by NASA announced Monday that it is revising plans for its Mars Sample Return (MSR) mission because of the estimated cost and long wait time to return samples to Earth.
The goal of the mission was to collect samples of rock, soil, atmosphere and loose surface material and deliver them back to Earth via the Mars Perseverance rover. The rover, which landed in 2021, is collecting and storing samples in specially designed tubes. The mission was a joint effort with the European Space Agency.
During a press conference, NASA administrator Bill Nelson said that while the federal space agency is “committed” to recovering the samples, independent reviews have estimated that the project would cost between $8 billion and $11 billion and that samples may not return until until 2040.
“That’s unacceptable to wait that long,” Nelson said. “The decade of the 2040s is when we will be landing astronauts on Mars … the long and short of it is that the current budget environment does not allow us to pursue an $11 billion architecture and 2040 is too long. .”
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To make the mission work, NASA is asking for help from the NASA community, including the Jet Propulsion Lab (JPL), to create a new, updated mission design that “reduces complexity, improves resiliency and risk posture , as well as strong accountability and coordination,” said Nicky Fox, associate administrator for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, during the press conference.
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Nelson said he wants NASA centers and JPL to report back in the fall for alternative plans to make the mission faster and cheaper to complete.
The sample recovery orbiter was scheduled to launch in 2027 and the lander in 2028, the latter carrying a NASA-led Mars rocket and small Mars helicopters. It was due to land in 2030 and Perseverance would bring the samples to the lander, attached to the light rocket.
Then, the rocket – carrying the samples – would launch to meet the orbit, the first person to do so from another planet. Finally, the orbiter would carry the samples the rest of the way to Earth, and it is planned to return first in 2033, according to NASA.
The helicopters would be used as backups in case persistence would not be able to bring the sample tubes to the lander or in case sample tubes were accidentally left on the surface of Mars.
“Collecting strong science samples that will help scientists understand the geological history of Mars, the evolution of its climate, and prepare for future human explorers,” NASA wrote. “The return of the samples will also help NASA’s search for signs of ancient life.”
Despite the schedule set by NASA, the future of the mission is in question after an independent review board reviews the federal space agency’s plans and goals for the MSR mission and presents a report in September 2023.
In the report, the mission was described as “[an] unrealistic budget and schedule expectations from the start.”
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The report’s authors said the program would cost between $8 billion and $11 billion and that “technical issues, risks and performance to date indicate a near-zero probability” of the estimated launch dates. The report found that the 2027/2028 date was more likely to occur in 2033, delaying the mission by a few years. Additionally, the National Research Council’s Ten-Year Survey said samples are unlikely to return until the 2040s.
“Independent review boards like the one we commissioned for the Mars Sample Return help review whether we are on track to meet our mission goals within the appropriate budget,” said Sandra Connelly, associate deputy administrator for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, in a statement following the release of the report. “We thank the board for its work, and now our job is to assess the report and address whether there are aspects of the program that need to be changed.”
Past missions to Mars have confirmed that certain areas of the planet were capable of supporting life in the past, according to NASA. Evidence suggests that parts of Mars were warm and wet about three billion years ago, which would have been around the same time that early life was developing on Earth.
“This commonality raises the prospect that discoveries on Mars can provide us with important insights into the origin and evolution of life on Earth,” NASA said.
NASA Says It’s Reviewing Mars Sample Return Mission Due to Costs, Long Wait Time appeared first on abcnews.go.com
