Samples need to be collected from Mars’ surface and returned to Earth for examination to answer our most pressing questions about the red planet, according to a group of international scientists.
A new publication with more than 70 authors from around the globe provides a blueprint and recommendations for answering the big unknowns about Mars, including important details for future exploration and understanding Mars’ origin.
“We can only understand Mars to a certain point using remote sensing, such as rovers and orbiters,” said Chris Herd, a U of A geologist who studies meteorites and a lead collaborator on the paper. “To answer the big questions, we need to collect and return rock samples to Earth.”
The recommendations are meant to provide guidance for the scientists involved in the NASA Mars 2020 mission, which will use a rover to collect and cache samples following its landing on the surface of Mars in spring 2021. Following this, the plan is for the samples to be fetched and returned to Earth, although funding for this step is not yet secure.
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