Mars sample-return mission

Mars sample return – artist's concept

A Mars sample-return (MSR) mission is a proposed mission to collect rock and dust samples on Mars and return them to Earth. Such a mission would allow more extensive analysis than that allowed by onboard sensors, focused on whether Mars once hosted life. Back contamination of Earth's biosphere from returned Martian samples has been raised but this risk is considered to be low.

As of 2026, China National Space Administration's robotic dual-launch Tianwen-3 mission is planned for the December 2028–January 2029 Mars launch window. Roscosmos plans to launch Mars-Grunt in the 2030s. A JAXA proposal, Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) is aimed at returning samples from Phobos. The NASA-ESA Mars Sample Return was cancelled in 2026; it was approved in 2022 to gather samples collected by NASA's Perseverance rover.

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