12 November 2020
ESA and NASA to partner on Mars sample return mission
... robust campaign and commended the agencies’ work to date. “The independent review has given strong support to Mars Sample Return, which is great news for the campaign,” says ESA’s Director of Human and Robotic Exploration, David Parker...
04 August 2016
Experts to Discuss Mars Sample Return at IAC 2016
The 67th International Astronautical Congress will hold a special session on Mars Sample Return Mars Sample Return has been on the minds of the international science community for many years. Though multiple scenarios of international ...
18 June 2018
ESA Council backs Lunar gateway venture
... transportation and infrastructure; negotiating agreement(s) covering potential European contributions to an international Mars Sample Return mission or other sample return missions; and examining scenarios and mission concepts for lunar exploration...
September 2017
Europe needs facility to handle extra-terrestrial space material
... in Japan. The lab coat (a class 1,000 gown) is specifically designed to reduce contamination from workers. Considering the Mars sample return missions planned for the future, it is imperative to start now to plan a facility able to receive and host...
February 2019
Simulating lunar and martian regolith in the laboratory
...ice mixtures. Future mission designs are also using ESA’s simulants to further understand the surface properties of Mars, particularly in preparation for the Mars Sample Return mission. For a rover to visit the different sites of interest and collect...
23 November 2020
China's lunar sample return mission to launch tonight
... of three years for the mission. A triumphant operation this time around is likely to lay the foundations for a Mars sample return later in the decade or even a crewed lunar mission. The nation is already lining up three further missions after...
