The Mars Sample Return Program is a proposed mission to collect rock and dust samples on Mars and return them to Earth. Such a mission, which includes contributions from the European Space Agency (ESA), would allow more extensive analysis than the onboard sensors allow. While it originally planned to use rovers to collect the sample, which are more thoroughly tested, Ingenuity’s helicopters were extensively tested on Mars last year as part of the Perseverance mission. As of June 11, 2022, Ingenuity has completed 29 successful flights, repeatedly setting new records for the highest speed and distance traveled during a flight. “The conceptual design phase is when every aspect of a 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 design changes that can be directly attributed to Perseverance’s recent successes at Jezero and the amazing performance of the Mars helicopter.” This advanced mission architecture takes into account a recently updated analysis of Perseverance’s expected longevity. Persistence will be the primary means of transporting samples to NASA’s Sample Recovery Lander that will carry the Mars Ascent Vehicle and ESA’s Sample Transfer Arm. 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 reach Earth in 2033. With its architecture solidified during this conceptual design phase, the program is expected to move into its preliminary design phase this October. In this phase, which is expected to last about a year, the program will complete technology development and create engineering prototypes of key mission components. “ESA is continuing full speed ahead with development of both the Earth Return Orbiter that will make the historic round trip from Earth to Mars and back again, and the Sample Transfer Arm that will robotically place sample tubes into the Orbiting Sample Container prior to launch from the surface of the Red Planet,” said David Parker, ESA’s director of human and robotic exploration. Since landing in Jezero Crater in February last year, the Perseverance Rover has collected 11 scientifically exciting rock core samples and one atmospheric sample. Transporting Martian samples to Earth would allow scientists around the world to examine the samples using sophisticated instruments too large and too complex to send to Mars and 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 develop, as Apollo samples returned from the Moon have done for decades. Subscribe to the E&T News email to get great stories like this delivered to your inbox every day.
