Mars sample return: The critical next step

Abstract

Before humans trek the mountains and canyons of Mars, a key event must happen. That vital undertaking will be to fly a roundtrip mission to Mars for acquiring representative surface materials and returning them to Earth. Mars sample return has also been a premier objective of planetary scientists for more than four decades. In the meantime, the Stardust mission has returned dust grains from a comet, and Genesis has collected and returned solar wind. Yet at this time, Mars sample return is no longer an official project in any space agency. Inestimable value would also accrue for engineering the systems needed for future human missions. Sample return from the surface will validate our collective ability to successfully accomplish such a roundtrip to Mars in absence of the ability for end-to-end testing on Earth. Embarking on a historic Mars surface sample return mission will provide the confirming signal that a space program is ready, willing, and capable to achieve the next major engineering challenge for exploration of our solar system. Beginning serious development of the missing critical link, the Mars Ascent Vehicle, will signal the beginning of this undertaking.