PIA14265: Martian Samples Leaving Mars (Artist's Concept)
 Mission:  Mars Sample Return 
 Product Size:  6478 x 5360 pixels (w x h)
 Produced By:  JPL
 Full-Res TIFF:  PIA14265.tif (104.2 MB)
 Full-Res JPEG:  PIA14265.jpg (2.589 MB)

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Original Caption Released with Image:

This artist's concept of a proposed Mars sample return mission portrays the launch of an ascent vehicle. The solar panels in the foreground are part of a rover. The rover would have delivered to the ascent vehicle a cache of Martian rock samples that would have been left on the surface by a previous sample-collection rover. The ascent vehicle would release its sample container in Martian orbit, to be retrieved by a spacecraft for carrying the samples to Earth.

NASA and the European Space Agency are collaborating on proposals for a mission to gather samples of Martian rocks and bring them to Earth after 2020. This illustration depicts preliminary concepts, not finished design.

Image Credit:
NASA/JPL-Caltech

Image Addition Date:
2011-06-20