MSR Timeline and Concept of Operations
Austin NicholasMars Program Office, Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Briefing to MEPAGApril 15, 2020
This document has been reviewed and determined not to contain export controlled technical information.
Mars Sample Return Pre-Project
Mars Sample Return
MSR Overview
2For planning and discussion purposes only.
Earth
Mars
Sample Return and ScienceSample Retrieval Lander
Tube Retrieval
Mars AscentVehicle
Orbiting Sample
Mars 2020
Mars2020
Tube Collection & Depot
Retrieve OS
Earth Return Orbiter
Earth Entry Vehicle
Break-the-Chain
Avoid Earth
ERO
Relay Support
Tube Delivery SRL
Sample Fetch Rover
Mars Sample Return
Campaign Timeline Overview
3For planning and discussion purposes only.
• SRL avoids winter and global dust storm season, enabling all-solar SRL/SFR
• SRL EDL occurs in a favorable season, maximizing landed mass
• ERO can provide all relay services needed for MSR (SRL, SFR, M2020, MAV)
• SRL and ERO fit on available launch vehicles and trajectories are feasible
26 – 26 – 31SRL Launches in 2026
ERO launches in 2026Samples are returned in 2031
*Illustrates an example scenario
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Reg. Dust Storm Season Reg. Reg. Dust Storm Season Reg.
N Winter N Winter
Earth to Mars Spiral Down Low Mars Orbit (Relay) RDV and Contain Spiral Up Mars to Earth
Earth to Mars Surface*
Conj
MAVEDL
MOI
OS
EES
Conj
26-26-31
SRL
ERO
SFR
M2020
*See zoomed diagram for surface phases
Mars Sample Return
SRL Cruise and EDL
4For planning and discussion purposes only.
Transfer to MarsEarth LaunchEntry
Descent
Landing
-1½ Rev Transfer-2 year cruise-Arrive at Ls=0
Divert
TRN
All subphases have direct MSL/M2020 heritage
Mars Arrival
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Earth to Mars Surface*
MAVEDL
SRLSFR
M2020
More detail on surface activities in the next section
Mars Sample Return
ERO Cruise and Mars Operations
5For planning and discussion purposes only.
Transfer to Mars
Capture at Mars and Spiral Down Low Mars Orbit
Launch from Earth-EP Thrusting-Ariane 6.4
-Mars Orbit Insertion (CP)-Drop CP stage-Spiral to LMO (EP)
-Relay support for SRL starts around 1000 km
-Relay support for SRL/SFR/M2020
2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 2031J F M A M J J A S O N D J F M A M J J A S O N D J F M A M J J A S O N D J F M A M J J A S O N D J F M A M J J A S O N D J F M A M J J A S O N D
Earth to Mars Spiral Down Low Mars Orbit (Relay) RDV and Contain Spiral Up Mars to Earth
MOI EES
ERO
Mars Sample Return
Earth Return Orbiter Contractor Selected:
Airbus (Toulouse)
6
(CP)
(EP)
For planning and discussion purposes only.
Mars Sample Return
ERO Rendezvous and OS Capture
8For planning and discussion purposes only.
Orbit Matching
OS Capture Break-the-Chain
MAV Launch -ERO receives MAV telemetry-SFR/M2020 film MAV ascent
-ERO camera acquires OS-ERO matches OS orbit-SFR/M2020 playback
-Sterilize or contain all external Mars material
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Earth to Mars Spiral Down Low Mars Orbit (Relay) RDV and Contain Spiral Up Mars to Earth
MOI EES
ERO
Mars Sample Return
ERO Earth Return and EES Delivery
10For planning and discussion purposes only.
Transfer to Earth
EES Release
Leave LMO
-EES entry → lands at UTTR-ERO avoids Earth → heliocentric orbit
-EP Thrusting-EP Spiral to Escape
EES Landing
Atmospheric Entry
Descent
Impact Landing
UTTR
Celebrate
2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 2031J F M A M J J A S O N D J F M A M J J A S O N D J F M A M J J A S O N D J F M A M J J A S O N D J F M A M J J A S O N D J F M A M J J A S O N D
Earth to Mars Spiral Down Low Mars Orbit (Relay) RDV and Contain Spiral Up Mars to Earth
MOI EES
ERO
Mars Sample Return
Surface Mission Activities
13For planning and discussion purposes only.
Mars Sample Return
Reference M2020 Scenarios:
Three Qualitatively Different Options
14For planning and discussion purposes only.
M2020 Prime-Only ScenarioSeveral strategic paths M2020 could
explore in the prime mission
depending on landing spot,
productivity, and science discovery.
N JEZ ScenarioAn alternate extended mission in the
event that: the crater rim climb is not
possible or JEZ science is even more
interesting than expected.
MDW Primary Reference ScenarioM2020 proceeds towards MDW after
completing the prime mission at JEZ.
Strongly preferred by the science
team/community
Expected M2020
location at end
of prime mission
JEZ = M2020
Landing Site
MDW = former M2020 candidate
site (shown for reference only)
Mars Sample Return
• A depot is a benign patch of terrain ~40m diameter where sample tubes are
deposited by M2020 for potential collection and return by MSR
• Tubes are deposited ~5-10m apart to facilitate autonomous localization and
acquisition of multiple tubes per sol by SFR
What is a Depot?
15For planning and discussion purposes only.
• Depot FAQ:
– Q: Are tubes placed in a pile?
– A: Tubes are not placed in a pile
A few meters of separation
simplifies the tube pickup problem
because each tube is decoupled
from the others
– Q: How does SFR figure out
where the tubes are?
– A: M2020 will collect imagery of
the depot generally and each
tube after it is dropped
The tubes will not move or
become completely buried by dust
after M2020 drops them
Mars Sample Return
• In-situ science is not the primary objective
• MSR has a required landing site (JZW)
and it is already well-characterized
– Pro: ability to design for a specific site
– Con: inability to choose an easier site
• Binary-ish Mission Success
– There is limited “partial credit” opportunity -
if the MAV is not launched, MSR has failed
MSR: Differences from Previous
Mars Surface Missions
16For planning and discussion purposes only.
Full HiRISE Stereo Coverage
• Available timeline is already maxed out:
– SRL and ERO already optimized for maximum available surface timeline
– Ls≈0 to Ls≈180 avoids northern winter and dust storm season
• Common conclusion: MSR has a significantly better understanding of its
likely surface mission operations than previous missions at this maturity
Mars Sample Return
Two Potential Tube Delivery Vehicles:
SFR and M2020
17For planning and discussion purposes only.
SRL Landing
Spot
M2020
SFR
Depot • Using multiple
delivery vehicles
offers redundancy
• M2020 offloads risk
by depoting tubes for
SFR retrieval
• M2020 can directly
deliver most recent
samples to SRL
Mars Sample Return
SRL Touchdown
18For planning and discussion purposes only.
Picking up where we left off in the previous section…
Mars Sample Return
SRL EDL - Extended Divert
19For planning and discussion purposes only.
8 km Parachute Deploy Ellipse
• SRL will carry enough propellant to fly out the backshell separation
ellipse and land at a specific spot (~±20m accuracy)
• Enables landing at a specific site scouted by Mars 2020 ahead of time
Powered Descent
Landing Spot
Mars Sample Return
Campaign Timeline Overview
20For planning and discussion purposes only.
*Illustrates an example scenario
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Reg. Dust Storm Season Reg. Reg. Dust Storm Season Reg.
N Winter N Winter
Earth to Mars Spiral Down Low Mars Orbit (Relay) RDV and Contain Spiral Up Mars to Earth
Earth to Mars Surface*
Conj
MAVEDL
MOI
OS
EES
Conj
26-26-31
SRL
ERO
SFR
M2020
*See zoomed diagram for surface phases
CPLA and Egress
Tube Pickup
Tube Transfer
Tube Transfer
MAV Launch
Relay Phase for RDV
Operational
Margin
(surface elements)
Campaign
Margin
(between ERO and surface
elements)
Siesta
SRL Surface Activities (~13 months) is a busy time and campaign coordination is critical
Ls0 30 60 90 120 150 180
Mars Sample Return
SFR Operations
21For planning and discussion purposes only.
Egress
a few meters
Traverse to Depot
Tube Pickup
Return Traverse
Park in Tube Transfer Zone
up to 36 tubes
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Earth to Mars Surface*
MAVEDL
SRLSFR
M2020
Depot
SRL Landing
Spot
Mars Sample Return
M2020 Operations
22For planning and discussion purposes only.
Transfer Tubes from M2020Traverse to SRL-M2020 drops tubes into tray-Tray placed on lander-Tubes picked up from tray-Tubes loaded into OS
(example scenario only)
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Earth to Mars Surface*
MAVEDL
SRLSFR
M2020
SRL Landing
Spot
M2020
Mars Sample Return
OS Loading and MAV Preparation
23For planning and discussion purposes only.
Transfer Tubes from SFR-STA moves each tube from SFR rack to SRL
Prepare for MAV Launch Launch MAVGNC Calibrations
Heat MAV to AFT
Checkout Comm
Insert tubes into OS
Assemble OS Closeout MAV
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Earth to Mars Surface*
MAVEDL
SRLSFR
M2020
Mars Sample Return
Sample Tube Transfer from SFR
24For planning and discussion purposes only.
Mars Sample Return
25
MAV Launch with VECTOR
For planning and discussion purposes only.