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Bringing Mars Back To Earth

April 26, 2018

NASA and the European Space Agency are now working together to explore options for a pair of missions that could take the next steps to bring samples back from Mars.

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NASA/JPL-Caltech

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An engineer inspects the completed spacecraft that will carry NASA's next Mars rover to the Red Planet.
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An engineer inspects the completed spacecraft that will carry NASA's next Mars rover to the Red Planet, prior to a test in the Space Simulator Facility at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.
Mars 2020 Is Coming Together
NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter arrived at Mars on March 10, 2006. Over the past decade, the mission has shown how dynamic Mars remains today, as well as how diverse its past environmental condi...
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NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter arrived at Mars on March 10, 2006. Over the past decade, the mission has shown how dynamic Mars remains today, as well as how diverse its past environmental conditions have been.
Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter By the Numbers
NASA and the European Space Agency are developing plans for one of the most ambitious campaigns ever attempted in space: bringing the first samples of Mars material safely back to Earth for detaile...
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NASA and the European Space Agency are developing plans for one of the most ambitious campaigns ever attempted in space: bringing the first samples of Mars material safely back to Earth for detailed study.
Bringing Mars Rock Samples Back to Earth
The European Space Agency’s (ESA) Earth Return Orbiter (ERO) would be the biggest spacecraft to ever orbit Mars. The spacecraft would also be the first interplanetary spacecraft to rendezvous and c...
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Illustration of the Earth Return Orbiter in comparison with the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and Trace Gas Orbiter.
Earth Return Orbiter Infographic
This movie shows three views of the Martian moon Phobos as viewed in visible light by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey orbiter. The apparent motion is due to movement by Odyssey's infrared camera, Thermal ...
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This movie shows three views of the Martian moon Phobos as viewed in visible light by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey orbiter.
Odyssey's Three Views of Phobos in Visible Light
NASA’s first rover on Mars was a cute little bundle of robotic joy. Many thought it was likely to fail. Instead, Sojourner revolutionized how we explore Mars, and marked the start of 25 years of Ma...
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NASA’s first rover on Mars was a cute little bundle of robotic joy. Many thought it was likely to fail. Instead, Sojourner revolutionized how we explore Mars, and marked the start of 25 years of Mars rover adventures.
First Steps: Sojourner
This image of the flight model of NASA’s Mars Helicopter was taken on Feb. 14, 2019, in a cleanroom at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.
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An image of the flight model of NASA’s Mars Helicopter.
Portrait of NASA's Mars Helicopter
Mars' north polar deposits comprise a thick stack of icy layers. Part of this image from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) has lingering seasonal frost, which serves to accentuate those laye...
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Mars' north polar deposits comprise a thick stack of icy layers. Part of this image from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has lingering seasonal frost, which serves to accentuate those layers.
Lingering Frost
This image taken by the Mastcam-Z camera aboard NASA's Perseverance rover on Sept. 4, 2021, confirmed that the rover had retained a rock core in the sample tube held in the drill at the end of its ...
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This is a colored image taken by the Mastcam-Z camera that confirmed the rover had retained a rock core in the sample tube held in the drill at the end of its robotic arm. The acquired sample of the rock core, which is slightly thicker than a pencil, the rover vibrated it to clear any material stuck between the coring bit and the sample tube within the bit.
Confirmation of 'Montdenier' Sample in Perseverance's Drill
Computer-generated visualization of the orbital paths (white dots) taken by the MAVEN spacecraft as it mapped winds (blue lines) in the Martian upper atmosphere.
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Computer-generated visualization of the orbital paths (white dots) taken by the MAVEN spacecraft as it mapped winds (blue lines) in the Martian upper atmosphere.
MAVEN Maps Wind in the Martian Upper Atmosphere
Seen are six views of the Nili Fossae region of Mars captured by the Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars, or CRISM, one of the instruments aboard NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter...
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This image shows six views of the Nili Fossae region of Mars captured by the Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars, or CRISM..
Six Views of Nili Fossae, as Seen by MRO's CRISM
Members of the NASA Mars Helicopter team attach a thermal film to the exterior of the flight model of the Mars Helicopter. 
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Members of the NASA Mars Helicopter team attach a thermal film to the exterior of the flight model of the Mars Helicopter.
Handling Mars Helicopter
On Sept. 7 NASA’s ASPIRE project broke a record when its rocket-launched parachute deployed in 4-10ths of a second - the fastest inflation of this size chute in history.
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On Sept. 7 NASA’s ASPIRE project broke a record when its rocket-launched parachute deployed in 4-10ths of a second - the fastest inflation of this size chute in history.
Testing a Parachute for Mars
Mars takes a longer trip around the Sun than Earth does. Find out what that means for spacecraft in this 60-second video.
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How Long Is a Year on Mars?
Mars in a Minute: How Long Is a Year on Mars?
In this August 5, 2019 image, the bit carousel - the heart of sampling and caching subsystem of NASA’s Mars 2020 mission -  is attached to the front end of the rover.
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In this August 5, 2019 image, the bit carousel - the heart of sampling and caching subsystem of NASA’s Mars 2020 mission - is attached to the front end of the rover.
Cache and Carry
​​Members of NASA's Mars 2020 project take a moment after attaching the remote sensing mast to the Mars 2020 rover.
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​​Members of NASA's Mars 2020 project take a moment after attaching the remote sensing mast to the Mars 2020 rover.
Mars 2020 and Friends
This image shows a portion of the central mound in the impact crater Gale that is of interest to scientists because it is composed of light-toned layered deposits. 
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This image shows a portion of the central mound in the impact crater Gale
Layers in a Central Mound in Gale Crater (3-D)
These dark streaks, also known as “slope streaks,” resulted from dust avalanches on Mars. The HiRISE camera aboard NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter captured them on Dec. 26, 2017.
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These dark streaks, also known as “slope streaks,” resulted from dust avalanches on Mars. The HiRISE camera aboard NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter captured them on Dec. 26, 2017.
HiRISE Spots Slope Streaks Fanning Out on Mars
Anniversary artwork of NASA Viking 1 and Viking 2 Orbiters and Landers. Infographic text: Viking 40 Year Anniversary. 1976. #viking40
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Anniversary artwork of NASA Viking 1 and Viking 2 Orbiters and Landers. Infographic text: Viking 40 Year Anniversary. 1976. #viking40
Viking 40 Year Anniversary Artwork: Retro Viking
Taken on April 24, 2019, this rainbow-colored image shows the Martian moon Phobos, as viewed by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey orbiter using its infrared camera, THEMIS. Each color represents a different...
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Martian moon Phobos viewed by Mars Odyssey orbiter using its infrared camera.
Odyssey Views Phobos: April 24, 2019
Download a PDF of the Mars 2020 Perseverance Sticker (Spanish).
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Mars 2020 sticker (Spanish)
Mars 2020 Sticker (Spanish)
NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter flew over these sand dunes and rocks during its ninth flight, on July 5, 2021. While the agency’s Perseverance Mars can’t risk getting stuck in this sand, scientist...
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NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter flew over these sand dunes and rocks during its ninth flight, on July 5, 2021. While the agency’s Perseverance Mars can’t risk getting stuck in this sand, scientists are still able to learn about this region by studying it from Ingenuity’s images.
Ingenuity Spots Rocks During Ninth Flight
The High-Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (Hi-RISE) camera aboard NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter captured this avalanche plunging down a 1,640-foot-tall (500-meter-tall) cliff on May 29, 2...
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Avalanche on Mars
HiRISE Catches an Avalanche on Mars
Download a zip file of the Opportunity Rover: Block Island Meteorite 3D Model.
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Opportunity Rover: Block Island Meteorite 3D Model
Opportunity Rover: Block Island Meteorite 3D Model
The drill bit of NASA's Curiosity Mars rover over one of the sample inlets on the rover's deck. The inlets lead to Curiosity's onboard laboratories. This image was taken on Sol 2068 by the rover's ...
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The drill bit of NASA's Curiosity Mars rover over one of the sample inlets on the rover's deck. The inlets lead to Curiosity's onboard laboratories. This image was taken on Sol 2068 by the rover's Mast Camera (Mastcam).
Inlet Cover on the Curiosity Rover

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