The first prototypes of Mars to land on Earth in 2033

The floor of an ancient lake in earnest from billions of years ago is being explored, gathering rocks and soil. This material is important because it may contain evidence of past microorganisms that may reveal whether life existed on Mars. Scientists will have the opportunity to use some of the most advanced tools from around the world to study these precious specimens.

The ambitious Mars Sample Return Project involves a collaboration between the two organizations to retrieve 30 samples from the Red Planet. Later this decade, several missions will return to Mars to safely retrieve samples.

The program is nearing the end of the conceptual design phase, and NASA has completed a review of system requirements. The revision led to changes that would reduce the complexity of future missions and increase the likelihood of success, according to NASA officials.

“The conceptual design phase is when every aspect of the mission plan is brought under the microscope,” said Thomas Zurbosen, associate administrator for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, in a statement. “There are some significant and positive changes to the program that can be directly attributed to the recent successes in perseverance at Jezero and the impressive performance of our Mars aircraft.”

At first , The introduction of the Fetch rover is planned Using a model lander in mid-2020. Once launched on the surface of Mars, the Fetch spacecraft had retrieved samples that had been hidden on the surface of Mars while it was stationary.

Currently, persistence will be the primary mode of transport for transporting samples to the probe. A recent assessment of the health and life expectancy of the rover shows that it should be in good shape to provide samples by 2030. Stability will support the probe, and the rover’s robotic arm will replace models.

The sample recovery lander will carry two sample recovery helicopters, similar to the Ingenuity helicopter currently on the surface of Mars – instead of a lander.

“Recent operations of the Smart Helicopter on Mars, which have completed 29 flights — more than 24 — have shown us the benefit of a potential helicopter on Mars,” said Jeff Gramling, director of the Mars Model Return Program.

Engineers are impressed with the functionality of Ingenuity. The helicopter survived more than a year of its life expectancy. If persistence cannot return samples to the probe, small helicopters can fly away from the probe, and weapons are used to retrieve the samples, returning them.

The two return helicopters are similar in size to the Creativity but a bit heavier. The landing legs will be equipped with small maneuverable wheels to allow them to travel on the ground and fly, and each helicopter will have a small arm that can hold the sample tubes, said Richard Cook, director of NASA’s Mars Sample Return Program for Jet Propulsion. Laboratory in Pasadena, California.

If the Perseverance’s health remains the same for the next eight years and the probe doesn’t need any help returning samples, helicopters can monitor and take pictures of the process.

Return the samples to Earth

The Sample Recovery Lander also carries the Mars Ascent Rover – the first rocket to be launched from the surface of Mars, with samples safely stored inside. The spacecraft is currently scheduled to launch from Mars in 2031.

A separate mission to Earth, called the Earth Return Orbiter, will launch in mid-2020 to rendezvous with a Mars lander.

The Earth Return Orbiter has a capture/control and return system that will collect a sample container from the Mars Rover while both vehicles are in Mars orbit.

The Earth-return vehicle will then return to our world. Once the spacecraft approaches Earth, it will launch an entry vehicle to Earth containing a sample cache, and the spacecraft will land in 2033.

Earlier, the agency said that samples could return to Earth by 2031, but the planned launch dates of the orbiter in the fall of 2027 and the lander in the summer of 2028 have set a new arrival date.

Mohandessin Currently being tested Robotic components of the campaign at NASA and European Space Agency centers. The Mars sample return project will move to the initial design phase in October, which will last about a year. The design phase includes technology development and engineering models of key components.

The European Space Agency (ESA) continues to develop the full speed Earth Return Orbiter, which will make a historic return flight from Earth to Mars. “It will be launched from the surface of the Red Planet,” David Parker, director of human and robotic exploration at the European Space Agency, said in a statement.

different models

The Perseverance Chariot has collected 11 core rock samples so far. The samples “represent an amazing amount of stuff,” said Meenakshi Wadwa, principal Mars sample scientist and director of Arizona State University’s School of Earth and Space Studies.

“The latest, in fact, is a fine-grained sedimentary rock that has a tremendous potential for preserving biometric fingerprints, so we already have a variety of materials in the bag, so to speak, and we’re very excited about its possibilities. Waddoa said.

“Working together on historic efforts such as the return of the Mars sample not only provides invaluable data about our place in the universe, but also brings us closer to Earth,” Sorbosin said.