How will Airbus bring the first samples ever from planet Mars - Introducing the Earth Return Orbiter

Airbus has been selected by the European Space Agency (ESA) for the Mars Sample Return’s Earth Return Orbiter (ERO) – the first ever spacecraft to bring samples back to Earth from Mars. Mars Sample Return (MSR) is a joint ESA-NASA campaign and the next step in the exploration of Mars. The five year mission will see the spacecraft head to Mars, act as a communication relay with the surface missions, perform a rendezvous with the orbiting samples and bring them safely back to Earth. To be launched on an Ariane 6 in 2026, the 6 ton, 6 m high spacecraft, equipped with 144m² solar arrays with a span of over 40 m – some of the biggest ever built – will take about a year to reach Mars. It will use a mass-efficient hybrid propulsion system combining electric propulsion for the cruise and spiral down phases and chemical propulsion for Mars orbit insertion. For more info: