Target Detection and Orbit Determination for Mars Sample Return

The Mars Sample Return campaign is a joint effort being planned by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the European Space Agency (ESA) to bring back a curated set of samples from the Jezero crater region of Mars to Earth. A fundamental part of this campaign is the Launch, Rendezvous, and Capture phase at Mars, which would begin with the launch of an Orbiting Sample (OS) container aboard NASA’s Mars Ascent Vehicle (MAV). Once in orbit, the MAV upper stage would release the OS. ESA’s Earth Return Orbiter must then determine the state of the OS so that it could maneuver to its vicinity for capture. This paper provides an overview of ongoing analyses performed at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory to support the development of the baseline MAV and OS detection and orbit determination strategies, which leverage both optical and radio frequency techniques.