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A "sample return mission" to Mars has been ongoing for some time. This year, NASA and ESA have decided to implement it together. Because the mission is very complex, it will be done in one step. The two space agencies share the work: First of all, a NASA robot is due to go to Mars in 2020, where it locates suitable locations for drilling, then fills and seals 36 tubes the size of which are required. a pencil with soil samples.
In 2026, a mission is to bring the ESA fetch rover sample, which is now to be developed by Airbus, to the Red Planet. He should collect the samples and put them in a rocket built by NASA. This then brings the samples to the orbit of Mars where they are transhipped in a spacecraft provided by ESA. This transports the containers to the ground. "This will allow us to scientifically study ground samples from Mars to Earth for the first time," says Ben Boyes, head of the new Rover project at Airbus.
ESA's ExoMars rover, developed by Airbus is expected to fly in space by 2021.
According to Airbus, the planned ESA rover, weighing 130 kilograms, is expected to be relatively light but able to move largely autonomously and visually detect the sample containers before picking them up. Technologies that have not yet been developed and if this is even possible should clarify the now-feasibility study.
Research on rock samples may take years
Despite miniaturization, remote-controlled rovers on Mars are not as well equipped. Laboratory on Earth But the search for life on the red planet requires a thorough scientific investigation of March rock. This can take several years: lunar rocks continue to be badyzed half a century after NASA's Apollo landings. The Mars samples would have an even greater scientific value and would likely occupy the search for a similar duration. However, US experts also warn that future missions should not lead to contamination of Mars with germs from the Earth – and vice versa.
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