NASA: The “upgraded” plan for Mars research

The new upgraded plan for research missions to Mars announced on Wednesday the NASA. In essence, it is a new approach, to simplify missions to the “Red Planet”, based on the new technologies and information that have strengthened the library of knowledge about the planet and Space in general.

NASA has completed a review of the system requirements for the Sample Return Program Mars, which is nearing the completion of its phase. During this phase, the program team evaluated and refined the plan for the return of selected samples from Mars, which are currently in the process of being collected by NASA’s Perseverance rover in the crater Jezero.

The new design, which includes contributions from the European Space Agency (ESA), is expected to reduce the complexity of future missions and increase the likelihood of success.

The conceptual design phase is completed

“The conceptual design phase is when every aspect of a mission plan is put under the microscope,” said Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator for science at NASA headquarters in Washington. “There are some significant and beneficial design changes that can be directly attributed to Perseverance’s recent successes at Jezero and the amazing performance of the Mars helicopter.”

This advanced mission architecture takes into account a recently updated analysis of Perseverance’s expected longevity. Persistence will be the primary means of transporting samples to NASA’s Sample Retrieval Lander carrying the Mars Ascent Vehicle and ESA’s Sample Transfer Arm.

Therefore, the Mars Sample Return campaign will no longer include the Sample Fetch Rover or the corresponding second lander. The Sample Retrieval Lander will include two sample retrieval helicopters, based on the design of the Ingenuity lander, which has made 29 flights to Mars and survived more than a year beyond its original planned lifespan. The helicopters will provide a secondary capability to retrieve samples stored on the Martian surface.

The ESA Earth Return Orbiter and the NASA-provided Capture, Containment and Return System remain vital elements of the program architecture.

With planned launch dates for the Earth Return Orbiter and Sample Retrieval Lander in fall 2027 and summer 2028, respectively, the samples are expected to reach Earth in 2033.

With its architecture solidified during this conceptual design phase, the program is expected to move into its preliminary design phase this October. In this phase, which is expected to last approximately 12 months, the program will complete technology development and create engineering prototypes of key mission components.

Update on the 22 countries participating in the program

This new concept for the Mars Sample Return campaign was presented to representatives from the 22 countries involved in Europe’s Terrae Novae space exploration program in May. At their next meeting in September, the states will consider halting development of the Sample Fetch Rover.

“ESA is continuing full speed ahead with the development of both the Earth Return Orbiter that will make the historic round trip from Earth to Mars and back again. and the sample transfer arm that will robotically place sample tubes on the Sample Orbiter before it is launched from the surface of the Red Planet,” said David Parker, ESA’s director of Human and Robotic Exploration.

“Participating in historic efforts like Mars Sample Return not only provides invaluable data about our place in the universe, but brings us closer here on Earth,” Zurbuchen said.

The first step in the Mars sample return campaign is already underway. Since landing in Jezero Crater on February 18, 2021, the Perseverance Rover has collected 11 scientific rock core samples and one atmospheric sample.

Transporting Martian samples to Earth would allow scientists around the world to examine the samples using sophisticated instruments too large and too complex to send to Mars and allow future generations to study them. Curating the samples on Earth would also allow the scientific community to test new theories and models as they develop, as Apollo samples returned from the Moon have done for decades. This strategic collaboration between NASA and ESA will fulfill a goal of solar system exploration that has been a high priority since the 1970s and in the past three National Academy of Sciences Decadal Surveys of Planetary Sciences.

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