Something that seemed similar was once proposed as a Centennial Challenge. It's always struck me as an important piece of space infrastructure, even if the payload is very small (eg: chemical or microbiological samples), but I haven't heard much about such ideas lately. Will we finally see some movement?
Centennial Challenges (PDF) - National Council of Space Grant Directors -2006 Spring Meeting - This document, by Ken Davidian, shows the state of Centennial Challenges at the time of that meeting. Several proposed Challenges are briefly described: Telerobotic Construction, Planetary Unmanned Aerial Vehicle, Fuel Depot Demonstration, Station-Keeping Solar Sail, Human Lunar All-Terrain Vehicle, Low-Cost Space Pressure Suit, Non-Toxic RCS Engine, Lunar Night Power Source ... and Micro Reentry Vehicle (slide p. 20). From the slide:
Rationale
Demonstrate a low-cost method for returning viable samples on-demand from orbit:
•Routine ISS sample return despite constrained downmass
•Free-flying research platforms in between vomit comets and ISS
•Commercial biotech interest
Rules Summary
To win the estimated $2M prize, the Team shall:
•Launch one dozen raw eggs into LEO (>200km)
•Reenter the Earth’s atmosphere and land within 4km of the team’s pre-designated landing site
•Protect the eggs from temperatures, vibrations, and accelerations resulting in cooking, scrambling, or cracking
Also Supports Spacecraft "Black Box"Data Applications
Aerospace Corporation
