NASA has completed a review of the system requirements for its Mars sample return program, which is nearing completion of the conceptual design phase.
NASA has completed a review of the system requirements for its Mars sample return program, which is nearing completion of the conceptual design phase. During this phase, the program team evaluated and refined the architecture to return science-selected samples currently being collected by NASA’s Perseverance rover to Jezero Crater on the Red Planet.
The campaign architecture, which includes input from the European Space Agency (ESA), is expected to reduce the complexity of future missions and increase the likelihood of success.
“The conceptual design phase is when every aspect of the mission plan is put under the microscope,” said Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator for science at NASA Headquarters in Washington.
“There are some significant and beneficial changes to the plan that can be directly attributed to Perseverance’s recent successes at Jezero and the incredible performance of our Mars helicopter,” he added.
This advanced mission architecture takes into account a recently updated analysis of Perseverance’s expected longevity. Perseverance will be the primary sample transport vehicle to NASA’s Sample Retrieval Lander carrying the Mars Ascent Vehicle and ESA’s Sample Transfer Arm.
As such, the Mars Sample Return campaign will no longer include the Sample Fetch Rover or its associated second lander. The drop-in sample retrieval module will include two sample retrieval helicopters based on the design of the Ingenuity helicopter, which has completed 29 flights to Mars and survived more than a year beyond its original intended life. The helicopters will provide a secondary option for retrieving samples stored on the surface of Mars.
The ESA Earth Return Orbiter and its NASA-provided capture, retention and return system remain vital elements of the program architecture.
With planned launch dates for the Earth Return Orbiter and Sample Retrieval Lander in fall 2027 and summer 2028, respectively, the samples are expected to arrive on Earth in 2033.
With its architecture solidified during this conceptual design phase, the program is expected to move into the preliminary design phase this October. In this phase, expected to last about 12 months, the program will complete technology development and create engineering prototypes of key mission components.
This advanced concept for the Mars sample return campaign was presented to delegates from the 22 countries involved in Europe’s space exploration programme, Terrae Novae, in May. At their next meeting in September, the states will consider ending development of the Sample Fetch Rover.
“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,” said David Parker, ESA’s Director of Human and Robotic Exploration.
Matching campaign contributions are subject to available funding from participating US and ESA countries. More formal agreements between the two agencies will be established next year.
“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.
The first step of the campaign to return samples from Mars is now underway. Since landing in Jezero Crater on February 18, 2021, the Perseverance rover has collected 11 scientifically conclusive rock core samples and one atmospheric sample.
Bringing samples from Mars to Earth would allow scientists around the world to examine the specimens using sophisticated instruments too large and complex to send to Mars, and would allow future generations to study them.
Curating the samples on Earth would also allow the scientific community to test new theories and models as they are developed, similar to what Apollo samples returned from the moon have done for decades. This strategic partnership between NASA and ESA will fulfill a goal of solar system exploration, a high priority since the 1970s and in the last three decades of planetary science studies of the National Academy of Sciences.
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