Mars-Grunt, also known as Expedition-M (Russian: Марс-Грунт), is a proposed robotic Mars sample-return mission. It was proposed to the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) by the Russian Space Research Institute.
As of September 2023, Mars-Grunt is expected to be sent to Mars following the success of Boomerang (Fobos-Grunt-2), which in turn is expected sometime after 2030.
Lander
If funded by the Russian space agency Roscosmos, it would be developed by the Russian Space Research Institute and NPO Lavochkin, based on Fobos-Grunt technology. Designs show a dome-shaped lander would separate from the orbiter and would enter the Martian atmosphere protected within an inflatable rubber braking cone and fire retrorockets for a soft landing. Once a robotic arm selects and retrieves the samples (mass about 0.2 kilograms (0.44 lb)), a small rocket in the top of the lander would blast the ascent vehicle for rendezvous and docking with the orbiter for the soil sample transfer into the return vehicle.
Cruise stage
The cruise stage PM (from Pereletny Modul Russian: Перелётный Модуль) is sometimes referred to as Flagman (not to be confused with a proposal combining the Blok D and Fregat stages, known by the same name), and closely resembles the Fregat-M stage. It was developed for the Fobos-Grunt mission, but its basic architecture is promised to be the base for a whole generation of future planetary missions, including Luna-Glob, Luna-Resurs and Luna-Grunt to the Moon; Venera-D to Venus; Mars-NET and Mars-Grunt to Mars and, possibly, Sokol-Laplas to Jupiter. The platform's developer - NPO Lavochkin - stressed that in different configuration, the same bus could be adapted as an orbiter or as a lander.
Status
If the technology being developed for Luna Glob to the Moon, and Fobos-Grunt-2 to Mars' moon Phobos, is proved successful, it will then be used on Mars-Grunt.
Tasks
Tasks set by the NPO Lavochkin and Roscosmos:
- Delivery of substance samples from Mars to Earth
- Refinement of engineering and technical models of the atmosphere and surface of Mars
- Detailed geochemical analysis of soil substance on Mars
- Study of the interaction processes between the atmosphere, solar radiation, and the surface of Mars
