Planning for Mars Returned Sample Science: Final Report of the MSR End-to-End International Science Analysis Group (E2E-iSAG)

Abstract

Returning samples from Mars to Earth for scientific\nanalysis has been, and continues to be, among the\nhighest-priority objectives of planetary science. Partly for this\nreason, the 2011 Planetary Science Decadal Survey placed\nhigh priority on a proposed 2018 rover mission that would\nconduct careful in situ science and use that scientific information\nto select and cache samples that could be returned to\nEarth by a potential future mission. To ensure that the potential\ncontributions of the 2018 rover to the proposed Mars\nSample Return (MSR) Campaign are properly planned, this\nstudy was undertaken to consider the science of the MSR\nCampaign concept from end to end. This white paper is the\nprincipal output of the MSR End-to-End International Science\nAnalysis Group (E2E-iSAG): a group chartered by the Mars\nExploration Program Analysis Group (MEPAG).