The European Space Agency (ESA) is Europe’s gateway to space. Its mission is to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space continues to deliver benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world.
Find out more about space activities in our 23 Member States, and understand how ESA works together with their national agencies, institutions and organisations.
Exploring our Solar System and unlocking the secrets of the Universe
Go to topicProtecting life and infrastructure on Earth and in orbit
Go to topicUsing space to benefit citizens and meet future challenges on Earth
Go to topicMaking space accessible and developing the technologies for the future
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Lense of the narrow angle camera model used to detect the Orbiting Sample in low Mars orbit.
ESA’s Earth Return Orbiter (ERO) is one of three missions launched from Earth that would be part of the intricate Mars Sample Return campaign to bring martian rock, soil and atmospheric samples back to Earth.
ERO will have the challenge of capturing a basketball-sized capsule launched from the surface of Mars filled with a set of samples previously collected by Perseverance.
In addition to the rendezvous and return mission, ERO would provide critical Mars-Earth communications coverage for the NASA’s Perseverance rover and the Sample Retrieval Lander to deliver the martian samples.
Just as the Apollo Moon samples have fuelled research for decades, the scientific community would have pristine samples from Mars to study for years to come.
ERO’s round-trip to the Red Planet, as well as its rendezvous with an object launched from the martian surface, would pave the way for crewed missions to Mars.