Mars sample-return mission

A Mars sample-return (MSR) mission is a proposed mission to collect rock and dust samples on Mars and return them to Earth.^[1] Such a mission would allow more extensive analysis than that allowed by onboard sensors.^[2]

Mars sample return – artist's concept

The most recent concepts are a NASA-ESA proposal; a CNSA proposal, Tianwen-3; a Roscosmos proposal, Mars-Grunt; and a JAXA proposal, Martian Moons eXploration (MMX). Although NASA and ESA's plans to return the samples to Earth are still in the design stage as of 2023^[update], samples have been gathered on Mars by the Perseverance rover.^[3]

Risks of cross-contamination of the Earth biosphere from returned Martian samples have been raised, though the risk of this occurring is considered to be extremely low.^[4]

Scientific value

 

Mars meteorites in the Natural History Museum in Vienna

Once returned to Earth, stored samples can be studied with the most sophisticated science instruments available. Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator for science at NASA Headquarters in Washington, expect such studies to allow several new discoveries at many fields.^[5] Samples may be reanalyzed in the future by instruments that do not yet exist.^[6]

In 2006, the Mars Exploration Program Analysis Group identified 55 important investigations related to Mars exploration. In 2008, they concluded that about half of the investigations "could be addressed to one degree or another by MSR", making MSR "the single mission that would make the most progress towards the entire list" of investigations. Moreover, it was reported that a significant fraction of the investigations could not be meaningfully advanced without returned samples.^[7]

One source of Mars samples is what are thought to be Martian meteorites, which are rocks ejected from Mars that made their way to Earth. As of August 2023^[update], 356 meteorites had been identified as Martian, out of over 79,000 known meteorites.^[8] These meteorites are believed to be from Mars because their elemental and isotopic compositions are similar to rocks and atmospheric gases analyzed on Mars.^[9]

History

 

Artist concept of a Mars sample-return mission, 1993

See also: NASA-ESA Mars Sample Return § History

Before 1990

Returning from Mars appeared in technical literature when Apollo was still in development and the first spacecraft to fly past Mars had not yet launched, with an expectation that people would be on board for Mars ascent.^[10] The density of the Mars atmosphere remained unknown at that time, so the Lockheed engineering author reported the analysis of trajectory options over a range of aerodynamic drag conditions for a 15-ton launch vehicle to reach a rendezvous orbit.

At NASA, returning samples from Mars was studied jointly by the Langley Research Center and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in the early 1970s during the time that the Viking Mars lander mission was in development, and a Langley author noted that the "Mars surface-to-orbit launch vehicle" would need high performance because its mass would "have a substantial impact on the mass and systems requirements" for earlier mission phases, delivery of that vehicle to Mars and launch preparations on Mars.^[11]

For at least three decades, scientists have advocated the return of geological samples from Mars.^[12] One early concept was the Sample Collection for Investigation of Mars (SCIM) proposal, which involved sending a spacecraft in a grazing pass through Mars's upper atmosphere to collect dust and air samples without landing or orbiting.^[13]

The Soviet Union considered a Mars sample-return mission, Mars 5NM, in 1975 but it was cancelled due to the repeated failures of the N1 rocket that would have launched it. Another sample-return mission, Mars 5M (Mars-79), planned for 1979, was cancelled due to complexity and technical problems.^[14]

In the mid-1980's, JPL mission planners noted that MSR had been "pushed by budgetary and other pressures into the '90s," and that the round trip would "impose large propulsion requirements."^[15] They presented a notional mass budget for a concept that would launch a 9.5-metric-ton payload from Earth, including a Mars orbiter for Earth return, and a lander having a 400-kg rover and a "Mars return vehicle" that would mass over 2 metric tons. A 20-kg sample canister would arrive at Earth containing 5 kg of samples including scientific-quality cores drilled from every type of Mars terrain.

In the late 1980s, multiple NASA centers contributed to a proposed Mars Rover Sample Return mission (MRSR).^[16][17] As described by JPL authors, one option for MRSR relied on a single launch of a 12-ton package including a Mars orbiter and Earth return vehicle, a 700-kg rover, and a 2.7-ton Mars ascent vehicle (MAV) which would use pump-fed liquid propulsion for a significant mass saving.^[18] A 20-kg sample package on the MAV was to contain 5 kg of Mars soil. A Johnson Space Center author subsequently referred to a launch from Earth in 1998 with a MAV mass in the range 1400 to 1500 kg including a pump-fed first stage and a pressure-fed second stage.^[19]

1990 onward

The United States' Mars Exploration Program, formed after Mars Observer's failure in September 1993, supported a Mars sample return.^[20] One architecture was proposed by Glenn J. MacPherson in the early 2000s.^[2]

In 1996, the possibility of life on Mars was raised when apparent microfossils were thought to have been found in Mars meteorite, ALH84001. This hypothesis was eventually rejected, but led to a renewed interest in a Mars sample return.^[21]

In the mid-1990s, NASA funded JPL and Lockheed Martin to study affordable small-scale MSR mission architectures including a concept to return 500 grams of Mars samples using a 100-kg MAV that would meet a small Mars orbiter for rendezvous and return to Earth.^[22] Robert Zubrin, a long-time advocate for human Mars missions, concluded in 1996 that the best approach to MSR would be launching directly to Earth using propellants made on Mars, because a rendezvous in Mars orbit would be too risky and he estimated that a direct-return MAV would mass 500 kg, too heavy to send to Mars affordably if fully fueled on Earth.^[23] International peer reviewers concurred.^[24] In 1997, a detailed analysis of conventional small-scale rocket technology (both solid and liquid propellant) found that known propulsion components would be too heavy to build a MAV as lightweight as several hundred kilograms and "The application of launch vehicle design principles to the development of new hardware on a tiny scale" was suggested.^[25]

In 1998, JPL presented a design for a two-stage pressure-fed liquid bipropellant MAV that would be 600 kilograms or less at Mars liftoff, intended for a MSR mission in 2005.^[26] The same JPL author collaborated on a notional single-stage 200-kg MAV intended to be made small by using pump-fed propulsion to permit lightweight low-pressure liquid propellant tanks and compact high-pressure thrust chambers.^[27] This mass advantage of pump-fed operation was applied to a conceptual 100-kg MAV having a mass budget consistent with reaching Mars orbit using monopropellant, partly enabled by the simplicity of a single tank, also applicable to Mars landing typically done with monopropellant.^[28] The high-pressure thrusters and pump had previously been demonstrated in the 1994 flight of an experimental 21-kg rocket.^[29]

As of late 1999, the MSR mission was anticipated to be launched from Earth in 2003 and 2005.^[30] Each was to deliver a rover and a Mars ascent vehicle, and a French supplied Mars orbiter with Earth return capability was to be included in 2005. The 140-kg MAV, "in the process of being contracted to industry" at that time, was to include telemetry on its first stage and thrusters that would spin the vehicle to 300 RPM before separation of the simplified lightweight upper stage. Atop each MAV, a 3.6-kg, 16-cm diameter spherical payload would contain 500 grams of samples and have solar cells to power a long-life beacon to facilitate rendezvous with the Earth return orbiter. The orbiter would capture the sample containers delivered by both MAVs and place them in separate Earth entry vehicles. This mission concept, considered by NASA's Mars Exploration Program to return samples by 2008,^[31] was cancelled following a program review.^[32]

In mid-2006, the International Mars Architecture for the Return of Samples (iMARS) Working Group was chartered by the International Mars Exploration Working Group (IMEWG) to outline the scientific and engineering requirements of an internationally sponsored and executed Mars sample-return mission in the 2018–2023 time frame.^[7]

In October 2009, NASA and ESA established the Mars Exploration Joint Initiative to proceed with the ExoMars program, whose ultimate aim is "the return of samples from Mars in the 2020s".^[33][34] ExoMars's first mission was planned to launch in 2018 ^[6][35] with unspecified missions to return samples in the 2020–2022 time frame.^[36] The cancellation of the caching rover MAX-C in 2011, and later NASA withdrawal from ExoMars, due to budget limitations, ended the mission.^[37] The pull-out was described as "traumatic" for the science community.^[37]

In early 2011, the US National Research Council's Planetary Science Decadal Survey, which laid out mission planning priorities for the period 2013–2022, declared an MSR campaign its highest priority Flagship Mission for that period.^[38] In particular, it endorsed the proposed Mars Astrobiology Explorer-Cacher (MAX-C) mission in a "descoped" (less ambitious) form. This mission plan was officially cancelled in April 2011.

A key mission requirement for the Mars 2020 Perseverance rover mission was that it help prepare for MSR.^[39][40][41] The rover landed on 18 February 2021 in Jezero Crater to collect samples and store them in 43 cylindrical tubes for later retrieval.

 

Image of one of the sample tubes. Its appearance has been noted to have similarities with a Lightsaber from the Star Wars movies.^[42]

Mars 2020 mission

Main articles: NASA-ESA Mars Sample Return Mission, Mars 2020, Perseverance (rover), and Timeline of Mars 2020

 

Perseverance rover

The Mars 2020 mission landed the Perseverance rover in the Jezero crater in February 2021. It has collected multiple samples and will continue to do so, packing them into cylinders for later return in the MSR Campaign. Jezero appears to be an ancient lakebed, suitable for ground sampling.^[43][44][45] It is also assigned the task to return the samples directly to the Sample Return lander, considering its potential mission longevity.

 

Mars Sample Depot at 3 forks

In support of the NASA-ESA Mars Sample Return, rock, regolith (Martian soil), and atmosphere samples are being cached by Perseverance. Currently, out of 43 sample tubes, 18 of them have been cached, including 8 igneous rock samples, 11 sedimentary rock sample tubes,^[46] two regolith sample tubes, an atmosphere sample tube,^[47] and three witness tubes.^[48] Before launch, 5 of the 43 tubes were designated “witness tubes” and filled with materials that would capture particulates in the ambient environment of Mars. Out of 43 tubes, 3 witness sample tubes will not be returned to Earth and will remain on rover as the sample canister will only have 30 tube slots. Alongside, 10 of the 43 tubes are left at backup Three Forks Sample Depot.^[49]

From December 21, 2022, Perseverance started a campaign to deposit 10 of its collected samples to the backup depot, Three Forks to ensure if Perseverance runs into problems, the MSR campaign could still succeed.

Proposals

NASA–ESA

Main article: NASA-ESA Mars Sample Return Mission

 

Mars Sample Return Program^[50]
(artwork; 27 July 2022)

Mars Sample Return Campaign for bringing Mars Rock Samples Back to Earth

The NASA-ESA flagship plan^[51] is to return samples using three missions: a sample collection mission (Perseverance) launched in 2020 and currently operational, a sample retrieval mission (Sample Retrieval Lander + Mars ascent vehicle + Sample Transfer arm + 2 Ingenuity class helicopters) launched in 2026 or 2028, and a return mission (Earth Return Orbiter) in 2026.^[52][53][54] The mission hopes to resolve the question of whether Mars once harbored life.

Although NASA and ESA's proposal is still in the design stage and facing significant cost overruns as of August 2023,^[55][56] the first leg of gathering samples is currently being executed by the Perseverance rover on Mars and the components of sample retrieval lander (second leg) are in testing phase on earth.^[3][57][58]

China

China has announced plans for a Mars sample-return mission to be called Tianwen-3.^[59] The mission would launch in late-2028, with a lander and ascent vehicle on a Long March 5 and an orbiter and return module launched separately on a Long March 3B. Samples would be returned to Earth in July 2031.^[60]

A previous plan would have used a large spacecraft that could carry out all mission phases, including sample collection, ascent, orbital rendezvous, and return flight. This would have required the super-heavy-lift Long March 9 launch vehicle.^[61][62][63] Another plan involved using Tianwen-1 to cache the samples for retrieval.^[64]

France

France has worked towards a sample return for many years. This included concepts of an extraterrestrial sample curation facility for returned samples, and numerous proposals. They worked on the development of a Mars sample-return orbiter, which would capture and return the samples as part of a joint mission with other countries.^[65]

Japan

On 9 June 2015, the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) unveiled a plan named Martian Moons Exploration (MMX) to retrieve samples from Phobos or Deimos.^[66][67] Phobos's orbit is closer to Mars and its surface may have captured particles blasted from Mars.^[68] The launch from Earth is planned for September 2024, with a return to Earth in 2029.^[69] Japan has also shown interest in participating in an international Mars sample-return mission.

Russia

Main article: Mars-Grunt

A Russian Mars sample-return mission concept is Mars-Grunt.^{[70][71][72][73][74]} It adopted Fobos-Grunt design heritage.^[71] 2011 plans envisioned a two-stage architecture with an orbiter and a lander (but no roving capability),^[75] with samples gathered from around the lander by a robotic arm.^[70][76]

Back contamination

Further information: Extraterrestrial sample curation and Planetary protection

 

OSIRIS-REx sample return capsule in Utah from asteroid 101955 Bennu

Whether life forms exist on Mars is unresolved. Thus, MSR could potentially transfer viable organisms to Earth, resulting in back contamination — the introduction of extraterrestrial organisms into Earth's biosphere. The scientific consensus is that the potential for large-scale effects, either through pathogenesis or ecological disruption, is small.^{[7][77][78][79][80]} Returned samples would be treated as potentially biohazardous until scientists decide the samples are safe. The goal is that the probability of release of a Mars particle is less than one in a million.^[77]

The proposed NASA Mars sample-return mission will not be approved by NASA until the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process has been completed.^[81] Furthermore, under the terms of Article VII of the Outer Space Treaty and other legal frameworks, were a release of organisms to occur, the releasing nation(s) would be liable for any resultant damages.^[82]

The sample-return mission would be tasked with preventing contact between the Martian environment and the exterior of the sample containers.^[77][81]

In order to eliminate the risk of parachute failure, the current plan is to use the thermal protection system to cushion the capsule upon impact (at terminal velocity). The sample container would be designed to withstand the force of impact.^[81] To receive the returned samples, NASA proposed a custom Biosafety Level 4 containment facility, the Mars Sample-Return Receiving facility (MSRRF).^[83]

Other scientists and engineers, notably Robert Zubrin of the Mars Society, argued in the Journal of Cosmology that contamination risk is functionally zero leaving little need to worry. They cite, among other things, lack of any known incident although trillions of kilograms of material have been exchanged between Mars and Earth via meteorite impacts.^[84]

The International Committee Against Mars Sample Return (ICAMSR) is an advocacy group led by Barry DiGregorio, that campaigns against a Mars sample-return mission. While ICAMSR acknowledges a low probability for biohazards, it considers the proposed containment measures to be unsafe. ICAMSR advocates more in situ studies on Mars, and preliminary biohazard testing at the International Space Station before the samples are brought to Earth.^[85][86] DiGregorio accepts the conspiracy theory of a NASA coverup regarding the discovery of microbial life by the 1976 Viking landers.^[87][88] DiGregorio also supports a view that several pathogens – such as common viruses – originate in space and probably caused some mass extinctions and pandemics.^[89][90] These claims connecting terrestrial disease and extraterrestrial pathogens have been rejected by the scientific community.^[89]

See also

•  Spaceflight portal

• Timeline of Solar System exploration

References

1. Chang, Kenneth (28 July 2020). "Bringing Mars Rocks to Earth: Our Greatest Interplanetary Circus Act – NASA and the European Space Agency plan to toss rocks from one spacecraft to another before the samples finally land on Earth in 2031". The New York Times. from the original on 26 June 2023. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
2. Treiman, Allan H.; Wadhwa, Meenakshi; Shearer, Charles K. Jr.; MacPherson, Glenn J.; Papike, James J.; Wasserburg, Gerald J.; Floss, Christine; Rutherford, Malcolm J.; Flynn, George J.; Papanastassiou, Dimitri; Westphal, Andrew; Neal, Clive; Jones, John H.; Harvey, Ralph P.; Schwenzer, Suzsanne. Groundbreaking Sample Return from Mars: The Next Giant Leap in Understanding the Red Planet (PDF) (Technical report). (PDF) from the original on 15 June 2022.
3. "Mars Sample Return Campaign". mars.nasa.gov. NASA. from the original on 15 June 2022. Retrieved 15 June 2022.
4. David, Leonard (23 June 2022). "Controversy Grows Over whether Mars Samples Endanger Earth – Planetary scientists are eager to bring Red Planet rocks, soil and even air to Earth, but critics fear the risk of contaminating our world's biosphere". Scientific American. from the original on 26 August 2023. Retrieved 25 June 2022.
5. "NASA's Perseverance Rover Collects First Mars Rock Sample". Jet Propulsion Laboratory. 6 September 2021. from the original on 13 August 2023. Retrieved 29 March 2022.
6. . Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Archived from the original on 18 May 2008. Retrieved 26 May 2008.   This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
7. Thee International Mars Architecture for the Return of Samples (iMARS) Working Group (1 June 2008). Preliminary Planning for an International Mars Sample Return Mission (PDF) (Technical report). NASA. (PDF) from the original on 25 June 2022. Retrieved 29 August 2021.
8. "Meteoritical Bulletin: Search the Database". Lunar and Planetary Institute. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
9. Treiman, A.H. (October 2000). "The SNC meteorites are from Mars". Planetary and Space Science. 48 (12–14): 1213–1230. Bibcode:2000P&SS...48.1213T. doi:10.1016/S0032-0633(00)00105-7.
10. Helgostam, L.F. (September–October 1964). "Requirements for Efficient Mars Launch Trajectories." Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets. 1 (5): 539–544.
11. Weaver, W.L. (June 1974). "Mars Surface-to-Orbit Vehicles for Sample Return Missions." Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets. 11 (6): 426–428.
12. Space Studies Board; National Research Council (2011). Vision and Voyages for Planetary Science in the Decade 2013–2022. National Academies Press (Technical report). NASA. p. 6‑21. ISBN 9780309224642. LCCN 2011944161.   This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
13. Jones, S. M.; Jurewicz, J. G.; Wiens, R.; Yen, A.; Leshin, L. A. (2008). Ground Truth From Mars (2008) – Mars Sample Return at 6 Kilometers per Second: Practical, Low Cost, Low Risk, and Ready (PDF) (Technical report). Universities Space Research Association (USRA). (PDF) from the original on 4 April 2023. Retrieved 30 September 2012.
14. Harvey, Brian (2007). Russian Planetary Exploration: History, Development, Legacy and Prospects. Springer Science & Business Media. p. 238. ISBN 978-0-387-46343-8.
15. French, J.R., Norton, H.N., and Klein, G.A., "Mars Sample Return Options." Aerospace America, November 1985, 50–58.
16. “Mars Rover Sample Return Mission Delivery and Return Challenges,” A. Cohen, Director, Johnson Space Center, AIAA 1988-5007, AIAA/NASA First International Symposium on Space Automation and Robotics, 29–30 November 1988.
17. “Mars Rover Sample Return: Rover Challenges,” L. Allen, Director, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, AIAA 1988-5009, AIAA/NASA First International Symposium on Space Automation and Robotics, 29–30 November 1988.
18. “Advanced Propulsion for the Mars Rover Sample Return Mission,” B. Palaszewski and R. Frisbee, AIAA 1988-2900, AIAA/ASME/SAE/ASEE Joint Propulsion Conference, 11–13 July 1988.
19. “Mars Rover Sample Return Ascent, Rendezvous and Return to Earth,” N. Lance, AIAA 1989-0424, 27th Aerospace Sciences Meeting, 9–12 January 1989.
20. Shirley, Donna; McCleese, Daniel J. (January 1996). Mars Exploration Program Strategy: 1995–2020. 34th Aerospace Sciences Meeting & Exhibit. Jet Propulsion Laboratory. hdl:2014/23620. 96-0333. from the original on 1 September 2023. Retrieved 18 October 2012.   This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
21. "Mars Program Gears up for Sample Return Mission". NASA. 4 October 1996. from the original on 13 August 2022.   This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
22. “Low Cost Mars Sample Return Mission Options,” R.A. Wallace, R.T. Gamber, B.C. Clark, B.M. Sutter, AIAA 1996-0336, AIAA 34th Aerospace Sciences Meeting, Reno NV, January 1996.
23. “A Comparison of Methods for the Mars Sample Return Mission,” R. Zubrin, AIAA 1996-2941, 32nd Joint Propulsion Conference, Lake Buena Vista FL, July 1996.
24. Zubrin, R. (March 1998). "A Comparison of Methods for the Mars Sample Return Mission." Journal of the British Interplanetary Society. 51 (3): 116–122.
25. “Mars Ascent Propulsion Options for Small Sample Return Vehicles,” J.C. Whitehead, AIAA 1997-2950, 33rd AIAA/ASME/SAE/ASEE Joint Propulsion Conference, Seattle WA, July 1997.
26. “Mars Ascent Propulsion System (MAPS) Technology Program: Plans and Progress,” C.S. Guernsey, AIAA 1998-3664, 34th AIAA/ASME/SAE/ASEE Joint Propulsion Conference, Cleveland OH, July 1998.
27. “Mars Ascent Propulsion on a Minimum Scale,” J.C. Whitehead, C.S. Guernsey, Third IAA International Conference on Low-Cost Planetary Missions, Pasadena CA, April–May 1998 and (August–November 1999) Acta Astronautica 45 (4–9): 319–327.
28. Whitehead, J.C. and G.T. Brewster (July–August 2000). "High-Pressure-Pumped Hydrazine for Mars Sample Return." Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets. 37 (4): 532–538.
29. “Design and Flight Testing of a Reciprocating Pump Fed Rocket,” J.C. Whitehead, L.C. Pittenger, N.J. Colella, AIAA 1994-3031, 30th AIAA/ASME/SAE/ASEE Joint Propulsion Conference, Indianapolis IN, June 1994.
30. “Mars Sample Return Spacecraft Systems Architecture,” H. Price et al, 2000 IEEE Aerospace Conference, 357.
31. Newcott, William (1 August 1998). "Return to Mars". National Geographic Magazine.
32. . 27 February 2015. Archived from the original on 27 February 2015.
33. "NASA and ESA Establish a Mars Exploration Joint Initiative". NASA. 8 July 2009. from the original on 27 December 2022.   This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
34. Christensen, Phil (April 2010). "Planetary Science Decadal Survey: MSR Lander Mission". JPL. NASA. Retrieved 24 August 2012.   This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
35. "Date set for Mars sample mission". BBC. 10 July 2008. from the original on 27 December 2022.
36. . European Space Agency. 21 July 2008. Archived from the original on 1 March 2012. Retrieved 18 November 2008.
37. Wal, Michael (22 August 2012). "International cooperation called key to planet exploration". NBC News. from the original on 27 December 2022.
38. "Exploring Our Solar System: The Asteroids Act as a Key Step". www.govinfo.gov. United States Government Publishing Office. 10 September 2014. from the original on 27 December 2022.
39. Foust, Jeff (20 July 2016). "Mars 2020 rover mission to cost more than US$2 billion". SpaceNews.
40. Evans, Kim (13 October 2015). . Denver Museum of Nature and Science. Archived from the original on 31 August 2017. Retrieved 10 November 2015.
41. Mattingly, Richard (March 2010). (PDF). NASA. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 September 2015.   This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
42. Howell, Elizabeth (22 December 2022). "NASA's Mars Perseverance rover sample tubes look like Star Wars lightsabers". Space.com. from the original on 5 August 2023. Retrieved 19 January 2023.
43. "Welcome to 'Octavia E. Butler Landing'". NASA. 5 March 2021. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
44. Voosen, Paul (31 July 2021). "Mars rover's sampling campaign begins". Science. AAAS. 373 (6554): 477. Bibcode:2021Sci...373..477V. doi:10.1126/science.373.6554.477. PMID 34326215. S2CID 236514399. Retrieved 1 August 2021.
45. "On the Eve of Perseverance's First Sample". mars.nasa.gov. NASA. 5 August 2021. from the original on 7 February 2023. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
46. "Nobody Tell Elmo About Issole". nasa.gov. Retrieved 11 February 2022.
47. mars.nasa.gov. "NASA's Perseverance Plans Next Sample Attempt". NASA’s Mars Exploration Program. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
48. "Sample Caching Dry Run, 1st sample tube cached". Twitter. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
49. mars.nasa.gov. "Perseverance Sample Tube 266". NASA’s Mars Exploration Program. Retrieved 9 September 2021.
50. Chang, Kenneth (27 July 2022). "NASA Will Send More Helicopters to Mars". The New York Times. from the original on 15 June 2023. Retrieved 28 July 2022.
51. Berger, Eric (21 September 2023). "Independent reviewers find NASA Mars Sample Return plans are seriously flawed". Ars Technica. Retrieved 23 September 2023.
52. Foust, Jeff (27 March 2022). "NASA to delay Mars Sample Return, switch to dual-lander approach". SpaceNews. Retrieved 28 March 2022.
53. "Future Planetary Exploration: New Mars Sample Return Plan". 8 December 2009. from the original on 18 January 2023.
54. "Mars sample return". www.esa.int. ESA. from the original on 29 August 2023. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
55. Berger, Eric (23 June 2023). "NASA's Mars Sample Return has a new price tag—and it's colossal". Ars Technica. from the original on 4 August 2023. Retrieved 1 August 2023.
56. Berger, Eric (13 July 2023). "The Senate just lobbed a tactical nuke at NASA's Mars Sample Return program". Ars Technica. from the original on 28 July 2023. Retrieved 1 August 2023.
57. "NASA Mars Ascent Vehicle Continues Progress Toward Mars Sample Return". Mars Exploration Program. Jet Propulsion Laboratory. 31 July 2023. from the original on 16 August 2023. Retrieved 1 August 2023.
58. "NASA Begins Testing Robotics to Bring First Samples Back From Mars". Jet Propulsion Laboratory. 13 December 2021. from the original on 1 September 2023. Retrieved 1 August 2023.
59. Jones, Andrew (18 May 2022). "China to launch Tianwen 2 asteroid-sampling mission in 2025". Space.com. from the original on 5 June 2023. Retrieved 20 May 2022.
60. Jones, Andrew (20 June 2022). "China aims to bring Mars samples to Earth 2 years before NASA, ESA mission". SpaceNews. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
61. Writers Beijing (AFP) (10 October 2012). "China to collect samples from Mars by 2030: Xinhua". marsdaily.com.
62. Chen, Na (23 February 2016). "China Is Racing to Make the 2020 Launch Window to Mars". Chinese Academy of Science. from the original on 6 July 2022.
63. Jones, Andrew (19 December 2019). "A closer look at China's audacious Mars sample return plans". The Planetary Society. from the original on 27 July 2020.
64. Plans To Land A Rover On Mars In 2020. Alexandra Lozovschi, Inquisitr, 17 January 2019
65. Counil, J.; Bonneville, R.; Rocard, F. (1 January 2002). "The french involvement in Mars sample-return program". 34th COSPAR Scientific Assembly. 34: 3166. Bibcode:2002cosp...34E3166C – via NASA ADS.   This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
66. "JAXA plans probe to bring back samples from moons of Mars". 10 June 2015. from the original on 19 January 2023.
67. Torishima, Shinya (19 June 2015). "JAXAの「火星の衛星からのサンプル・リターン」計画とは". Mynavi News (in Japanese). Retrieved 6 October 2015.
68. "火星衛星の砂回収へ ＪＡＸＡ「フォボス」に探査機". The Nikkei (in Japanese). 22 September 2017. Retrieved 20 July 2018.
69. MMX Homepage (English version) 5 October 2017 at the Wayback Machine JAXA 2017
70. Roscosmos – Space missions^{[permanent dead link]} Published by The Space Review (page 9) on 2010
71. Day, Dwayne A. (28 November 2011). "'Red Planet blues (Monday, November 28, 2011)". The Space Review. Retrieved 16 January 2012.
72. Kramnik, Ilya (18 April 2012). . Russia & India Report. Archived from the original on 22 April 2012. Retrieved 18 April 2012.
73. Russia To Study Martian Moons Once Again, Mars Daily, July 15, 2008.
74. Major provisions of the Russian Federal Space Program for 2006–2015 6 September 2013 at the Wayback Machine, "1 spacecraft for Mars research and delivery of Martian soil to the Earth"
75. Brian Harvey; Olga Zakutnyaya (2011). Russian Space Probes: Scientific Discoveries and Future Missions. Springer Science & Business Media. p. 475. ISBN 978-1-4419-8150-9.
76. "ExoMars to pave the way for soil sample return". russianspaceweb.com.
77. European Science Foundation – Mars Sample Return backward contamination – Strategic advice and requirements 2 June 2016 at the Wayback Machine July 2012, ISBN 978-2-918428-67-1 – see Back Planetary Protection section (for more details of the document see abstract)   This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
78. Joshua Lederberg Parasites Face a Perpetual Dilemma Volume 65, Number 2, 1999/ American Society for Microbiology News 77   This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
79. Assessment of Planetary Protection Requirements for Mars Sample Return Missions (Report). National Research Council. 2009.
80. Mars Sample Return: Issues and Recommendations Task Group on Issues in Sample Return, National Academies Press, Washington, D.C. (1997)   This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
81. "Mars Sample Return Discussions" (PDF). 23 February 2010. (PDF) from the original on 16 February 2013. Retrieved 12 August 2013. Mars Sample Return Discussions As presented on February 23, 2010   This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
82. "Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies" (PDF). United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs. 19 December 1966. (PDF) from the original on 16 May 2023. Retrieved 13 July 2013.
83. Atlas, Ronald (2008). "Mars Sample Return Receiving Facility" (PDF). NASA. (PDF) from the original on 21 March 2021.
84. Zubrin, Robert (2010). . Journal of Cosmology. 12: 3549–3557. Archived from the original on 20 November 2010.
85. "ICAMSR – Planetary Protection". www.icamsr.org.
86. DiGregorio, Barry. "The dilemma of Mars sample return". Chemical Innovation. 31 (8): 18–27 – via ACS Publications.
87. Life On Mars, Coast To Coast show. Accessed 23 August 2018
88. Local scientist has evidence of life on Mars, Mike Randall, ABC News, Buffalo 14 February 2018
89. Joseph Patrick Byrne (2008). Encyclopedia of Pestilence, Pandemics, and Plagues. ABC-CLIO. pp. 454–455. ISBN 978-0-313-34102-1.^{[permanent dead link]}
90. Stenger, Richard (7 November 2000). "Mars sample return plan carries microbial risk, group warns". CNN. from the original on 29 October 2002.

External links

• Mars Sample return media reel produced by NASA and JPL (video)