NASA is exploring innovative methods that could help in the future retrieval of samples collected by the Perseverance rover on Mars.
The rover, which landed on Mars in February 2021, has collected specimens from Jezero Crater, an ancient lake and river delta that once existed on Mars. Scientists believe this sample will help them better understand whether life once existed on Mars.
The original design of the Mars Sample Return Program, a partnership between NASA and the European Space Agency, was complex. This architecture involves multiple missions launching from Earth to Mars to collect samples, followed by an initial rocket launch from the surface of another planet to return the samples to Earth.
However, there were concerns that the program would be unwieldy due to its complexity, cost and delayed repayment dates, and although it was initially expected to be implemented by 2031, it has yet to be evaluated by an independent review panel. It was postponed. Budget cuts that have affected NASA have also put the program at risk.
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson and Nicki Fox, deputy administrator for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, shared the federal agency’s response to the independent review board on Monday.
Nelson said program reviews recommend that the cost of returning Mars samples should not exceed $5 billion to $7 billion. But NASA is being forced to deal with spending reduction constraints due to budget cuts in fiscal years 2024 and 2025, taking a $2.5 billion hit to NASA, he said.
“Mars sample return will be one of the most complex missions NASA has ever undertaken. In short, the $11 billion budget is too high and the 2040 return date is too far away. ” Nelson said. “Landing and collecting a sample safely and then launching a rocket loaded with the sample from another planet has never been done before, but sending the sample to Earth more than 33 million miles (53 million kilometers) away” It’s not an easy task. We need to think outside the box and find a way to get the samples back at an affordable price and within a reasonable amount of time.”
Nelson said at a press conference Monday that waiting until 2040 to return samples to Earth is unacceptable because the 2040s are “the decade that will land astronauts on Mars.”
Decreasing budgets and rising costs impact Mars sample returns
Nelson said an $11 billion price tag for the program would force NASA to cannibalize other science programs and missions.
These missions include NEO (Near-Earth Object) surveyors who discover asteroids that could pose a danger to Earth. Dragonfly investigates the potential habitability of Saturn’s moon Titan. There are also missions such as DAVINCI and VERITAS that reveal the secrets of Venus. (The Venus mission name is an abbreviation for Deep Atmosphere Venus Investigation of Noble Gases, Chemistry and Imaging Plus, Venus Emissivity, Radio Science, InSAR, Topography, and Spectroscopy.)
Nelson expects the fiscal year 2026 budget to be less constrained and provide NASA with more science funding, but the pressing question of how to address the Mars sample return push remains Not resolved.
So the space agency is asking for help.
Innovation and trusted technology
NASA officials will soon announce a call for NASA centers and industry to develop a new plan that combines innovation with lessons learned from proven technologies, Fox News reported. NASA aims to conduct sample return missions in the 2030s with reduced complexity, cost and risk, he said.
Nelson said the proposal was submitted quickly and the agency expects to have answers about the best way to bring samples back from Mars by the fall.
Fox said the basic requirement of the proposal is that Perseverance return 30 scientifically selected samples taken from various locations.
“Mars is very important to us,” Fox said. “It’s one of the few places where life could have existed. That said, we understand that we may need to reduce the sample size range to work faster. Masu.”
The call for new architectures for Mars sample return will include a range of specimens that would like to be returned to Earth, Fox said.
“We operate on the premise that returning samples is an important national goal,” Nelson said.
He said the idea was that NASA didn’t want to end the program because it was deemed too important, especially as the agency considers landing astronauts on Mars in the future. I strengthened it.
Meanwhile, the current decision does not affect science plans for Perseverance’s trip to Mars, and the rover will continue collecting samples as it explores the crater rim, Fox said.
Looking to the future
NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, manages the Perseverance rover mission and other Mars exploration activities.
Current efforts toward a return program were underway at JPL when layoffs occurred in February to meet budget reduction requirements. Nelson said the new architecture ultimately developed for the sample return mission will determine the scope of JPL’s management oversight.
The European Space Agency has also played a major role in the program’s development, and Fox confirmed that the agency is still involved in discussions about the program’s future.
Fox said he is recommending a $200 million budget request for fiscal year 2025, which would allow other planetary science to continue at JPL and other NASA centers while NASA evaluates alternative architectures. It will also look like this.
“To organize a mission at this level of complexity, we leverage decades of learnings about how to execute large-scale missions, including incorporating input from conducting independent reviews.” said Mr. Fox. “Our next steps are to advance this transformative mission and deliver revolutionary science from Mars, revealing important new information about Mars, our solar system, and the origin and evolution of life on Earth.” It will provide insight.”
