On NASA's Mars Sample Return Mission Options Letter Report (1996) / Chapter Skim
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Pages 6-16
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, conducted an assessment of the plans developed within NASA's Mars Surveyor program office to meet the long-standing scientific goal of returning martian samples to Earth for study in terrestrial laboratories. This assessment was made at the request of Dr.
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Although COMPLEX is unable to make detailed comments on particular mission options at this time, it is able to provide observations and suggestions on implementation strategy, site selection and sampling strategy, technology requirements, and related programmatic issues. COMPLEX believes that close attention to these issues, highlighted in past National Research Council (NRC)
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COMPLEX, 8,9,10 the Space Studies Board's (SSB's) former Committee on Planetary Biology and Chemical Evolution, 11 and a recent NASA report 12 have each outlined a consistent strategy for the exobiologic exploration of Mars.
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These are sites associated with ancient ground water, ancient surface water, and modern ground water. Recognizing that current knowledge of martian geology and geochemistry derives primarily from Viking data, new information from near-term missions, such as Mars Global Surveyor, should have a significant impact on final site selection if adequate resources are provided for data analysis.
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to allow sampling of a diverse suite of rocks from a landing site. 31,32,33 The probability of making significant advances in exobiologic investigations depends critically on the quality of the material returned, and increased mobility provides the capability to examine numerous samples before a final selection is made.
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program, be increased if, for example, field-collection procedures in Antarctica are made more efficient by eliminating excessive requirements for documenting sample locations. Tests have demonstrated that equipping ANSMET teams with Global Positioning System receivers would allow precise determination of locations, without taking much time away from sample collection.
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Moreover, the committee is guardedly optimistic that NASA's current planning for Mars sample-return missions will be consistent with the priorities outlined in past NRC reports, provided that NASA takes into account the issues discussed above, as summarized here: 1. Formulate a program of Mars sample-return missions in the context of recent developments in the planetary, life, and astronomical sciences and directed toward the comprehensive goal of understanding Mars as a possible abode of life.
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11. Space Studies Board, National Research Council, The Search for Life's Origins: Progress and Future Directions in Planetary Biology and Chemical Evolution, National Academy Press, Washington, D.C., 1990, p.
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18. Space Studies Board, National Research Council, The Search for Life's Origins: Progress and Future Directions in Planetary Biology and Chemical Evolution, National Academy Press, Washington, D.C., 1990, p.
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35. Space Studies Board, National Research Council, Review of NASA's Planned Mars Program, National Academy Press, Washington, D.C., 1996, p.
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44. Space Studies Board, National Research Council, The Search for Life's Origins: Progress and Future Directions in Planetary Biology and Chemical Evolution, National Academy Press, Washington, D.C., 1990, p.
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