To send people to Mars, it is vital to have a soil-return mission; to bring back to Earth for analysis Martian soil, rocks, dust, water and air.

The Coalition to Save Manned Space Exploration is working to save the space program and make sure we do get to the Moon and Mars in the near future.

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Tests with these returned samples will allow full understanding of what astronauts and equipment will have to live with; the opportunities and hazards. Will Mars dust adhere to everything? Will it gunk up machinery? Are there any poisonous elements in the soil, dust, air and water to beware of? What useful elements and minerals might be discovered which will allow for manufacturing the necessities of life and making fuel and needed materials?

Are there indeed any microbes or life of any kind present? Evidence might be found in ice and soil samples. If so, can we coesist? On Earth, microbes thrive in extreme conditions (known as extremophiles), and Earth microbes can even survive months exposed to the vacuum, temperatures and radiation of space. So we need to know what faces humanity as we move out into our solar system!

Unless we can save the space shuttles, this mission proposal would need to be modified to include a reentry heat shield and parachutes for the return to Earth. Other modifications would include the need to capture samples of Martian air and water. A rover could drive around to capture a wider selection. Additionally, to assure one succeeds, a pair of these should be launched; each landing in very different locations. This animation appears to show a solar-powered ion engine for orbital transfer propulsion, which would save weight and possibly allow a round trip in half the time of a conventional rocket.

To support human missions for the 2018-2022-2025 launch windows, this soil return mission should be launched in 2014 or 2016. NASA has no current plans however to do this mission, so we must pressure Congress to add it to the budget.

This NASA animation is presented for your education.
Credit: NASA-JSC Office of Exploration, John Frassanito & Associates.

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