ESA To Collect And Deliver Samples From NASA Mars 2020 Mission

NASA's Mars 2020 mission is slated for a July 2020 launch. The spacecraft will deploy a rover to Mars for collecting samples and data. According to the space agency, the rover will feature a drill to collect samples and store them in the cache and will later be collected during future missions.

For the Mars sample-return (MSR) mission, the European Space Agency has a proposal which might take place between 2020-2030. The MSR will have a Sample Return Lander that will land near the site of Mars 2020 rover. The rover will deploy a Sample Fetch Rover that will get hold of the sample cache and return to the lander platform.

The cache will be kept within a large container on the Mars Ascent Vehicle (MAV) which will take flight from the Martian surface and take the container into the orbit of the planet.

It will then be collected by the Earth Return Orbiter, sealed in a biocontainment unit it will then be moved into the Earth Entry Capsule. ESA will take care of the Sample Fetch Rover and Earth Return Orbiter.

The total sample is expected to weigh around 500 grams including 30 sample caches that will be collected from Jezero Crater. The crater is 49 kilometers in diameter and is thought to have been filled with water in the past. It is also said to contain ancient delta rich in clays.

The retrieval of the samples is important for future space exploration, especially for robotics. The MSR mission is expected to retrieve very useful data and bring a huge scientific return. This will also help NASA and ESA plan their manned mission to the Red Planet.