When planning to send humans to Mars, as several countries now are doing, it's best to know what you're getting into. The Mars Rovers, still exploring the surface of the planet, are doing an excellent job of filling in data holes. But scientist want to bring back a piece of the planet too.
To this end, an international group of researchers and representatives of national space agencies met recently in Washington D.C., under the auspices of a group called International Mars Architecture for Return of Samples, or IMARS.
The idea is to develop plans and seek recommendations for a there-and-back-again mission that could land on the surface, take geological samples, and return them to Earth.
Scientists want to know whether the Martian soil itself may have useful or harmful properties. More generally, studying a sample will contribute to developing plans for supporting a human base on the surface.
For now, the task force is open to any spacefaring nation, organizers say. It's part of a larger body called the International Mars
Exploration Working Group, formed in 1993 to coordinate Mars missions internationally. NASA, as well as the Japanese, European, and Canadian space agencies are involved, along with researchers from a number of other countries.
At their Washington meeting, the group reviewed engineering work on previous proposals, and helped narrow down the potential scientific objectives. Much work remains to be done on developing specific mission plans, both from an engineering and science perspective, however.
"The potential paradigm-changing science from Mars samples makes this mission a high priority of the National Academy of Sciences," said Doug
McCuistion, director of NASA's Mars Exploration program, in a statement.
International Group Plans Strategy for Mars Sample Return Mission [NASA press release]
(Image: A Martian rock feature dubbed "Cape St. Mary," on the edge of the Victoria Crater, as seen by the Opportunity Rover. Credit:
NASA/JPL-Caltech/Cornell)
