A MARSNEWS.COM EXCLUSIVE

In another stunning development, ESA officials have confirmed to MarsNews.com that the sample canisters launched by the twin Mars Exploration Rovers into Mars orbit have been successfully retrieved by a previously undisclosed Mars Sample Return Vehicle (MSRV) built by France. ESA's MSRV spacecraft arrived at Mars late last year as part of the Mars Express mission, and detached itself from its mother-ship (much like the failed Beagle 2 lander) shortly before entering orbit.

The MSRV carries a new propulsion system, which our contacts at ESA have remained tight-lipped about. Now that the sample return capsules have been retrieved, preparations are now being made to start up the reportedly high-tech propulsion system. "It will truly be a first," the anonymous project official told MarsNews.com today. "This system, if it works, will be a huge breakthrough and could definitely assist future solar system missions. But we have a few hours of checklists and other preparations to complete before we begin operating it."

ESA officials also confirmed to MarsNews.com that the MSRV vehicle is the explanation for the mysterious white streak seen in the below image, which was taken earlier this year by the rover Spirit. At the time, both NASA and ESA cast doubt on what the object was, even attempting to put forward the bizarre explanation that this was the Viking 2 orbiter.

The MSRV vehicle, previously kept a secret by ESA, almost had its cover blown last month.

According to the ESA officials, the name of the craft during development (loosely translated to English) was "French Orbiting Observing Launching System", a name given to hide its true objective as part of the Mars Sample Return project.

More details on this exciting mission as they become available. We anticipate another update from our contact at ESA later today.

Posted by jburk at April 1, 2004 12:09 PM | TrackBack