Mars Sample Return Sample Receiving Project Measurement Definition Team Final Report

The joint ESA-NASA Mars Sample Return (MSR) Campaign is slated to be one of the most ambitious undertakings in the history of planetary exploration in that analyses in terrestrial laboratories of pristine, scientifically selected samples from the surface of Mars would provide unprecedented insight into the history, evolution, and potential for Mars to harbor life.

The MSR Sample Receiving Project (SRP) Measurement Definition Team (MDT) was jointly chartered by NASA and ESA to propose a set of measurements that should be carried out on samples returned from Mars to meet the needs science, safety, and curation to aid in facility and other project planning.

The executive summary of the MDT report is presented here, while the full text of the report is available in the online supplement for this article.

Astrobiology