Proximity Link Telecommunication and Tracking Scenarios for a Potential Mars Sample Return Campaign

A Mars Sample Return (MSR) campaign would involve a series of three flight missions to acquire and cache Mars samples, retrieve those samples and launch them into Mars orbit, and then capture these samples and return them to Earth. Relay communications would be crucial for supporting this campaign, characterized by multiple critical events, complex surface operations, and an on-orbit Mars rendezvous. The existing Mars relay network offers significant capability, and efforts are underway to maximize the likelihood that one or more of these current assets will still be operational in the timeframe of an MSR campaign. In addition, the Earth Return Orbiter (ERO) element of a campaign could serve as a primary relay asset, if it can achieve a useful relay orbit by the time of arrival of the Sample Retrieval Lander mission. We describe key operational challenges of the MSR campaign that would drive the required relay capabilities, and characterize the performance of the existing relay orbiters as well as ERO itself in meeting those relay needs.