Continuing evolution of Mars sample return

In 2001, JPL commissioned four industry teams to make a fresh examination of Mars Sample Return (MSR) mission architectures. As new fiscal realities of a cost-capped Mars Exploration Program unfolded, it was evident that the converged-upon MSR concept did not fit reasonably within a balanced program. Therefore, along with a new MSR Science Steering Group, JPL asked the industry teams plus JPL's Team-X to explore ways to reduce the cost. A paper presented at last year's conference described the emergence of a new, affordable "Groundbreaking-MSR" concept (Mattingly et al., 2003). This work addresses the continued evolution of the Groundbreaking MSR concept over the last year. One of the tenets of the low-cost approach is to use substantial heritage from an earlier mission, Mars Science Laboratory (MSL). Recently, the MSL project developed and switched its baseline to a revolutionary landing approach, coined "skycrane" where the MSL, which is a rover, would be lowered gently to the Martian surface from a hovering vehicle. MSR has adopted this approach in its mission studies, again continuing to capitalize on the heritage for a significant portion of the new lander. In parallel, a MSR Technology Board was formed to reexamine MSR technology needs and participate in a continuing refinement of architectural trades. While the focused technology program continues to be definitized through the remainder of this year, the current assessment of what technology development is required, is discussed in this paper. In addition, the results of new trade studies and considerations will be discussed. Adopting these changes, the Groundbreaking MSR concept has shifted to that presented in this paper. It remains a project that is affordable and meets the basic science needs defined by the MSR Science Steering Group in 2002.