Martian Sample Return Mission

Euclid"A joint Mars exploration program between NASA and European Space Agency (ESA) has set a long term focus of the return of samples from Mars to Earth. The current proposed campaign calls for a set of three missions, potentially starting with the first launch in 2018 to collect a cache of samples. Two other proposed missions would launch in opportunities after that, until the samples are returned to Earth and delivered to a specially designed containment facility for analysis. Once on Earth, these samples would be studied with advanced instruments, always following NASA and international planetary protection guidelines."

 

Read more at:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_sample_return_mission

Image appeared in Issue 18 of magazine "All About Space".