We're working with ESA to plan one of the most ambitious feats ever attempted in space—bringing a Mars sample to Earth. The Mars Sample Return campaign could help answer a question rovers alone cannot: Was there life on Mars? Here's how we plan to do it:
Having collected and stored a wide variety of samples, the Perseverance rover would be the primary means of transporting samples to the Sample Retrieval Lander, handing off a collection of sample tubes carried on board. An ESA-provided robotic arm would transfer the tubes into a sample container on the lander's rocket.
The return system within the orbiter would capture and contain the samples, placing them in the Earth Entry System. The Earth Return Orbiter would then ferry the entry vehicle and its precious cargo back to the vicinity of Earth, where it would separate and safely touchdown on land.The Earth Entry System would contain the orbiting sample inside a disk-shaped vehicle with a heat shield for safe entry through the Earth's atmosphere.
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