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Artist’s impression of ESA’s Earth Return Orbiter. Credit: ESA / ATG Medialab
An ambitious campaign by NASA and ESA to collect samples from the Red Planet and bring them back to Earth was praised by an independent review committee set up to review the multi-year Mars missions.
The Mars Sample Return campaign foresees that NASA and ESA launch multiple missions to the Red Planet to collect samples, launch them into space and return them safely to Earth. NASA released the report of a Mars Sample Return Independent Review Board, which it established to assess the status of the multi-year international partnership, along with NASA’s response to the report’s recommendations.
Artist’s impression of ESA’s Earth Return Orbiter in orbit on Mars. Credit: ESA / ATG Medialab
The Council, after reviewing plans for one of the most ambitious endeavors humanity has ever attempted, concluded that space agencies are up for the challenge after several decades of scientific and technical advancement in the exploration of Mars.
The Council recognized the longstanding cooperation between NASA and ESA in human and robotic space exploration as an asset to the robust campaign and praised the work done by the agencies so far.
“The independent review has provided strong support for Mars Sample Return, which is great news for the campaign,” says David Parker, ESA’s Director of Human and Robotics Exploration. “It strengthens our shared vision to provide world scientists with pristine pieces of the Red Planet to study using laboratory tools and techniques that we could never bring to Mars.
“By following the International Space Station, Orion and the future Gateway around the Moon, we will strengthen the partnership of our agencies at the frontier of science and technology. ESA will carefully study the report’s recommendations and agree with NASA how to reflect them in our work together. “
Review Board
NASA has initiated this independent review committee to ensure that the long-awaited mission is positioned for success. It is the first independent review of any NASA science mission. The board was made up of 10 leading and expert experts from science and engineering fields and included interviews with experts from NASA and ESA, as well as from industry and academia. The board made 44 recommendations concerning the scope and management of the program, the technical approach, the timetable and the funding profile.
Artist’s impression of Mars Sample Return missions, including NASA’s Mars Ascent Vehicle, ESA’s Earth Return Orbiter, Mars Sample Container, and Earth’s Entry Capsule. Credit: ESA / ATG Medialab
Return of the champion to Mars
The campaign will require more advanced spacecraft, the first being NASA’s Perseverance rover, which is already halfway to Mars. Perseverance is a sophisticated sampling system, with a core drill and sampling tubes that are among the cleanest hardware ever sent into space.
What is Sample Fetch Rover? Credit: ESA
Once on Mars, Perseverance will store rock and soil samples in its collection tubes. It will then leave some of them on the Martian surface for ESA’s Sample Fetch Rover to pick them up and deliver them, using ESA’s robotic arms, to a NASA Mars Ascent Vehicle, which will launch them into orbit around Mars.
What is Earth Return Orbiter? Credit: ESA
Once in orbit around Mars, ESA’s Earth Return Orbiter will meet with samples more than 70 million km from Earth orbiting Mars and take them in a highly secure containment capsule, supplied by NASA, to landing on Earth in the 2030s.
ESA-NASA Mars Sample Return mission overview. Credit: ESA – K. Oldenburg
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