The NASA/ESA Mars Sample Return Campaign

This paper outlines the proposed architecture of the Mars Sample Return (MSR) campaign planned in collaboration by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the European Space Agency (ESA). The goal of the campaign is to bring to Earth a scientifically selected, diverse set of Mars samples being currently collected by the NASA Perseverance rover. The planned campaign involves an Earth Return Orbiter (ERO) built and operated by ESA and a Sample Retrieval Lander (SRL) built and operated by NASA. The paper describes the high-level mission design and timeline of the campaign and outlines its constituent components.