A Mars sample-return (MSR) mission is a proposed mission to collect rock and dust samples on Mars and return them to Earth.[1] Such a mission would allow more extensive analysis than that allowed by onboard sensors.[2]
Risks of cross-contamination of the Earth biosphere from returned Martian samples have been raised, though the risk of this occurring is considered to be low.[3]
^Treiman, Allan H.; Wadhwa, Meenakshi; Shearer, Charles K. Jr.; MacPherson, Glenn J.; Papike, James J.; Wasserburg, Gerald J.; Floss, Christine; Rutherford, Malcolm J.; Flynn, George J.; Papanastassiou, Dimitri; Westphal, Andrew; Neal, Clive; Jones, John H.; Harvey, Ralph P.; Schwenzer, Suzsanne. Groundbreaking Sample Return from Mars: The Next Giant Leap in Understanding the Red Planet(PDF) (Technical report). Archived(PDF) from the original on 15 June 2022.