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Mars Sample Return Mission

Encyclopedia of Astrobiology

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Definition

The Mars Sample Return (MSR) mission represents a key milestone in the exploration and understanding of Mars, including the associated astrobiology questions and those regarding its potential habitability.

The very ambitious scientific objectives, the planetary protection and non-contamination issues, as well as the overall technical complexity and difficulties put a huge challenge on its design, development, and operations.

The main high-level requirements and their translation into engineering concepts are presented through the definition of a reference architecture defined by an international working group, which considered a mission in the 2020 time frame.

Overview

A space mission aiming to collect, select, and return to the Earthsome Mars surface and sub-surface samples is one of the most challenging but exciting projects dealing with space science and robotics. After initial steps where this type of mission has been studied internally within the main space agencies,...

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Ambassade de France en Italie, Ambascia di Francia, Piazza Farnese 67, 00186, Rome, Italy

    Denis J. P. Moura

Authors
  1. Denis J. P. Moura
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Correspondence to Denis J. P. Moura .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Centro de Biología Molecular, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain

    Ricardo Amils

  2. Labo. d'Astrophysique de Bordeaux (LAB), Observatoire Aquitain des Sciences de l'Univers (OASU), Floirac CX, France

    Muriel Gargaud

  3. Centro de Astrobiología (CAB), Inst. Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial, Torrejón de Ardoz, Madrid, Spain

    José Cernicharo Quintanilla

  4. Geophysical Lab., Carnegie Institution of Washington, Washington, District of Columbia, USA

    Henderson James Cleaves

  5. Astronomy Department, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts, USA

    William M. Irvine

  6. Dépt. Sc. de la Terre et de l’Atmosphère, Université du Québec, Montréal, Montreal, Québec, Canada

    Daniele Pinti

  7. Centre National d'Etudes Spatiale (CNES) DPI/E2U, Paris CX, France

    Michel Viso

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© 2014 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Moura, D.J.P. (2014). Mars Sample Return Mission. In: Amils, R., et al. Encyclopedia of Astrobiology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_943-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_943-3

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-27833-4

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Physics and AstronomyReference Module Physical and Materials ScienceReference Module Chemistry, Materials and Physics

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Chapter history

  1. Latest

    Mars Sample Return Mission
    Published:
    06 December 2022

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_943-4

  2. Original

    Mars Sample Return Mission
    Published:
    20 May 2015

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_943-3

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