Celestial mechanics dictate that if NASA is to send a spacecraft to Uranus or Neptune it needs to go by 2032 so it can sling-shot around Jupiter. Some of the proposed missions do require a pause on Martian ambitions. “I'm hoping to see an open discussion about delaying that mission in order to get the Neptune mission, or any ice giant mission, stood up now so that we can get that window for the Jupiter gravity assist,” said Rymer. It is certainly possible that the Mars Sample Return mission-which seems inevitable in the medium-term-could be paused. “It’s almost like it’s already selected, but it really does require a flagship level effort in the next decade.” “I would love to see the decadal survey discuss the pros and cons of sending the Mars Sample Return as the next flagship mission,” said Abi Rymer, a Program Officer at NASA who acted as Principal Investigator for the Neptune Odyssey concept mission. “America’s investment in our Mars Sample Return program will fulfil a top priority planetary science goal and demonstrate our commitment to global partnerships, ensuring NASA remains a leader in exploration and discovery.”Ĭould that mission possibly be delayed by the Decadal Survey to allow something. “This groundbreaking endeavor is destined to inspire the world when the first robotic round-trip mission retrieves a sample from another planet,” said Bill Nelson, NASA Administrator.
It’s a concept that’s fleshed-out and, frankly, expecting to be green-lit. The samples would them launch a container into orbit to rendezvous with an ESA spacecraft to return to Earth. If it’s close enough then Perseverance could help out. The latter will gather the cached samples and put them on the ascent vehicle.
There’s already a website for it and NASA has even been announcing contracts.Īs is stands the exciting plan is for NASA to deliver a Mars lander close to Jezero Crater, where Perseverance will by then have collected and cached samples.Ī Sample Retrieval Lander would carry a NASA Mars Ascent Vehicle rocket along with ESA’s Sample Fetch Rover. from the surface of Mars collected by NASA's Mars Perseverance rover.
This illustration shows a concept for a set of future robots working together to ferry back samples.
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