JPL
Careers
Education
Science & Technology
JPL Logo
JPL Logo
Image

Fetching Mars Samples

Feb 17, 2021
After the NASA Mars 2020 Perseverance rover mission has collected pristine samples of Mars rock and regolith and deposited them inside collection tubes, they will be dropped off at strategic locations along the rover's driving route for later retrieval.

After the NASA Mars 2020 Perseverance rover mission has collected pristine samples of Mars rock and regolith (broken rock and dust) and deposited them inside collection tubes, they will be dropped off at strategic locations (called "depots") along the rover's driving route. This will be the first phase of the Mars Sample Return campaign. In the late 2020's, NASA and ESA (European Space Agency) will send the Sample Retrieval Lander (SRL) mission to Mars to collect those sample tubes from the surface.

To accomplish this, the lander will make a pinpoint landing near Perseverance's driving route and dispatch its Sample Fetch Rover (SFR) that will then drive to retrieve the sample tubes. This map shows possible driving routes (yellow lines) for Perseverance at Jezero Crater and the potential locations where the depots might be located. The green lines show possible Sample Fetch Rover pathways that can access these depot locations. The large number of possible SRL landing locations and SFR traverse pathways is indicative of the high degree of resiliency inherent in the overall Mars Sample Return architecture.

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California built and manages operations of the Mars 2020 Perseverance rover for NASA.

For more information about the mission, go to https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/.

Download JPG
Download TIFF
Mission
  • Perseverance Rover
Target
  • Mars
Spacecraft
  • Perseverance
Credit
NASA/JPL-Caltech

Keep Exploring

Black and White: Smoke Plume from Perseverance's Descent Stage

Mastcam-Z's First 360-Degree Panorama

Mars Decoder Ring

Navcam View of Perseverance's Rover Deck

Mastcam-Z Looks at Its Calibration Target

Perseverance Navcams 360-Degree Panorama

Great Anticipation as Perseverance Lands

Cheering for Perseverance Landing

Cheers for a Successful Mars Landing

Perseverance's First Full-Color Look at Mars

Related Topic

News .

Testing Proves Its Worth With Successful Mars Parachute Deployment

Topic .

Mars

News .

NASA’s Perseverance Rover Gives High-Definition Panoramic View of Landing Site

News .

NASA to Reveal New Video, Images From Mars Perseverance Rover

News .

NASA's Mars Perseverance Rover Provides Front-Row Seat to Landing, First Audio Recording of Red Planet

News .

NASA’s Perseverance Rover Sends Sneak Peek of Mars Landing

News .

NASA’s Mars Helicopter Reports In

Mission .

Perseverance Rover

News .

Touchdown! NASA’s Mars Perseverance Rover Safely Lands on Red Planet

Video .

NASA's Perseverance Rover Lands Successfully on Mars (Highlight Reel)

About JPL
Who We Are
Executive Council
Directors of JPL
JPL History
Documentary Series
Virtual Tour
Annual Reports
Missions
All
Current
Past
Future
News
All
Earth
Mars
Solar System
Universe
Technology
Galleries
Images
Videos
Audio
Podcasts
Infographics
Engage
JPL and the Community
Lecture Series
Public Tours
Events
Team Competitions
JPL Speakers Bureau
Topics
Solar System
Mars
Earth
Climate Change
Stars and Galaxies
Exoplanets
Technology
JPL Life
For Media
Contacts and Information
Press Kits
More
Asteroid Watch
Robotics at JPL
Subscribe to Newsletter
Universe Newsletter
Social Media
Get the Latest from JPL
Follow Us

JPL is a federally funded research and development center managed for NASA by Caltech.

More from JPL
Careers Education Science & Technology Acquisitions JPL Store
Careers
Education
Science & Technology
Acquisitions
JPL Store
Related NASA Sites
Basics of Spaceflight
Climate Kids
Earth / Global Climate Change
Exoplanet Exploration
Mars Exploration
Solar System Exploration
Space Place
NASA's Eyes Visualization Project
Voyager Interstellar Mission
NASA
Caltech
Privacy
Image Policy
FAQ
Feedback
Site Manager: Veronica McGregor
Site Editors: Tony Greicius, Randal Jackson, Naomi Hartono