Planning for Mars Returned Sample Science: Final Report of the MSR End-to-End International Science Analysis Group (E2E-iSAG)

Returning samples from Mars to Earth for scientific has been, and continues to be, among the-priority objectives of planetary science. Partly for this, the 2011 Planetary Science Decadal Survey placed priority on a proposed 2018 rover mission that would careful in situ science and use that scientific information select and cache samples that could be returned to by a potential future mission. To ensure that the potential of the 2018 rover to the proposed Mars Return (MSR) Campaign are properly planned, this was undertaken to consider the science of the MSR concept from end to end. This white paper is the output of the MSR End-to-End International Science Group (E2E-iSAG): a group chartered by the Mars Program Analysis Group (MEPAG).