Earth from Mars. Alones / Adobe
By Erik English | October 5, 2023
NASA’s Mars Sample Return Mission is a decade long project to bring back rocks and dust samples from Mars to Earth. The mission itself will be the most complicated robotic space mission ever undertaken, and bringing the samples back to Earth is only part of the challenge. Once on Earth, the samples will need to be treated as if they contain life-threatening pathogens. The samples will be stored in a maximum containment lab being built near the landing site in the Utah desert.
In a new report for the Bulletin, Valerie Brown writes about the challenges of the mission and how it fits into NASA’s history of space exploration and sample collection. So for our latest video, we decided to animate the journey from Mars to Earth to help illustrate the challenge and danger ahead. Check it out, and consider subscribing to our channel on YouTube too.
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Make your gift now Keywords: EESO, Mars, NASA, pathogen, space
Topics: Biosecurity
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The Bulletin elevates expert voices above the noise. But as an independent, nonprofit media organization, our operations depend on the support of readers like you. Help us continue to deliver quality journalism that holds leaders accountable. Your support of our work at any level is important. In return, we promise our coverage will be understandable, influential, vigilant, solution-oriented, and fair-minded. Together we can make a difference.