The Space Studies Board of the National Research Council (NRC) serves as the primary adviser to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) on planetary protection policy, the purpose of which is to preserve conditions for future biological and organic exploration of planets and other solar system objects and to protect Earth and its biosphere from potential extraterrestrial sources of contamination. In October 1995 the NRC received a letter from NASA requesting that the Space Studies Board examine and provide advice on planetary protection issues related to possible sample-return missions to near-Earth solar system bodies.

The Space Studies Board of the National Research Council (NRC) serves as the primary adviser to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) on planetary protection policy, the purpose of which is to preserve conditions for future biological and organic exploration of planets and other solar system objects and to protect Earth and its biosphere from potential extraterrestrial sources of contamination. In October 1995 the NRC received a letter from NASA requesting that the Space Studies Board examine and provide advice on planetary protection issues related to possible sample-return missions to near-Earth solar system bodies.

In anticipation of the return of samples from Mars toward the end of the first decade of the next century, NASA's Office of Space Sciences chartered a panel to examine how Mars samples should be handled. The panel was to make recommendations in three areas: sample collection and transport back to Earth; certification of the samples as nonhazardous; and sample receiving, curation, and distribution. This summarizes the findings of that panel.

Sample Return Missions: The Last Frontier of Solar System Exploration examines the discoveries and results obtained from sample return missions of the past, present, and future. It analyses the results in the context of the current state of knowledge and their relation to the formation and evolution of planetary bodies, as well as to the available technologies and techniques. It provides detailed descriptions of experimental procedures applied to returned samples. Beginning with an overview of previous missions, Sample Return Missions then goes on to provide an overview of facilities throughout the world used to analyze the returned samples. Finally, it addresses techniques for collection, transport, and analysis of the samples, with an additional focus on lessons learned and future perspectives. Providing an in-depth examination of a variety of missions, with both scientific and engineering implications, this book is an important resource for the planetary science community, as well as the experimentalist and engineering communities. Presents sample return results obtained so far in relation to remote sensing measurements, methods and techniques for laboratory analysis, and technology Provides an overview of a variety of sample return missions, from Apollo, to Hayabusa-2, to future missions Examines technological and methodological advances in analyzing returned samples, as well as the resources available globally

Mission and vehicle concepts were developed for obtaining surface and sub-surface samples of Mars, by a roving vehicle, and returning the samples to Earth.

NASA maintains a planetary protection policy to avoid the forward biological contamination of other worlds by terrestrial organisms, and back biological contamination of Earth from the return of extraterrestrial materials by spaceflight missions. Forward-contamination issues related to Mars missions were addressed in a 2006 National Research Council (NRC) book, Preventing the Forward Contamination of Mars. However, it has been more than 10 years since back-contamination issues were last examined. Driven by a renewed interest in Mars sample return missions, this book reviews, updates, and replaces the planetary protection conclusions and recommendations contained in the NRC's 1997 report Mars Sample Return: Issues and Recommendations. The specific issues addressed in this book include the following: The potential for living entities to be included in samples returned from Mars; Scientific investigations that should be conducted to reduce uncertainty in the above assessment; The potential for large-scale effects on Earth's environment by any returned entity released to the environment; Criteria for intentional sample release, taking note of current and anticipated regulatory frameworks; and The status of technological measures that could be taken on a mission to prevent the inadvertent release of a returned sample into Earth's biosphere.

This is the comprehensive story of NASA’s pioneering Mars 2020 mission, which at this moment continues to break ground on the surface of the Red Planet. The book takes readers through every stage of the Mars mission, describing its major goals and objectives, the cutting-edge technology and instrumentation onboard the Perseverance rover and other spacecraft components, and the members of the scientific team who steered the mission along the way. Mars 2020 is the first to actually take samples of the Red Planet and prepare them for subsequent return to Earth. The chapters therefore delve into how and why Jezero Crater was selected as the optimal landing and sample collecting site to meet the mission objectives. Featuring dozens of high-resolution images of the mission, this book gives readers a deeper understanding of the technology underlying Mars 2020 and why its work is so important for planetary science and space exploration.