NASA scales back the Mars Sample Return program, intended to bring soil samples from Mars to Earth. From the 11 billion initially expected, the costs are in fact reduced to 5-7 billion dollars, NASA Chief Administrator Bill Nelson said today in an online press conference. The American space agency thus responded to the observations of the independent review committee which in September 2023 had judged the program "unrealistic" both in terms of the budget and the implementation times initially indicated in 2040.
The program intended to bring to Earth the first soil samples collected on a Another planet "remains an important national objective," Nelson said. The Mars SampleReturn "is one of the most complex missions ever undertaken by NASA. The point is that a budget of 11 billion dollars is too expensive and the return date of 2040 is too far away", said the chief administrator of NASA referring to the observations of the Independent Committee. The decision is therefore not to give up the mission, but to organize it with a lower budget. For this reason, NASA asked its researchers and technicians to develop a program based on technologies different from those initially considered. Itempi may be defined accordingly. However, the American space agency intends to ask the industry for solutions that will allow the samples to be brought to Earth in 2020 rather than 2040.