Vision and Voyages for Planetary Science in the - Solar System ...

environmental conditions including habitability, and the possibility of preserved biosignatures. These
cores will be sealed in two separate caches for redundancy and left on the surface for retrieval by a
subsequent mission. The cache systems will be designed to prevent cross contamination between
samples, prevent exposure to the martian atmosphere, keep the samples within the temperature range that
they experienced prior to collection, and preserve the samples in this condition for up to 20 years.
Mars Sample Return Lander
The MSR-L will also land using the Sky Crane system, and will carry a fetch rover, local regolith
and atmosphere sample collection system, and the Mars ascent vehicle (MAV). The fetch rover will be
capable of reaching the cache from any point within the 11-km radius landing error ellipse within three
months. The strawman MAV design is a solid rocket that is maintained in a thermally controlled cocoon
while on the martian surface for up to 1 Earth year. Following sample retrieval, the lander will place the
cache in the orbital sample (OS) container, collect regolith and atmospheric samples, and seal the
container to meet the planetary protection requirements. The MAV will insert the OS into a stable 500km
altitude near-circular orbit.
Mars Sample Return Orbiter
The MSR-O will consist of a Mars orbiter, the orbital sample acquisition and capture system, the
sample isolation system for planetary protection, and the Earth-entry vehicle. The orbiter will detect,
track, and rendezvous with the OS, then capture and seal it in the Earth entry vehicle. The orbiter will
leave Mars and release the entry vehicle to Earth, where it will enter Earth’s atmosphere and hard land
using a parachute-less, self-righting system.
Mars Returned Sample Handling Facility
The Mars returned sample-handling element will meet the planetary protection requirements and
will be based on practices and procedures at existing biocontainment laboratories, the NASA’s Lunar
Sample Facility, and pharmaceutical laboratories.
Trace Gas Orbiter
The Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) is currently conceived as a joint ESA-NASA collaboration to study
the temporal and spatial distribution of trace gases, atmospheric state, and surface-atmosphere interactions
on Mars. This mission builds upon the reported discovery of methane in the martian atmosphere. 89 The
committee could only evaluate the science return of this mission in a general sense, because the payload
had not been selected as of the time of the evaluation. In addition, no independent cost estimate for this
mission was generated because it would have been inappropriate to perform such a science and cost
evaluation during the competitive instrument payload selection that was underway at the time of this
assessment. NASA-provided cost estimates were used instead.
Technology Development
One of the highest priority activities for the upcoming decade will be to develop the technologies
necessary to return samples from Mars. The technology program also needs to continue a robust
instrument development program so that future in situ missions can include the most advanced
technologies possible. The new developments needed for MAX-C are the sample coring, collection, and
caching system. The modest technology development for these systems have begun and should be
continued at a the level necessary to develop them to TRL 6 at the time the mission is approved.
PREPUBLICATION COPY—SUBJECT TO FURTHER EDITORIAL CORRECTION
6-29