Global group aims to return Martian soil to Earth

[Bill Morris]

An international effort to launch a robotic mission to fetch and return a Martian sample back to Earth within the next decade is gaining steam.

Members of the International Mars Architecture for Return Samples (IMARS) convened in Washington, DC, US, in late November to lay the foundations for an international collaboration for a Martian soil sample return mission.

IMARS includes representatives from more than half a dozen nations and agencies, including NASA, the European Space Agency, the Canadian Space Agency, and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, and other space-faring nations are welcome to join. IMARS is a committee of the International Mars Exploration Working Group, which was established in 1993 to coordinate Mars exploration missions.

IMARS participants will perform a series of mission design studies before reconvening in March 2008.

http://space.newscientist.com/article/dn13037-global-group-aims-to-return-martian-soil-to-earth.html

 

[SlyCardie]

I was hoping we'd set up a colony by 2025.

 

[trekkiedane]

But Isn't it rather risky? -the bacteria that killed all other life on Mars and lies dormant in the soil will pose a great danger!

 

[Brent]

They are gonna bring back the alien from Species!

 

[bryce]

Fine, but when you all are dying of the Andromeda Strain, don't coming running to me...

 

[Bill Morris]

Well, we know that meteor stikes have knocked some Earth rocks out into space, a few of which likely made it to Mars carrying some germs inside that would have to sink or swim in that environment (maybe some made it to Titan and had a better chance). And some rocks from Mars have made certinly made it to Earth, perhaps germ-free, but we don't know for sure. Martian flu?

 

[romulus]

Noooooooo...


Its about time actually. But I don't think it will be cheap to send something that can also blast off of Mars. Hopefully whatever they send on that mission will do more than just put about a few hundred meters from the lander though.

 

[Timo]

I guess this is as good a point as any to start arguing about semantics. Namely, why are we "returning" a sample to Earth when it is not of Earth in the first place? And when shall we stop talking about "re-entry" when discussing the dipping of Earth probes into Martian atmosphere?

(And will the first space-born baby "return" to Earth, or "arrive" here?)

Timo Saloniemi

 

[trekkiedane]

Brent said:
They are gonna bring back the alien from Species!

Heh, I was thinking about The Cage of Sand when I posted…

 

[Deleted 2]

I'm not sure about the value of bringing back a sample of soil, but I certainly like the idea of robotic exploration of the solar system instead of sending humans to do the same work.

 

[TerriO]

Zero Hour said:
I'm not sure about the value of bringing back a sample of soil, but I certainly like the idea of robotic exploration of the solar system instead of sending humans to do the same work.

Even though we've now got a possible site of microbial fossils and a former habitable location on Mars? Robots can't do the kind of geology work that a human geologist could.

 

[trekkiedane]

^Indeed, kind of anyways.

Personally I think we should spread out as much as we can -as soon as we can! The permanent, self sustaining base on Mars should be our primary goal. Until we're able to achieve that there's no reason to risk people's lives on space exploration. (IMHO, of course!)

 

[zenophite]

Even though we've now got a possible site of microbial fossils and a former habitable location on Mars? Robots can't do the kind of geology work that a human geologist could.

quite right. exploration in general by robots is excruciatingly slow. what the rovers have observed over the course of years, a human team could probably have done in weeks or months. May the gods smile on the those little guys though.

 

[JustAFriend]

Didn't any of those morons watch "The Last Man on Earth", "The Omega Man" or the current incarnation of "I am Legend".... or the more appropriate "Andromeda Strain"?????

..... don't want to be in the next county when the probe crashes on return and they have to drop a 20megaton hydrogen bomb to sterilize the Hot Zone.....

;-(

(This is the perfect type of project that needs to be done at a lab isolated ON THE MOON! Isolation is very very very prudent when dealing with a possible source of external contamination....)

 

[Paxil]

NASA has been talking about this for years. Not much new here.