Tomorrow is the launch of NASA's Mars 2020 Perseverance rover, the first of a sample return mission chain, whose purpose is to collect pristine Mars rock samples to be studies later on Earth. The rover carries a rock core drill, which will take samples, put them in a capsule, seal them hermetically and lay them on the ground for the next mission. The future ESA-built "fetch rover" will collect some of them, put them in an orb-like container and launch them into orbit. There, another vehicle will collect the sample container, transport them to Earth and drop them for reentry, while the spacecraft would fly by. Star Wars stuff, really... And the "break the contamination chain" efforts are on steroids, everyone brings up the Andromeda scenario.
In the past I've expressed discontent with the state of the mission, and I stand by what I said. I think we can do a much better job given enough time, but Mars comes about every ~2 years and it doesn't want to slow down for us. Should have used the COVID excuse to delay the mission and make it 10 times better, but hey-ho.
A curious fact, I believe that this landing, if successful, will even the odds to 50-50 (depending on how you count). But it's not easy to land on Mars, and it's not as trivial as we all think, considering the successful missions since 2003 Mars Exploration Rovers (Spirit and Opportunity). But the very reason why JPL is still in the business of building rovers and landers is the loss of two mars missions, a lander an an orbiter, within a few months in 1999. Another curious fact, NASA had other plans for us, to make us more like CNES, a mission management organization. In which case I would have had a very different career path.
And a final curious fact. Mars 2020 will carry two technology demonstration missions, one trying to make oxygen for future human exploration (MOXIE) and a helicopter, which will carry something very symbolic...
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/23/science/mars-helicopter-nasa.html
