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

Kimberly T Tait* (Corresponding Author), Francis M. McCubbin* (Corresponding Author), Caroline L Smith* (Corresponding Author), Carl B. Agee, Henner Busemann, Barbara Cavalazzi, Vinciane Debaille, Aurore Hutzler, Tomohiro Usui, Gerhard Kminek* (Corresponding Author), Michael A Meyer* (Corresponding Author), David W Beaty* (Corresponding Author), Brandi Lee Carrier* (Corresponding Author), Timothy Haltigin, Lindsay E Hays, Charles S. Cockell, Daniel P. Glavin, Monica M. Grady, Ernst Hauber, Bernard MartyLisa M Pratt, Aaron B. Regberg, Alvin L Smith, Roger E. Summons, Timothy D Swindle, Nicholas J. Tosca, Arya Udry, Michael A. Velbel, Meenakshi Wadhwa, Frances Westall, Maria-Paz Zorzano

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    16 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    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 the tubes. Characterization of the essential attributes of each sample would be required to provide enough information to prepare a sample catalog used in guiding the preparation of sample-related proposals by the world?s research community and informing 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 concurrent with Mars 2020 sample-collecting rover activity, sample transport to Earth, and 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 where future work would be beneficial to prepare for the receipt of samples, which would include the design of a sample tube isolation chamber and a strategy for opening the sample tubes and removing dust from the tube exteriors.
    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)s57-s80
    Number of pages24
    JournalAstrobiology
    Volume22
    Issue numberS1
    Early online date19 May 2022
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2 Jun 2022

    Bibliographical note

    Acknowledgments
    We would like to thank the entire MSPG-2 committee for their input and discussions during our bi-weekly meetings, and especially Gerhard Kminek, Tim Haltigin, Nicholas Tosca, and Michael Velbel for their input on this document. We especially acknowledge the subject matter experts Professor Ben Weiss (MIT) and Dr. Rohit Bhartia (Photon Systems Inc) for their important input on magnetometers and Deep UV Fluorescence, respectively. We also thank Dr. Paul Northrup and Dr. Mark Rivers for their input on synchrotron radiation techniques and Dr. Juliane Gross (Rutgers University/NASA Johnson Space Center) and Dr. Paul Lucey (University of Hawaii, Manoa) for their discussions on Multispectral Imaging and Hyperspectral Scanning and as well Dr. Ryan Ziegler and Scott
    Eckley (NASA, Johnson Space Center) for discussions and input on X-ray Computed Tomography. We also appreciate comments from an SRF implementation team coordinated by Richard Mattingly. The decision to implement Mars Sample Return will not be finalized until NASA’s completion of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process. This document is
    being made available for planning and information purposes only.
    Disclosure Statement
    No competing interests.
    Funding Information
    A portion of this work was funded by the National Aeronautics and Space
    Administration (NASA) and the European Space Agency (ESA).
    Acknowledgments We would like to thank the entire MSPG-2 committee for their input and discussions during our bi-weekly meetings, and especially Gerhard Kminek, Tim Haltigin, Nicholas Tosca, and Michael Velbel for their input on this document. We especially acknowledge the subject matter experts Professor Ben Weiss (MIT) and Dr. Rohit Bhartia (Photon Systems Inc) for their important input on magnetometers and Deep UV Fluorescence, respectively. We also thank Dr. Paul Northrup and Dr. Mark Rivers for their input on synchrotron radiation techniques and Dr. Juliane Gross (Rutgers University/NASA Johnson Space Center) and Dr. Paul Lucey (University of Hawaii, Manoa) for their discussions on
    Multispectral Imaging and Hyperspectral Scanning and as well Dr. Ryan Ziegler and Scott Eckley (NASA, Johnson Space Center) for discussions and input on X-ray Computed Tomography. We also appreciate comments from an SRF implementation team coordinated by Richard Mattingly.
    The decision to implement Mars Sample Return will not be finalized until NASA’s
    completion of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process. This document is being made available for planning and information purposes only.
    Disclosure Statement No competing interests.
    Funding Information
    A portion of this work was funded by the National Aeronautics and Space
    Administration (NASA) and the European Space Agency (ESA).

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