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NASA ScienceMars Exploration ProgramSkip Navigation VIDEOS Meet the Mars Samples: Atmo Mountain and Crosswind Lake (Samples 17 and 18) August 16, 2023 Meet two of the Martian samples that have been collected and are awaiting return to Earth as part of the Mars Sample Return campaign. As of early August 2023, NASA’s Mars Perseverance rover has collected and sealed 20 scientifically selected samples inside pristine tubes. The next stage is to get them back for study. Considered one of the highest priorities by the scientists in the Science and Astrobiology Decadal Survey 2023-2032, Mars Sample Return would be the first mission to return samples from another planet and provides the best opportunity to reveal the early evolution of Mars, including the potential for ancient life. NASA is teaming with ESA (European Space Agency) on this important endeavor. Learn more about Samples No. 17 and 18 – “Atmo Mountain” and “Crosswind Lake,” the mission’s first samples of the Mars surface material known as “regolith.” The samples were collected from a low, wind-blown ripple and contain loose material representing a range of grain sizes such as dust, sand, and pebbles. Martian wind can carry smaller grains like this over long distances, so regolith can provide insight into the global and local landscape, all in a single “grab bag.”

NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover is filling sample tubes with rocky material on the Red Planet as the agency works on the next steps to get them safely back to Earth. The Mars Sample Return campaign would bring samples collected by the Perseverance rover to Earth for detailed study. The campaign involves an international interplanetary relay team, including the European Space Agency (ESA). These samples could answer a key question: did life ever exist on Mars? Aaron Yazzie, who works on the Mars Sample Return campaign, explains the work being done at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory to ensure the safe return of the sample tubes.