Development of a NASA 2018 Mars Landed Mission Concept

Fundamental to NASA's Mars Exploration Program (MEP) is an ongoing development of an integrated and coordinated set of possible future candidate missions that meet fundamental science and programmatic objectives of NASA and the Mars scientific community. In the current planning horizon of the NASA MEP, a landed mobile surface exploration mission launching in the 2018 Mars launch opportunity exists as a candidate project to meet MEP in situ science and exploration objectives. This paper describes the proposed mission science objectives and the mission implementation concept developed for the 2018 opportunity. As currently envisioned, this mission concept seeks to explore a yet-to-be-selected site with high preservation potential for physical and chemical biosignatures, evaluate paleoenvironmental conditions, characterize the potential for preservation of biosignatures, and access multiple sequences of geological units in a search for evidence of past life and/or prebiotic chemistry at a site on Mars. Candidate science measurements and payload sizing implementation options for this concept are identified and described for the purpose of identifying overall rover mass and power scenarios for such a mission. A description of plans for use and possible modification of NASA-developed entry, descent and landing capabilities will be included and is fundamental to meeting the budget and landing site access goals for this mission concept. This mission concept also intends to make concrete steps towards a possible future mission to return Martian samples to the Earth. This latter objective anchors the potential 2018 mission in a sound Mars exploration strategy that is also consistent with NASA's primary goals for the subsequent decade of exploration (2020 – 2030), namely; a potential international collaboration for the return to Earth, and subsequent detailed analysis, of carefully selected Martian samples. The proposed 2018 Landed Mission concept includes near sub-surface access and acquisition of sample cores, as well as encapsulation and caching of cores for possible recovery by a potential future mission. Here we describe the mission concept and the technology planning and development efforts underway to enable meeting the proposed mission objectives. Potential international collaboration opportunities and implementation strategies for this mission concept and potential launch opportunity are also outlined.