New research group established for NASA’s Mars Sample Return Campaign

NASA and its partners have established a 16-member research group for the "Mars Sample Return" campaign - a proposed mission to return samples collected by the Mars Perseverance rover to Earth.

The newly-formed Mars Sample Return Campaign Science Group includes scientists from the U.S., Europe, Canada, and Japan. The research group will function as a science resource for the campaign's project teams as well as for related Earth-based ground projects, NASA said in a statement on Tuesday.

These 16 individuals will be the standard-bearers for Mars Sample Return science,” said Michael Meyer, Mars Exploration Program lead scientist at NASA Headquarters in Washington.

The Mars Sample Return Program has established a group of 16 international researchers who will maximize the scientific potential as Martian rock samples are studied for signs of past life. https://t.co/hWUtysyfPM pic.twitter.com/ndlIawk2EB

— NASA JPL (@NASAJPL) June 14, 2022

NASA is working with the European Space Agency (ESA) to plan ways to bring the samples from Mars back to Earth for detailed analysis. This strategic partnership would be the first mission to return samples from another planet and the first launch from the surface of another planet.

The Mars Sample Return mission would use robotic systems and a Mars ascent rocket to collect and send samples of Martian rocks, soils and atmosphere to Earth for detailed chemical and physical analysis.

In the mid-2020s, a NASA-led Sample Retrieval Lander will land close to the Perseverance rover's landing location, Jezero Crater. Thereafter, an ESA-led sample fetch rover will head out to retrieve the cached samples.

The first set of samples returned from Mars could answer a key question: did life ever exist on the Red Planet? By better understanding the history of Mars, we will improve our understanding of all rocky planets in the solar system, including Earth, NASA says.