Science and Curation Considerations for the Design of a Mars Sample Return (MSR) Sample Receiving Facility (SRF)

Abstract

This paper was written by the MSR Science Planning Group 2 (MSPG2) working under a Terms of Reference from NASA and ESA.

Final Report of the Mars Sample Return Science Planning Group 2 (MSPG2)

“…The overall conclusions of MSPG2 can be summarized with 5 high-level findings: The following section represents a synopsis of 7 reports (Haltigin et al, 2021;Tosca et al, 2021;Velbel et al, 2021;Carrier et al, 2021;Tait et al, 2021;Grady et al, 2021;Swindle et al, 2021) that address the four deliverables (tasks) requested of the MSPG2. This information is offered to ESA and NASA management to aid in securing the approval and resources that would allow the MSR effort to be a success.…”

“…Sample integrity related requirements for the M2020 and MSR Program flight missions have been derived from this work. Planning for protecting the scientific integrity of the samples after they arrive on Earth is currently underway, and the first set of proposed requirements in this domain for an SRF have been outlined by MSPG2 (Carrier et al, 2021).…”

“…It is also important to note that all of the investigations identified as timesensitive are related to sample attributes that can be altered by sterilization (see Section 2.4) and therefore cannot be done on samples that have been sterilized by heat or gamma irradiation. To allow these investigations to be carried out successfully, a number of specific recommendations for sample preparation and instrumentation within the SRF have been prepared (Carrier et al, 2021;Tosca et al, 2021).…”

“…For further information on the technical content of this report, contact Brandi Carrier (bcarrier@jpl.nasa.gov). that would need to be done inside biocontainment (Carrier et al, 2021). Opportunity…”

Planning Implications Related to Sterilization-Sensitive Science Investigations Associated with Mars Sample Return (MSR)

“…The sequence of events between capsule landing and the opening of the OS, and the location(s) where these would occur, are still being planned; however, it is known that the OS and the sample tubes contained within would move to a primary Sample Receiving Facility (SRF). (See Haltigin et al, 2021, section 2, for a more detailed overview of the MSR Campaign, and Carrier et al, 2021, for the current understanding of planning for the SRF). In the SRF, the OS would be opened and the samples extracted from their tubes and characterized.…”