NASA will analyze and evaluate two different landing options for its Mars Sample Return program, although it will take about two years to do so and is expected to announce its decision in late 2026. The review found it could cost between $8 billion and $11 billion, which is over budget.
The first method NASA is testing is called a “sky crane,” where the vehicle will head to Mars, approach the surface with the help of a parachute, and take samples that the Perseverance rover had collected using cables or other materials. then fly away. NASA previously used this method to place the Curiosity and Perseverance rovers on Earth.
Meanwhile, the second option requires the help of local trading companies. Last year, the agency asked SpaceX, Blue Origin, Lockheed Martin and other companies to submit proposals on how to get Martian samples collected back to Earth. Whichever option the agency chooses will carry a smaller version of the Mars Ascent Vehicle than originally planned. The Mars Ascent Vehicle is a lightweight rocket that will take samples from the planet’s surface into Martian orbit. It will also need to be able to transport a container that can fit 30 sample tubes. Once the sample container is in orbit, the European Space Agency’s orbiter will capture it and return it home.
Early last year, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory had to lay off 530 employees and cut 100 contract workers mainly due to budget issues related to the project. NASA requested $950 million for the program, but only $300 million was allocated. An independent review that found the mission would cost more than budget also found it may not be able to return samples to Earth by 2040. According to a previous report by The Washington Postthe US government found the return date “unacceptable.”
In a teleconference, NASA administrator Bill Nelson revealed that one of the two ways the agency now thinks it will cost much less money than it would have spent in the beginning. The sky crane will reportedly cost NASA between $6.6 billion and $7.7 billion, while working with a private space agency will cost between $5.8 billion and $7.1 billion. Either option would be able to retrieve samples and return them sometime between 2035 and 2039. Scientists believe that the samples Perseverance has been collecting can help us determine whether there is life on Mars and whether its soil contains chemicals and potentially harmful substances. to future human astronauts.