[Energetic music] 
Hi, I'm Raquel Villanueva,
here at NASA's Jet
Propulsion Laboratory.
Now, it has been a dream of
scientists for generations
to bring back samples
from the surface of Mars.
Right now, the Mars 2020 rover
is laying the groundwork
for that to happen.
And, that's why I'm in the
In-Situ Instrument Laboratory
with Jessica Samuels.
And, she's here to tell us
what's going on here.
[Jessica Samuels] Well, we use
this facility to develop and
design our hardware and software
systems for our Mars missions.
[Raquel] And, how does the
sampling system work.
[Jessica] So, we have a drill on
the end of our robotic arm.
And, as we are drilling the
surface of Mars, we will be
collecting pieces of Mars into
the sample tube at that time.
We'll then transfer
that sample tube
into the inside of the rover
and then seal it for storage
as we continue to
explore the surface.
After we've collected a
diverse set of samples,
we will drop them off
onto the surface...
[Raquel] Yeah.
[Jessica]...and then
have them there
for a future sample return
mission to continue.
[Raquel] Well, I know you have
some tests to keep doing
and I'm actually gonna go
check out the next phase
at a different lab.
We're in a testing lab
affectionately known as the
"Sand Box" and I'm here
with Austin Nicholas.
Now, can you explain how we are
gonna bring back
samples from Mars?
[Austin Nicholas] So,
starting from after 2020
has deposited tubes
on the surface,
there are two more
missions to go in
bringing the tubes
back to Earth.
The first is a lander mission.
It carries three major elements:
a Sample Fetch Rover and
a Sample Transfer Arm
that lets you transfer
the samples from
the Fetch Rover into the rocket,
and a Mars Ascent
Vehicle which is a rocket
that brings the samples
from Mars into space.
Meanwhile, the orbiter has also
launched from Earth in 2026 and
is making its way towards Mars
and it'll be in position
by the time the
rocket's fully loaded.
The orbiter will then go to the
sample container that the
rocket's put into space
and then capture it,
ultimately bringing
them to Earth in 2031.
[Raquel] That sounds
complicated.
[Austin] It is complicated
but fortunately we're
not doing it alone.
So, we have a great partnership
with the European Space Agency
and they're providing some major
pieces of this mission.
Within NASA, we've actually got
a number of centers working on
all of the different pieces.
So, we're partnering with
Marshall Space Flight Center
for the Mars Ascent Vehicle,
Langley and Ames for the
Earth Entry Vehicle,
Glenn for the Sample
Fetch Rover wheels
and we're partnering with
Goddard for the orbiter payload.
And so there's really a...
it's a whole NASA effort
to get Mars Sample Return done.
[Raquel] Sounds like there is
a lot of work to be done,
but this all kicks off with the
launch of Mars 2020 this summer
in Cape Canaveral, Florida,
and there's lots
of excitement here
as we get ready
to make history.
