This illustration depicts the Mars Earth Entry System for the Mars Sample Return campaign. The system would contain the orbiting sample inside a disk-shaped vehicle with a heat shield for safe entry through the Earth's atmosphere. NASA's Mars Sample Return (MSR) will revolutionize our understanding of Mars by returning scientifically-selected samples for study using the most sophisticated instruments around the world. The mission will fulfill a solar system exploration goal as identified by the National Academy of Sciences. This strategic partnership with the European Space Agency (ESA) will be the first mission to return samples from another planet, including the first launch from the surface of another planet. These samples collected by Perseverance during its exploration of an ancient river-delta are thought to be the best opportunity to reveal the early evolution of Mars, including the potential for life. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA25336

Engineer Abel Dizon explains how drop tests are conducted for a prototype lander being designed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory for the planned Mars Sample Return campaign. The Sample Retrieval Lander, estimated to weigh as much as 5,016 pounds (2,275 kilograms), would be the heaviest spacecraft ever to land on the Red Planet. To study the physics involved in landing such a massive spacecraft, engineers have been testing a lander prototype that's about one-third the size it would be on Mars. Mars Sample Return will revolutionize our understanding of Mars by bringing scientifically selected samples to Earth for study using the most sophisticated instrumentation around the world. NASA's planned Mars Sample Return (MSR) campaign would fulfill one of the highest priority solar system exploration goals identified by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine in the past three decadal surveys. This strategic partnership with the ESA (European Space Agency) features the first mission to return samples from another planet, including the first launch from the surface of another planet. The samples being collected by NASA's Perseverance rover during its exploration of an ancient river delta are thought to be the best opportunity to reveal the early evolution of Mars, including the potential for ancient life. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA25822

Morgan Montalvo, an engineer at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, sets guardrails on the floor below a prototype of the lander being designed for the agency's Mars Sample Return campaign. These guardrails were used to test a scenario where the lander would "stub a toe" against a rock while touching down on Mars. The Sample Retrieval Lander, estimated to weigh as much as 5,016 pounds (2,275 kilograms), would be the heaviest spacecraft ever to land on the Red Planet. To study the physics involved in landing such a massive spacecraft, engineers have been testing a lander prototype that's about one-third the size it would be on Mars. Mars Sample Return will revolutionize our understanding of Mars by bringing scientifically selected samples to Earth for study using the most sophisticated instrumentation around the world. NASA's planned Mars Sample Return (MSR) campaign would fulfill one of the highest priority solar system exploration goals identified by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine in the past three decadal surveys. This strategic partnership with the ESA (European Space Agency) features the first mission to return samples from another planet, including the first launch from the surface of another planet. The samples being collected by NASA's Perseverance rover during its exploration of an ancient river delta are thought to be the best opportunity to reveal the early evolution of Mars, including the potential for ancient life. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA25823

This setup is being used at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory to test a 16-inch-diameter (40-centimeter-diameter) footpad for a future Mars lander. The footpad was plunged into a test bed filled with 10,000 pounds (4,536 kilograms) of simulated Martian soil in order to see how deep it would sink – too far, and the lander's belly could scrape against the ground during touchdown, damaging it. The Sample Retrieval Lander, which would be central to NASA's Mars Sample Return campaign, is estimated to weigh as much as 5,016 pounds (2,275 kilograms). It would be the heaviest spacecraft ever to land on the Red Planet. In order to understand how energy would be absorbed during the landing of such a massive spacecraft, JPL engineers have been conducting drop tests of a full-size footpad. Mars Sample Return will revolutionize our understanding of Mars by bringing scientifically selected samples to Earth for study using the most sophisticated instrumentation around the world. NASA's planned Mars Sample Return (MSR) campaign would fulfill one of the highest priority solar system exploration goals identified by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine in the past three decadal surveys. This strategic partnership with the ESA (European Space Agency) features the first mission to return samples from another planet, including the first launch from the surface of another planet. The samples being collected by NASA's Perseverance rover during its exploration of an ancient river delta are thought to be the best opportunity to reveal the early evolution of Mars, including the potential for ancient life. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA25824

Patrick DeGrosse and fellow engineers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory review data from a recent test of a full-size footpad for a future Mars lander. The 16-inch-diameter (40-centimeter-diameter) footpad was plunged into a test bed filled with 10,000 pounds (4,536 kilograms) of simulated Martian soil in order to see how deep it would sink – too far, and the lander's belly could scrape against the ground during touchdown, damaging it. The Sample Retrieval Lander, which would be central to NASA's Mars Sample Return campaign, is estimated to weigh as much as 5,016 pounds (2,275 kilograms). It would be the heaviest spacecraft ever to land on the Red Planet. In order to understand how energy would be absorbed during the landing of such a massive spacecraft, JPL engineers have been conducting these footpad drop tests. Mars Sample Return will revolutionize our understanding of Mars by bringing scientifically selected samples to Earth for study using the most sophisticated instrumentation around the world. NASA's planned Mars Sample Return (MSR) campaign would fulfill one of the highest priority solar system exploration goals identified by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine in the past three decadal surveys. This strategic partnership with the ESA (European Space Agency) features the first mission to return samples from another planet, including the first launch from the surface of another planet. The samples being collected by NASA's Perseverance rover during its exploration of an ancient river delta are thought to be the best opportunity to reveal the early evolution of Mars, including the potential for ancient life. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA25826

This artist's concept shows Mars Sample Return Earth Entry System. The vehicle would bring curated Martian samples collected by NASA's Perseverance Rover on the final leg of their journey from Mars to Earth. The illustration shows the Earth Entry System, a capsule about 4 feet (1.25 meters) in diameter, on its final approach to Earth, after being ejected from the Earth Return Orbiter. Once in Earth's atmosphere, it would take the vehicle about six minutes to land at the U.S. Air Force's Utah Test and Training Range in west-central Utah. Velocity at time of touchdown for the parachute-less capsule is expected to be about 90 mph (40 meters per second). The Earth Entry System is part of the multi-mission Mars Sample Return program being planned by NASA and ESA (European Space Agency). https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA25986

This illustration shows NASA's Mars Ascent Vehicle (MAV) in powered flight. The MAV will carry tubes containing Martian rock and soil samples into orbit around Mars, where ESA's Earth Return Orbiter spacecraft will enclose them in a highly secure containment capsule and deliver them to Earth. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA25076

This illustration shows NASA's Mars Ascent Vehicle (MAV), which will carry tubes containing Martian rock and soil samples into orbit around Mars, where ESA's Earth Return Orbiter spacecraft will enclose them in a highly secure containment capsule and deliver them to Earth. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA25078

The Mars Sample Return Campaign Science Group gathered at the Keck Institute for Space Studies at Caltech for an initial meeting on June 28-29, 2022. This June 28 photo includes team members who attended in person; several others attended virtually or were not able to participate. The committee will provide oversight with the goal of maximizing the scientific potential of Mars rock and sediment samples that would be returned to Earth for in-depth analysis, as part of the Campaign. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA25442

Angie Jackman, manager of the Mars Ascent Vehicle (MAV) project, holds a 3D-printed model of the tubes NASA's Perseverance rover is already filling with Martian rock and soil samples. Set to be the first rocket to launch from another planet, the MAV is designed to carry the sealed samples into orbit around Mars. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA25074

The Mars Sample Return Campaign Science Group gathered for their first meeting, at the Keck Institute for Space Studies at Caltech, and took a group photo. This June 28 photo includes team members who attended in person; several others attended virtually or were not able to participate. The committee will provide oversight with the goal of maximizing the scientific potential of Mars rock and sediment samples that would be returned to Earth for in-depth analysis, as part of the Campaign. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA25443

This artist's concept shows the proposed Capture, Containment, and Return System, a NASA payload on the European Space Agency's Earth Return Orbiter. The payload is tasked with capturing the Orbiting Sample container, orienting it, sterilizing its exterior, and transferring it into a clean zone for secondary containment, toward safe return to Earth. The Capture, Containment, and Return System is part of the multi-mission Mars Sample Return program being planned by NASA and European Space Agency (ESA). https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA25894

This illustration shows the proposed process for safely recovering, containing, and transporting Mars samples gathered by NASA's Perseverance Mars rover after they are returned to Earth as part of the joint NASA/ESA (European Space Agency) Mars Sample Return Campaign. The process of carefully containing and handling the samples would begin long before they arrive on Earth. Every phase of the Mars Sample Return campaign from collection and sealing to launch, transfer, and landing has been developed with a "safety first" approach. Sample handling and curation experts would be involved in planning for the round trip at each phase of the campaign. After its journey back to Earth from Mars on the ESA-provided Earth Return Orbiter, the capsule containing the samples would land at the Utah Test and Training Range in west-central Utah. NASA would securely transport the capsule and its contents to a Sample Return Facility at a location to be determined. Once at the facility, the samples would undergo a rigorous process to assess whether they are safe for release for detailed analysis by scientists from around the world. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA25857

The European Space Agency's (ESA) Earth Return Orbiter (ERO) would be the biggest spacecraft to ever orbit Mars. The spacecraft would also be the first interplanetary spacecraft to rendezvous and capture hardware launched from another planet and return it to the Earth's surface, making a full round trip to Mars and back. ERO would be a multi-stage modular spacecraft equipped with both chemical and solar electric propulsion. The electric propulsion system would be the most powerful ever flown on any previous planetary mission. ERO would carry a radiation monitor to measure the total radiation dose experienced by the spacecraft throughout the entire mission, which in addition to monitoring the health of the ERO, should provide important information on how to design systems for future human explorers. Launch is planned in 2027, entering into Mars orbit in 2029. The Earth Return Orbiter is part of the multi-mission Mars Sample Return campaign being planned by NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA). https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA25892

This illustration shows a concept for a proposed NASA Mars lander-and-rocket combination that would play a key role in returning to Earth samples of Mars material collected by the Perseverance rover. This Sample Retrieval Lander would carry a small rocket (about 10 feet, or 3 meters, tall) called the Mars Ascent Vehicle to the Martian surface. After using a robotic arm to load the rover's sealed sample tubes into a container in the nose cone of the rocket, the lander would launch the Mars Ascent Vehicle into orbit around the Red Planet. The lander and rocket are part of the multimission Mars Sample Return program being planned by NASA and ESA (European Space Agency). The program would use multiple robotic vehicles to pick up and ferry sealed tubes containing Mars samples already collected by NASA's Perseverance rover, for transport to laboratories on Earth. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA25278

This illustration shows a concept for multiple robots that would team up to ferry to Earth samples of rocks and soil being collected from the Martian surface by NASA's Mars Perseverance rover. NASA and ESA (European Space Agency) are developing concepts for the Mars Sample Return program, designed to retrieve the rock and soil samples Perseverance has collected and stored in sealed tubes. In the future, the samples would be returned to Earth for detailed laboratory analysis. The current concept envisions delivering a Mars lander near Jezero Crater, where Perseverance (far left) collects samples. A NASA-provided Sample Retrieval Lander (far right) would carry a NASA rocket (the Mars Ascent Vehicle). Perseverance would gather sample tubes it has cached on the Mars surface and transport them to the Sample Retrieval Lander, where they would then be transferred by a Sample Transfer Arm provided by ESA onto the Mars Ascent Vehicle. The arm is based on a human arm, with an elbow, shoulder, and wrist. The Mars Ascent Vehicle would launch a container with the sample tubes inside into orbit. Waiting in Mars orbit would be an ESA-provided Earth Return Obiter, which would rendezvous with and capture the Orbiting Sample Container using a NASA-provided Capture, Containment, and Return System. This system would capture and orient the container, then prepare it for return to Earth inside the Earth Entry System. Also depicted is one of two Sample Recovery Helicopters NASA will develop to be transported to Mars on the Sample Retrieval Lander, just as the Ingenuity helicopter was carried on the Perseverance rover. The helicopters would serve as backups to Perseverance in transporting sample tubes to the Lander. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA25326

The Earth Return Orbiter (ERO) is one of the flight missions making up the Mars Sample Return campaign to bring martian rock and atmospheric samples back to Earth. The ESA orbiter would be the first interplanetary spacecraft to capture samples in orbit and make a return trip between Earth and Mars. The primary mission of the European spacecraft would be to find, fly to, and capture a volleyball-sized capsule called the Orbiting Sample (OS) container launched from the surface of Mars by NASA's Mars Ascent System and carrying a carefully selected set of samples previously collected on the surface of Mars by NASA's Perseverance rover. Having already spent three years to reach Mars and perform its rendezvous and capture mission, ERO would take a further two years to fly from its operational orbit around Mars up to escape altitude and make its way back to Earth. When ERO is about three days from Earth, the Earth Entry System (EES) carrying the OS would separate from the spacecraft and be placed on a precision trajectory for Earth entry and landing. The Earth Return Orbiter is part of the multi-mission Mars Sample Return campaign being planned by NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA). https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA25893

This illustration shows a concept for a proposed NASA Sample Retrieval Lander that would carry a small rocket (about 10 feet, or 3 meters, tall) called the Mars Ascent Vehicle to the Martian surface. After being loaded with sealed tubes containing samples of Martian rocks and soil collected by NASA's Perseverance rover, the rocket would launch into Mars orbit. The samples would then be ferried to Earth for detailed analysis. The lander is part of the multi-mission Mars Sample Return program being planned by NASA and ESA (European Space Agency). https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA25277

This illustration shows the proposed Capture, Containment, and Return System, a NASA payload on the European Space Agency's Earth Return Orbiter. As part of the Mars Sample Return Campaign, samples collected by NASA's Mars Perseverance Rover would be launched into Mars orbit within sealed tubes inside an Orbiting Sample container. The Earth Return Orbiter would then rendezvous with this container, and the Capture, Containment, and Return System would be tasked with capturing the Orbiting Sample container, orienting it, sterilizing its exterior, and transferring it into a clean zone for secondary containment, toward safe return to Earth. The Capture, Containment, and Return System is part of the multi-mission Mars Sample Return program being planned by NASA and European Space Agency (ESA). https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA25860

The Earth Return Orbiter (ERO) is one of the flight missions making up the Mars Sample Return campaign to bring martian rock and atmospheric samples back to Earth. This European Space Agency (ESA) orbiter would be the first interplanetary spacecraft to capture samples in orbit and make a return trip between Earth and Mars. ERO would also be the largest spacecraft to orbit the Red Planet. In addition to the rendezvous and return mission, ERO would provide critical Mars-Earth communications coverage for NASA's Perseverance rover and the Sample Retrieval Lander to deliver the martian samples. The Earth Return Orbiter is part of the multi-mission Mars Sample Return campaign being planned by NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA). https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA25891

This illustration shows a concept for a set of future robots working together to ferry back samples from the surface of Mars collected by NASA's Mars Perseverance rover. NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) are solidifying concepts for a Mars sample return mission that would seek to take the samples of Martian rocks and other materials being collected and stored in sealed tubes by NASA's Mars Perseverance rover and return the sealed tubes to Earth. According to the current concept, NASA would deliver a Mars lander in the vicinity of Jezero Crater, where Perseverance (left) will have collected and cached samples. The Sample Retrieval Lander (right) would carry a NASA rocket (the Mars Ascent Vehicle), along with ESA's Sample Fetch Rover (center) that is roughly the size of the Opportunity Mars rover. The fetch rover would gather the cached samples and carry them back to the lander for transfer to the ascent vehicle; additional samples could also be delivered directly by Perseverance. The ascent vehicle would then launch a special container holding the samples into Mars orbit. ESA would put a spacecraft in orbit around Mars before the ascent vehicle launches. This spacecraft would rendezvous with and capture the orbiting samples before returning them to Earth. NASA would provide the capture and containment payload module for the orbiter. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA24870

NASA's Perseverance Mars rover used one of its navigation cameras to take this image of flat terrain in Jezero Crater. This is one possible site that NASA may consider for a Mars Sample Return lander that would collect Perseverance's samples of Mars rock and sediment in the future. The lander would serve as the launch platform for a Mars Ascent Vehicle that would blast off from Mars, delivering the samples to an orbiter as part of their journey to Earth for intensive study. Choosing an area that lacks large rocks (especially those over 7 1/2 inches, or 19 centimeters, in diameter), sand dunes, and steeply angled terrain would go a long way toward easing the path for an MSR recovery vehicle to efficiently grab tubes before heading to the lander. A key objective for Perseverance's mission on Mars is astrobiology, including the search for signs of ancient microbial life. The rover will characterize the planet's geology and past climate, pave the way for human exploration of the Red Planet, and be the first mission to collect and cache Martian rock and regolith (broken rock and dust). Subsequent NASA missions, in cooperation with ESA (European Space Agency), would send spacecraft to Mars to collect these sealed samples from the surface and return them to Earth for in-depth analysis. The Mars 2020 Perseverance mission is part of NASA's Moon to Mars exploration approach, which includes Artemis missions to the Moon that will help prepare for human exploration of the Red Planet. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA25370

NASA's Perseverance Mars rover used one of its navigation cameras to take this panorama of a proposed landing site for the Mars Sample Return lander. The lander would collect rock and sediment samples that Perseverance has taken and would also serve as the launch platform for a Mars Ascent Vehicle that would blast off from Mars, delivering the samples to an orbiter as part of their journey to Earth for intensive study. Choosing an area that lacks large rocks (especially those over 7 1/2 inches, or 19 centimeters, in diameter), sand dunes, and steeply angled terrain would go a long way toward easing the path for an MSR recovery vehicle to efficiently grab tubes before heading to the lander. This panorama is made up of five images taken on April 14, 2022 (the 409th Martian day, or sol, of the mission) and stitched together back on Earth. The color has been adjusted to match the lighting conditions as the human eye would perceive them on Earth. A key objective for Perseverance's mission on Mars is astrobiology, including the search for signs of ancient microbial life. The rover will characterize the planet's geology and past climate, pave the way for human exploration of the Red Planet, and be the first mission to collect and cache Martian rock and regolith (broken rock and dust). Subsequent NASA missions, in cooperation with ESA (European Space Agency), would send spacecraft to Mars to collect these sealed samples from the surface and return them to Earth for in-depth analysis. The Mars 2020 Perseverance mission is part of NASA's Moon to Mars exploration approach, which includes Artemis missions to the Moon that will help prepare for human exploration of the Red Planet. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA25406