![](\"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Bringing_Mars_rock_samples_back_to_Earth_card_full.png\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Short animation featuring key moments of the Mars Sample Return<\/a> campaign: from landing on Mars and securing the sample tubes to launching them off the surface and ferrying them back to Earth.<\/p>\n NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) are developing plans for one of the most ambitious campaigns ever attempted in space: bringing the first samples of Mars material safely back to Earth for detailed study. European scientists<\/a>\u00a0are part of an international team giving advice on what samples to choose for return and the best analysis methods to use once they land on Earth.<\/p>\n The diverse set of scientifically curated samples being collected by NASA\u2019s Mars Perseverance rover could help scientists answer the question of whether ancient life ever arose on the Red Planet.\u00a0<\/p>\n Bringing samples of Mars to Earth for future study would happen in several steps with multiple spacecraft, and in close collaboration between ESA and NASA.<\/p>\n The first step of the campaign began with the arrival of the Perseverance rover at Jezero Crater<\/a>\u00a0on 18 February 2021.<\/p>\n ESA will give robotic assistance with the\u00a0Sample Transfer Arm<\/a>. The 2.5 m robotic arm will pick up the tubes filled with precious material from Mars and transfer them to a\u00a0rocket<\/a>\u00a0for a launch into martian orbit.<\/p>\n