Sample Science Traceability Matrix for <i>Perseverance</i> ’s Mars Sample Return Collection
The Mars Sample Return (MSR) Campaign aims to retrieve a set of carefully selected and documented samples collected by NASA's <i>Perseverance</i> rover in and around Jezero Crater on Mars and deliver this set to Earth for comprehensive laboratory analyses. To emphasize the immense scientific return of this unique collection, this work presents a Sample Science Traceability Matrix (SSTM), a systematic framework that aligns each sample with the MSR campaign's defined science objectives, subobjectives, and critical research questions. The SSTM explicitly connects prioritized goals-including geologic history, astrobiology, planetary evolution, and human exploration science-to each of the individual samples gathered in and around Jezero Crater on Mars. This matrix offers a structured, quantitative method to assess each sample's capacity to address key scientific questions, while highlighting synergies across the sample suite and showcasing the overall value of the collection. The SSTM provides a valuable tool for guiding future sample analyses and identifying the most impactful samples that could be collected in the future to complete the set collected by the Mars 2020 mission. It also supports the next phase of Mars sample science and informs strategies for future Mars exploration missions. Key Words: Mars Sample Return-<i>Perseverance</i>-Jezero Crater-Laboratory-Sample collection-Science goals. Astrobiology 25, 725-741.
Authors
- Brandi L. Carrier (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9943-7138)
- Andrew D. Czaja (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2450-0734)
- Bronwyn L. Teece (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0648-5443)
- L. E. Mayhew (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6753-1434)
- Tanja Bosak (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5179-5323)
- Daniel P. GLAVIN (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7779-7765)
- B. P. Weiss (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3113-3415)
- Sandra Siljeström (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4975-6074)
- A. D. Harrington (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4875-3637)
- S. P. Schwenzer (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9608-0759)
- F. M. McCubbin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2101-4431)
- Elisabeth M. Hausrath (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5520-1622)
- E. Sefton‐Nash (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5583-4438)
- C. D. K. Herd (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5210-4002)
- Audrey Bouvier (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8303-3419)
- María‐Paz Zorzano (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4492-9650)
- Keyron Hickman‐Lewis (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8014-233X)
- Gerhard Kminek
- Katherine Louise French (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0153-8035)
- Justin I. Simon (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3969-8958)
- L. E. Hays
- F. Thiessen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6214-573X)
Institutions
- United States Geological Survey (US)
- Planetary Science Institute (US)
- Goddard Space Flight Center (US)
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory (US)
- University of Nevada, Las Vegas (US)
- University of Alberta (CA)
- University of Colorado Boulder (US)
- The Open University (GB)
- RISE Research Institutes of Sweden (SE)
- Denver Federal Center (US)
- Centro de Astrobiología (ES)
- Johnson Space Center (US)
- European Space Research and Technology Centre (NL)
- University of Bayreuth (DE)
- University of Cincinnati (US)
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology (US)
- Birkbeck, University of London (GB)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Astrobiology
- Published
- 2025-10-01
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1177/15311074251382585
- Primary Topic
- Planetary Science and Exploration
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00