Image courtesy NASA/JPL-Caltech
On the program this week, the team discuss the retrieval of the Mars samples collected by the Perseverance rover. Some are ready for collection on the planet's surface and 30 samples in total will be returned to Earth. The return probably wont happen until late in the next decade. It's a difficult and complex project with many parts that have to work perfectly. A launch system has to be landed on the planet first (called the Mars Ascent Vehicle). An ESA spacecraft called the Earth Return Orbiter will then capture the launched sample capsule from orbit and transport it back to Earth where the samples can be analysed. The Perseverance rover has multiple analysis instruments on board, including two types of spectrometers (an instrument that can determine the chemical makeup of a substance). However more sophisticated analysis can only be done back on Earth.