NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) are working towards a mission to bring samples from Mars back to Earth in the 2030s. The Mars Sample Return (MSR) mission aims to determine whether life existed on Mars billions of years ago by analyzing rock and soil samples collected by NASA’s Perseverance rover.
The samples will be delivered to laboratories on Earth, where scientists will use advanced instruments to analyze the rocks and soil for signs of ancient life. The mission is led by NASA, with ESA participation, and will involve a rover or small helicopter collecting sample tubes from Mars and delivering them to a vehicle, which will then blast off into space.
Once in Earth’s atmosphere, the samples will be parachuted down to a government facility in Utah, US, where they will be analyzed using sensitive instruments. To ensure the samples are not contaminated with terrestrial microbes, strict biocontainment rules will be followed during analysis and storage.
The mission has faced delays due to budget and scheduling issues, but NASA is now seeking alternative approaches to carrying out the mission. The space agency is studying two proposals and conducting a measurement definition team to determine which analyses are needed for the Mars Sample Return program.
To address the challenges of storing Martian samples, a new facility will be designed with secure chambers that can handle biological containment and analysis. This could potentially reduce costs and time for the MSR program. With this mission, scientists hope to make groundbreaking discoveries about the possibility of life on Mars billions of years ago.
Source: https://phys.org/news/2025-04-nasa-esa-martian-earth-samples.html