Science Summary

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.
Mars Sample Return Concept Illustration: This illustration shows a concept for multiple robots that would team up to ferry to Earth samples being collected from the Martian surface by NASA's Mars Perseverance rover. Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech. Download image ›

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Mars Sample Return (MSR), a joint campaign being planned by NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA), incorporates and choreographs multiple missions and components, with the goal of bringing Mars rock, loose surface material, and gas samples to Earth for detailed laboratory analysis. This campaign builds on more than a dozen previous NASA and international missions that have been gradually helping scientists answer major questions about the past history of Mars and its possible habitability. Bringing Mars samples to Earth would be an invaluable step in this process and could even help inform us about the development of life here on Earth. The MSR Campaign will also enable scientists to address numerous other questions about the geologic history and evolution of Mars and our solar system. To accomplish this challenging and exciting venture, three key steps are necessary:

1

Find, collect, and store on Mars compelling samples of rock, regolith (loose surface material), and the Martian atmosphere.

2

Retrieve the samples from Mars and return them safely to Earth.

3

Make the samples available to scientists around the world for detailed study in highly sophisticated laboratories, so they can analyze and preserve them for future generations to study.

Bringing Mars Science Down to Earth

The first step in Mars Sample Return began with NASA's Perseverance rover, which has been collecting and caching samples on Mars since landing on the Red Planet on Feb. 18, 2021. When other NASA and ESA missions arrive at Mars, the samples would be transferred and stowed safely for transport to Earth by an orbiter. Once on Earth, they would undergo sophisticated, detailed analysis in laboratories, to look for indications of past life.

Scientists anticipate the samples would help answer some of the lofty questions about how and when life developed on our own planet. What conditions enabled life to develop? What were the planets like in our solar system at that time?

The scientists know that life started evolving on Earth 3.5 billion years ago, but it's not easy to find evidence from that era on our planet, because most of Earth's surface has been eroded by weather and other factors. Mars has enormous quantities of rocks that have survived from 3 billion or 3.5 billion years ago, making them rich sources of information about potential life development on Mars, and where and when life first developed on Earth.

So why don't we just analyze Mars rocks on Mars, since we have multiple spacecraft there? NASA spacecraft have, in fact, carried instruments that enabled scientists to study some components of Martian rocks and regolith, but that quest is limited to analysis by equipment small, light, and sturdy enough to withstand the harsh journey en route to Mars, and on the planet's surface after landing.

Laboratories on Earth have much more complex and sophisticated equipment to conduct analysis--equipment that is often too large and bulky to transport to another planet. In addition, the expectation is that the Mars samples brought back to Earth would be analyzed in multiple facilities, and over time, by multiple generations.

Science Objectives

Protect the Precious Cargo: Preserve the integrity of the samples by minimizing exposure to high temperatures and magnetic fields, maintaining mechanical integrity, and avoiding potential contamination.
Geology:Reconstruct the formation and alteration history of the returned samples to transform our understanding of the geological processes and environments of Mars.
Astrobiology: Determine the potential astrobiological significance of the Martian geological record represented by the samples, including whether the samples contain evidence of past life on Mars
Planetary Processes:Provide new insights into planetary-scale formation and evolution in the inner solar system.
Prepare for Humans on Mars:Identify and characterize potential risks and opportunities for future human missions.
NASA's Perseverance Mars rover captured this portrait of its recently completed sample depot using its Mastcam-Z camera on Jan. 31, 2023, the 693rd Martian day, or sol, of the mission.
Perseverance's Portrait of the Sample Depot: NASA's Perseverance Mars rover captured this portrait of its recently completed sample depot using its Mastcam-Z camera on Jan. 31, 2023, the 693rd Martian day, or sol, of the mission. Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSS. Download image ›

Science Leadership

  • NASAMichael Meyer, Lead Scientist, NASA Headquarters, Washington
  • ESAGerhard Kminek, Lead Scientist, European Space Agency, European Space Research and Technology Centre, Noordwijk, The Netherlands
  • Mars 2020Ken Farley, Mars 2020 Project Scientist, Caltech and NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Southern California
  • MSR ProgramMeenakshi Wadhwa, Mars Sample Return Program Scientist, Arizona State University, Tempe
  • Sample Receiving ProjectDave Beaty, Acting Project Scientist, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Southern California, and
    Elliot Sefton-Nash, Co-Project Scientist, European Space Research and Technology Centre, Noordwijk, The Netherlands

Science Group

NASA and ESA (European Space Agency), partners in the Mars Sample Return Program, have established a group of researchers to maximize the scientific potential of Mars samples that would be returned to Earth for in-depth analysis. Called the Mars Sample Return Campaign Science Group, 16 researchers from the U.S., Europe, Canada, and Japan will function as a science resource for the campaign's project teams, as well as for related Earth-based ground projects, such as sample recovery and curation. View list of members ›