Comet Nucleus Dust and Organics Return

CONDOR is a concept by a NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory team led by Christopher Guethe and M. Choukroun.

Had it been developed and launched, CONDOR would collect and return a ≥ 50 g sample from the surface of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko (also called simply 67P) for detailed analysis in terrestrial laboratories.

The CONDOR concept calls for a Lockheed-Martin A2100 bus with a solar electric propulsion system.

[1] In addition of performing a sample return down to 15 cm depth, it would carry a small payload comprising a narrow angle camera and a millimeter-wave radiometer to select a sampling site, and perform a gravity science investigation to compare changes of 67P since Rosetta.

The sample would be stored at ≤ -20 °C and sent to Earth on a Stardust-based capsule for extensive analyses not yet possible by robotic spacecraft.