In addition to collecting the first samples of the Red Planet’s ancient river delta, the robotic rover has been exploring the flat area around Jezero Crater that could serve as a landing site for a Mars sample return campaign.
This ambitious initiative, a joint project between NASA and the European Space Agency, will rely on multiple missions to bring the samples collected by Perseverance and return them to Earth over the next decade. This sample will be the first Martian sample to be returned to Earth.
When Perseverance traces the site of an ancient lake that existed billions of years ago, it collects rock and soil. This material is important because it could contain evidence of past microorganisms that would reveal whether life existed on Mars.
Scientists will have the opportunity to use some of the most advanced tools around the world to study these precious specimens.
Innovation road
The campaign to return samples from Mars to Earth will begin in mid-2020, when a rocket is launched on a mission to Mars carrying a sampling vehicle and a vehicle.
Once the probe reaches Mars, it will land near Jezero Crater and launch a rover to take samples from areas hidden by persistence on Mars.
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It’s also possible that Perseverance itself could store some samples and send them to the probe.
However, the getter isn’t the only spacecraft getting into the probe. It will also ship the Mars Ascent Rover – the first rocket ever launched from the surface of Mars, with samples safely placed inside.
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A separate mission will be launched from Earth in mid-2020, called the Earth Return Orbiter, to rendezvous with the Mars Ascent Rover.
On top of the Earth Return Orbiter is a capture/hold and return system, which will collect sample containers from the Mars Ascent Rover while both vehicles are in orbit around Mars.
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After that, the Earth return probe will return to our world. Once the spacecraft approaches Earth, it will launch an Earth-entry vehicle containing cached samples, and the spacecraft will land on Earth in the early to mid-2030s.
Looking for Mars Pie
To land and take off from Mars, a typical return mission requires a flat surface with a radius of 200 feet (60 meters) without dunes, sloping terrain, or boulders more than 7.5 inches (19 cm) in diameter. disturb the area. The flat, unobstructed terrain also makes it easier for the rover to take samples.
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“The Perseverance team stopped all of our efforts, because Mars sample returns had unique needs related to where we worked,” Richard Cook, director of the Mars Sample Return Program at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, said in a statement. .
“Basically, a boring landing spot is a good thing. The flatter and less attractive the landscape, the better for us, because while there is a lot to do when we get to sampling, sightseeing is not one of them.”
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The sample return team used the rover’s camera to survey a flat area they called the “landing bed”. A long, flat area, like a runway at an airport, was previously seen in this image taken by an orbiter orbiting the planet. Perseverance is able to capture a better view of the earth.
“We’ve been looking at these sites since before the Perseverance landing, but images from orbit can tell you a lot,” Al Chin, director of Mars Sample Return Systems and Integration Systems Engineering, said in a statement.
“Now we have some close-up and personal photos of the landing pad that show we are really making money. The runway will likely be our shortlist for potential landing sites and caches for (Mars sample return).”
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