Preliminary Planning for Mars Sample Return (MSR) Curation Activities in a Sample Receiving Facility

The Mars Sample Return Planning Group 2 (MSPG2) was tasked with identifying the steps that encompass all the curation activities that would happen within the MSR Sample Receiving Facility (SRF) and any anticipated curation-related requirements. An area of specific interest is the necessary analytical instrumentation. The SRF would be a Biosafety Level-4 facility where the returned MSR flight hardware would be opened, the sample tubes accessed, and the martian sample material extracted from them. Characterization of the essential attributes of each sample is required to provide enough information to prepare a sample catalog to be used in guiding the preparation of sample-related proposals by the world’s research community and to help inform decisions by the sample allocation committee. The sample catalog would be populated with data and information generated during all phases of activity, including data derived from the Mars 2020 sample-collecting rover, during sample transport to Earth, and during initial sample characterization within the SRF. We conclude that initial sample characterization can best be planned as a set of three sequential phases, which we have called Pre-Basic Characterization (Pre-BC), Basic Characterization (BC), and Preliminary Examination (PE), each of which requires a certain amount of instrumentation. Data on specific samples and subsamples obtained during sample safety assessments and time-sensitive scientific investigations would also be added to the catalog. There are several areas in which future work would be beneficial to prepare for the receipt of samples, including designing a sample tube isolation chamber, planning how to open the sample tubes, and how best to remove dust from the exteriors of the tubes.