PIA14264: Landing on Mars for a Short Stay (Artist's Concept)


Landing on Mars for a Short Stay (Artist’s Concept)

Caption:

This artist's concept of a proposed Mars sample return mission portrays a rocket-powered descent stage lowering a sample-retrieving rover and an ascent vehicle to the surface. The ascent vehicle is in the large cylinder, protecting it from the harsh Martian environment. The rover, with solar-panels in folded position, sits to the right of it. The ascent vehicle would receive samples of Martian rocks that are to be collected by a previous mission and retrieved by the rover. Then it would launch the samples into Martian orbit for a rendezvous with a spacecraft that would carry them to Earth.

Background Info:

NASA and the European Space Agency are collaborating on proposals for a mission to gather samples of Martian rocks and bring them to Earth after 2020. This illustration depicts preliminary concepts, not finished design.

Cataloging Keywords:

Name Value Additional Values
Target Mars
System
Target Type Planet
Mission Mars Sample Return (MSR)
Instrument Host Mars Sample Return
Host Type Rover
Instrument
Detector
Extra Keywords Artwork, Color
Acquisition Date
Release Date 2011-06-20
Date in Caption
Image Credit NASA/JPL-Caltech
Source photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA14264
Identifier PIA14264