NASA’s Answer to Mars Sample Return Problem: Develop Two Plans

NASA’s Perseverance rover has been hard at work on Mars, collecting chunks of rock and whisking them away to the Red Planet. But back on Earth, the space agency is struggling to implement plans to recover samples from Mars. After months of deliberation, NASA has decided to pursue two alternative paths for its Mars sample return program, one of which is to support private industry.

During a media briefing on Tuesday, NASA announced an unusual approach to its ambitious Mars sampling mission. The space agency will simultaneously pursue two different ways of bringing samples from other worlds to Earth. “Following two possible paths forward will ensure that NASA will be able to return these samples from Mars at significant cost and schedule savings compared to previous plans,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. statement.

In April 2024, NASA is calling on private industry to come up with alternatives Collect Martian rocks and dust from the Red Planet and dump them on Earth. The space agency sought proposals for a less complex mission architecture that would lower costs and bring samples back to Earth at an earlier date. Five months later, the agency received 11 studies from both the NASA community and industry players, and a team was formed to evaluate the best way to return the samples.

At this point, NASA will “proceed with two distinct means of landing the payload platform on Mars,” the space agency wrote. The first option would include the tried and tested method of landing on Mars using a sky crane used by NASA’s rovers, while the other would opt for a new method developed by a commercial partner.

Both routes will involve a smaller version of the Mars Ascent Vehicle, a lightweight rocket designed to launch tubes carrying samples from Mars into the planet’s orbit. Both missions will also rely on the European Space Agency’s Earth Return Orbiter, which is designed to capture orbital sample containers in Mars orbit. The sample container will contain 30 tubes.

“NASA’s rovers are enduring the harsh environment of Mars and collecting groundbreaking science samples,” Nikki Fox, associate administrator for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, said in a statement. “We want to bring them back as soon as possible to study in state-of-the-art facilities.”

NASA has been struggling with that Mars Sample Return Mission, which has recently come under scrutiny for cost overruns and schedule delays. In September 2023, a The Independent Review Board (IRB) issued a report on the mission, calling it an “extremely constrained and challenging campaign,” with “unrealistic budget and schedule expectations from the start.” The mission was originally limited to a $7 billion budget to return samples in the 2030s. It was later revealed that a budget of $11 billion was needed to return the samples to Mars, with estimates to return the samples by 2040. In light of the report, NASA has started Consider an alternative architecture for its complex mission.

Despite its complexity, Mars sample return is an unprecedented opportunity to study samples from up close on another world. “The return of samples to Mars will allow scientists to understand the geological history of the planet and the evolution of climate on this barren planet that may have harbored life in the past, and will shed light on the early solar system before life began on Earth,” Fox said. “This will prepare us to safely send the first human explorers to Mars.”