NASA’s Tell It is understood that during this phase, the program team evaluates and makes improvements to the architecture to bring back a scientifically selected sample. Currently, NASA’s Perseverance Rover is engaged in the process of sample collection in Jezero Crater of Mars. NASA believes that this architecture is expected to reduce the complexity of future missions and increase the chances of success.
“The conceptual design phase is when every aspect of a mission plan is put under a microscope,” said Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator for science at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “There are some important and beneficial changes in the plan that can be directly attributed to Perseverance’s recent successes at Jezero and the amazing performance of our Mars Helicopter,” he added.
NASA has informed that the Mars Sample Return campaign will no longer include the Sample Fetch Rover or other lander attached to it. The Sample Retrieval Lander will consist of two sample recovery helicopters, based on the design of the Ingenuity helicopter, which has made 29 flights to Mars. The helicopters would provide a secondary capability to collect samples accumulated on the surface of Mars.
The ESA Earth Return Orbiter and its NASA-provided capture, containment and return systems remain important elements of the program architecture. The sample is expected to arrive on Earth in 2033, with planned launch dates for the Earth Return Orbiter and Sample Retrieval Lander in 2027 and 2028, respectively.
NASA says that the first phase of the Mars Sample Return Campaign is already in progress. Since landing at Jezero Crater on February 18, 2021, the Perseverance rover has collected 11 scientifically selected rock core samples and one atmospheric sample.
NASA wrote in the blog that bringing samples of Mars to Earth will allow scientists around the world to examine the samples using special equipment and future generations will be able to study them.