News JVTech Mars: NASA is preparing a crazy project to bring samples back to Earth thanks to Europe
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NASA’s Mars 2020 mission has among its main objectives the collection of samples that are to return to Earth in the coming years. NASA has just clarified its plans on this subject, and patience is clearly in order.
Right now, on the planet Mars, is busy a rover whose mission is of paramount importance to better unlock the secrets of the red planet. In effect, Perseverance, one of the main actors of the Mars 2020 mission, has been collecting Martian soil samples for almost 2 years. A process that takes time: on December 21, 2022, the rover collected its 18th sample out of a set target of 38.
Unlike the others, which are stored directly in the rover, this 18th sample was left in place, within the crater of Jezero. Nine other tubes will also be left where they were collected. The purpose of these samples: to serve as a “backup” in the event that one of the critical steps in NASA’s recovery mission fails.
Mars Sample Return, a mission with high stakes
Because there is no point in collecting Martian samples if it is not possible to bring them back to Earth afterwards. This is where the mission Mars Sample Return join the game. The latter will be launched around March in 2027 and it should reach the planet in 2028. A lander, the Sample Retrieval Landerequipped with a small rocket should then land in the heart of the crater of Jezero, with a view to rharvest the samples carried by Perseverance.
In addition to the samples collected by the rover, two small helicopter-shaped drones, of the Ingenuity type, will be tasked with recovering the samples left on the Martian soil. These drones are also considered by NASA as a “safety”, in case Perseverance encounters motor problems during the rest of its mission. Once the samples have been collected, the rocket would take off from Mars in order to be intercepted by the Earth Return Orbitera spacecraft developed by ESA, whose ultimate goal will be to bring them back to Earth.
There will be many “people” on Mars in 2028.
A special office to study Mars samples at NASA
This delicate collection of samples should take time. Indeed, the return of the Earth Return Orbiter to our blue planet is scheduled for 2033which means that‘we’ll have to wait at least 10 years before their study really begins.
But NASA is taking the lead. This week, the American space agency has announced the opening of the Mars Sample Receiving Project Office, a special office whose mission will be to study samples from the red planet. “The office will reside within the Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science Division of Johnson, the NASA organization specializing in the processing and preservation of extraterrestrial samples”explains the organization in a press release.
ESA’s orbiter
“NASA Johnson is home to the largest and most diverse collection of astromaterials in the world, beginning with samples returned from the Apollo program”said Johnson Center director Vanessa Wyche. ” With our expertise, we look forward to managing the project which will receive scientifically compelling Mars samples collected by NASA’s Perseverance rover. »
“The most complex robotic spaceflight mission”
For NASA and ESA, the stakes are enormous. The Mars Sample Return mission is presented as “the most complex robotic spaceflight campaign ever attempted”and his success could mark history forever. As for the samples, they are eagerly awaited on Earth: this should make it possible to learn a great deal about Mars, with a view to preparing the continuation of its exploration.“The campaign would fulfill a goal of solar system exploration, a high priority since the 1970s and in the last three decadal planetary studies by the National Academy of Sciences”says NASA.
