The Integration of Earth Operations, Sample Preservation, and Containment for Mars Sample Return

It has been 50 years since Apollo 11 astronauts with their precious cargo of lunar samples returned to Earth with a splash down in the North Pacific Ocean. At that time, the USS Hornet aircraft carrier orchestrated the Earth operations for recovery and biological quarantine of the spacecraft, astronauts, and samples in the field before critical transport to the permanent quarantine facility, the NASA MSC Lunar Receiving Laboratory in Houston, TX. Astronauts were required to wear biological isolation suits (BIG) and follow decontamination protocols before being transferred to the mobile quarantine facility (MQF). The Apollo samples and spacecraft were treated in a similar manner. As NASA and their international partners embark on Mars Sample Return, we must again plan for Earth Operations for the recovery of samples that could pose a biological or other unknown hazards to the Earth's biosphere. There exists an interconnectedness between the design of the sample return capsule (SRC), ground recovery and facilities at the landing site, transport, and receiving of the spacecraft and samples into a receiving and curation BSL-4+ containment facility. For the past 2 years, the NASA Johnson Space Center's Astromaterials Acquisition and Curation Office have conducted preliminary planning for Earth operations to receive samples at the Utah Test and Training Range (UTTR). This continued planning focuses on how the sample return capsule and recovery operations must incorporate the requirements for both sample preservation and planetary protection. We envision constructing a mobile modular receiving facility for ground operations at UTTR that could be used for nominal and contingency recovery operations as well as secure BSL-4+ containment transport for samples and the spacecraft to a receiving and curation BSL-4+ containment facility.