieval lander. Once launched on the Martian surface, the fetch rover would retrieve samples from where Perseverance had hidden them on the Martian surface.
Perseverance will now be the primary vehicle for transporting samples to the lander. The latest assessment of the rover’s health and life expectancy indicates that it should still be in excellent condition to deliver the samples on its own in 2030. Perseverance will maintain backup to the lander, and the lander’s robotic arm will transfer the samples.
The sample retrieval lander will carry two sample retrieval helicopters similar in style to the Ingenuity helicopter currently on Mars – instead of a retrieval rover.
“The recent operations of the Ingenuity helicopter on Mars, which completed 29 flights – 24 more than originally planned – showed us the utility of a potential rotorcraft on Mars,” said Jeff Gramling, director of the Mars Sample Return Program.
Engineers are impressed with Ingenuity’s performance. The helicopter has survived more than a year beyond its expected life. In the event that Perseverance is unable to return the samples to the lander, small helicopters will be able to fly away from the lander, use weapons to retrieve the samples and return them.
The two prototype return helicopters will be similar in size to the Ingenuity, but will be slightly heavier. The landing legs will be equipped with small movable wheels so they can move on the ground as well as fly, and each helicopter will have a small arm that can grab sample tubes, said Richard Cook, manager of the Mars Sample program Return at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.
If Perseverance’s health remains the same over the next eight years and it doesn’t need help returning samples to the lander, helicopters can observe and capture images of the process.
Returning samples to Earth
The drop-in sample retrieval module also carries the Mars Ascent Vehicle, the first rocket ever to be launched from the surface of Mars with the samples safely stowed inside. The spacecraft is currently scheduled to launch from Mars in 2031.
A separate mission will launch from Earth in the mid-2020s, called the Earth Return Orbiter, to rendezvous with the Mars Ascent Vehicle.
On board the Earth Return Orbiter is the capture/hold and return system that will collect the sample container from the Mars Ascent Vehicle while both vehicles are in orbit around Mars.
The Earth Return Orbiter will then return back to our world. After the spacecraft approaches Earth, it will launch the Earth Entry Vehicle, which contains the sample cache, and this spacecraft will land on Earth in 2033.
The agency previously said the samples could return to Earth by 2031, but planned launch dates for the orbiter in fall 2027 and the lander in summer 2028 created the new arrival date.
Engineers are currently testing robotic components for the campaign at NASA and ESA facilities. The Mars sample return program will move into a preliminary design phase in October, which will last about a year. The design phase will lead to technology development as well as engineering prototypes for the main components.
“ESA continues full speed development on both the Earth Return Orbiter, which will make the historic round trip from Earth to Mars and back; as well as the sample transfer arm, which will robotically place the sample tubes aboard the orbital sample container prior to its launch from the surface of the Red Planet,” David Parker, director of Human and Robotic Exploration at ESA, said in a statement.
Various samples
The Perseverance rover has collected 11 rock core samples so far. The samples represent an “incredible array of material,” said Meenakshi Wadhwa, chief scientist for the Mars Sample Return and director of Arizona State University’s School of Earth and Space Exploration.
“The latest is actually the fine-grained sedimentary rock that has the most potential for preserving biosignatures, potentially, so we have a variety of materials that are already in the bag, so to speak, and we’re really excited about the potential for bringing those back,” Wadhwa said.
“Working together on historic endeavors like Mars Sample Return not only provides invaluable data about our place in the universe, it brings us closer together right here on Earth,” Zurbuchen said.
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