The Earth Return Orbiter (ERO) is one of the flight missions making up the Mars Sample Return campaign to bring martian rock, soil and atmospheric samples back to Earth.
This European Space Agency (ESA) orbiter would be the first interplanetary spacecraft to capture samples in orbit and make a return trip between Earth and Mars.
ERO would also be the largest spacecraft to orbit the Red Planet. 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.