The incredible direction of the concept on Earth and the U.S. for practical application on Mars is about a big project called Mars Sample Return (MSR). This bold plan is a collaboration between NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA). Two helicopters will travel to Mars, collect samples collected by the Perseverance rover, pack them in a rocket, attempt the first Mars launch, enter orbit, fly back to Earth, and then crash somewhere (safer than using a parachute).
The MSR is a mission to bring Mars' intact Earth material to Earth's reach for the first time and will be analyzed with advanced equipment. We can even know if life ever existed on Mars. But bringing these samples back to Earth is a huge technical challenge, and an independent review report says the problem has not been resolved.
"MSR is a priority project for deep space exploration by NASA and the European Space Agency. However, MSR set unrealistic budget and timeline expectations from the start. The MSR is also organized under an inflexible structure," the review committee report said.
"As a result, there is currently no reliable, consistent technology, and no proper timelines, costs, and funding to complete the technical baseline that is possible. ”
A review committee was established in May 2023. Its task is to determine whether the current budget, timeline and technical developments are in line with the mission brief. They provided NASA with 20 findings and 59 recommendations.
Censorship is not in the negative sense. It stressed that the current plans are "well thought out" and recommended postponing the current rocket launch schedule to a later window, postponing it to 2030. This will significantly increase the budget and will certainly cause a stir in Washington, since the US Senate has reportedly expressed little sympathy for the MSR and its costs already in the summer.
"The return of the Mars sample is a very complex program and sequential activity with multiple parallel developments, interfaces, and complexities," Orlando Figueroa, chair of the independent review committee, said in a statement. "The development of this historic effort has been the result of decades of strategic investment. ”
The delay could mean a significant increase in the budget, which could affect the rest of the planetary science budget, putting other missions at risk. But cancellation does not mean that all possible funding will be given to these tasks.
"NASA must address this issue while clarifying and dispelling the notion that the elimination of MSRs necessarily means larger budgets for others," the report added. "The cancellation may also call into question the feasibility of planning other ambitious sample return efforts conceived by the scientific community. ”
NASA has now assembled a team to review the report and make recommendations on the way forward, ensuring that the MSR makes a difference as a mission and aligns with the agency's broader goals.
"The independent review committee we commissioned for Mars Sample Return helps review whether we are meeting our mission objectives within the appropriate budget," said Sandra Connelly, leader of the newly formed team and deputy deputy director of science at NASA. "We are grateful for the work of the committee, and now our job is to evaluate the report and address the elements of the plan that need to be changed. ”
The Independent Review Committee's Mars Sample Return report is available online.