NASA has big goals for Mars. It wants to collect the first-ever samples from the Martian surface and deliver them back to Earth in an ambitious mission called Mars Sample Return. But even in its development phase, the mission has run into problems. With a ballooning budget and unrealistic time frame, NASA decided last year that it needed a new approach to the mission, and now it has announced an update. It’s working on two ideas, with the best to be chosen in 2026.
“Pursuing two potential paths forward will ensure that NASA is able to bring these samples back from Mars with significant cost and schedule saving compared to the previous plan,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “These samples have the potential to change the way we understand Mars, our universe, and – ultimately – ourselves. I’d like to thank the team at NASA and the strategic review team, led by Dr. Maria Zuber, for their work.”
Getting a sample back from Mars is exceedingly tricky. Although the Perseverance rover has already collected and sealed a bunch of samples and left them at a depot on the Martian surface, getting them back to Earth will require a difficult series of maneuvers, including some things that have never been attempted before, such as launching a rocket from the surface of another planet.
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That means that the lander for the mission will have to carry a significant amount of mass, and landing a large mass on Mars is tricky because the thin atmosphere doesn’t provide much resistance for parachutes. One approach NASA is considering for the landing portion of the mission is to use a system similar to that used for landing the Curiosity and Perseverance rovers, called a sky crane. The other option is to use a commercially developed lander, looking to companies like SpaceX and Blue Origin to develop their own ideas.
In either case, the mission’s launch vehicle, called the Mars Ascent Vehicle, will have to be smaller than previously planned. It will also use a nuclear power system instead of solar panels, which should simplify its operation even in dusty conditions.
“NASA’s rovers are enduring Mars’ harsh environment to collect ground-breaking science samples,” said Nicky Fox, who leads NASA’s Science Mission Directorate. “We want to bring those back as quickly as possible to study them in state-of-the-art facilities. Mars Sample Return will allow scientists to understand the planet’s geological history and the evolution of climate on this barren planet where life may have existed in the past and shed light on the early solar system before life began here on Earth. This will also prepare us to safely send the first human explorers to Mars.”