Preparing for Mars Sample Return

February 13th, La Jolla, CA: The Conference on Life Detection in Extraterrestrial Samples is the kind of meeting that science fiction nerds dream of, a chance to sit in a room and methodically plan the logistics of what would be one of the most transformative discoveries of modern science. Inside the conference room, the few dozen scientists and engineers trade handshakes and inquire after family members before launching into a pointed critique of what went wrong in each other’s most recent scientific publications. Robotic missions to Mars have transformed our understanding of the Red Planet over the last decade, but even before the Mars Science Laboratory’s launch pad gets cold, scientists are planning for the next milestone: a Mars sample return mission. But you want to find it.” For Dr. David Beaty, the Chief Scientist of the Mars Exploration Directorate at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, it starts with landing site selection. Spirit’s Gusev Crater was an ancient lakebed, with 1000 meters worth of sediment; Opportunity’s Meridiani Planum was a hematite playground; and MSL’s Gale Crater seems to be a proverbial gold mine of sulfates and clays – minerals often linked with water.