Design Article
Tell us What You Think
We want to know what you thought about this Design. Let us know by adding a comment.
NASA ponders Mars sample return mission
George Leopold
9/27/2012 10:42 AM EDT
What's next?
“The question is: What’s next?” Grunsfeld said.
He added that NASA’s highest science priority is determining “what are the first few steps” when the next Mars launch window opens again in 2018 (orbital mechanics require that the Earth and Mars be aligned properly for the eight-and-a-half-month journey to Mars).
"Sample return provides the best opportunity for synergy" between manned and unmanned missions, Grunsfeld said. In one scenario, he said a Mars sample collected by a rover could be captured by astronauts stationed beyond Earth orbit for safe return to Earth. That scenario would also secure a sample on the extremely small chance that a Martian sample posed a threat to life on Earth.
The search for past life on Mars has been a common science theme, added Orlando Figueroa, who headed the Mars planning group. A sample return mission with accompany technology development is a likely next step. The challenge, he added, was agreeing on a series of Mars missions with “different flavors” of orbiters and rovers to find a pathway for returning a sample to Earth.
NASA officials also did not rule out the possibility of installing a “life-finder chip” aboard future rovers in an attempt to move beyond the current goal of uncovering evidence that microbial life once existed on Mars. While previous Mars missions have all focused on evidence of past life, finding what NASA scientists call “extant life” on Mars is “just a different animal,” Grunsfeld said.
The planning group’s recommendations will be used to determine NASA’s budget priorities for future exploration of the solar system. The options provided in the report will help shape NASA’s fiscal 2014 budget request to be unveiled in February 2013.
Related links, stories:
Mars Program Planning Group report
Adam Steltzner, NASA's hipster rocket engineer
Slideshow: Remembering Neil Armstrong & Apollo
“The question is: What’s next?” Grunsfeld said.
He added that NASA’s highest science priority is determining “what are the first few steps” when the next Mars launch window opens again in 2018 (orbital mechanics require that the Earth and Mars be aligned properly for the eight-and-a-half-month journey to Mars).
"Sample return provides the best opportunity for synergy" between manned and unmanned missions, Grunsfeld said. In one scenario, he said a Mars sample collected by a rover could be captured by astronauts stationed beyond Earth orbit for safe return to Earth. That scenario would also secure a sample on the extremely small chance that a Martian sample posed a threat to life on Earth.
The search for past life on Mars has been a common science theme, added Orlando Figueroa, who headed the Mars planning group. A sample return mission with accompany technology development is a likely next step. The challenge, he added, was agreeing on a series of Mars missions with “different flavors” of orbiters and rovers to find a pathway for returning a sample to Earth.
NASA officials also did not rule out the possibility of installing a “life-finder chip” aboard future rovers in an attempt to move beyond the current goal of uncovering evidence that microbial life once existed on Mars. While previous Mars missions have all focused on evidence of past life, finding what NASA scientists call “extant life” on Mars is “just a different animal,” Grunsfeld said.
The planning group’s recommendations will be used to determine NASA’s budget priorities for future exploration of the solar system. The options provided in the report will help shape NASA’s fiscal 2014 budget request to be unveiled in February 2013.
Related links, stories:
Mars Program Planning Group report
Adam Steltzner, NASA's hipster rocket engineer
Slideshow: Remembering Neil Armstrong & Apollo
|
|
|
|
|
Navigate to related information