NASA's Mars sample mission crumbles leaving precious samples stranded

NASA officials announced on April 15 that the initial plan to get the Mars samples collected by NASA's Perseverance rover is now deemed impractical.

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NASA's Mars rover Perseverance has been exploring the Red Planet's desolate landscape since 2021 and collecting samples along the way. These samples are precious as they could contain evidence of ancient microbial life that once lived on Mars, which would mean Earth isn't the only planet capable of hosting life, giving credence to the theory that many planets throughout the universe could also be hosting life. However, we won't know for sure until NASA returns to the samples back to Earth for an in-depth analysis.

Here lies the problem. NASA's initial plan for returning the samples has been plagued by delays, cost overruns, and long timelines. An example of how bad costs have gotten came from an independent review board that estimated in 2020 NASA's return mission would cost anywhere between $2.5 and $3 billion. Now NASA is saying its mission would cost $11 billion, and the samples wouldn't be returned until 2040, with previous estimates putting the return timeline in the 2030s.

"The bottom line is that $11 billion is too expensive, and not returning samples until 2040 is unacceptably too long," NASA chief Bill Nelson said during a call

NASA's Mars Sample Return Conceptual Animation

What was NASA's initial plan? On paper, it seems simple, but in practice, it's very difficult. NASA would have sent a lander to the Jezero Crater (where Perseverance is located), and on this lander is a rocket called the Mars Ascent Vehicle (MAV). Perseverance drives over to the MAV, loads the samples into the rocket, the rocket blasts the samples into orbit, where they are then caught by a spacecraft built by the European Space Agency (ESA) and then brought back to Earth.

NASA has given up on that plan and is now seeking a new idea that will cut costs and ultimately get the Martian samples back on Earth much sooner. NASA has already started trying to gather ideas by requesting new return mission ideas from its Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California and the private sector.

NASA expects to hold an industry day on April 22 and will be accepting proposals from anyone through to May 17, with the goal of combining elements from its original plan with the new plan in order to begin the process of sample collection.

At the moment it remains unclear what the plan will be, and despite the obvious difficulties such as humanity never launching a rocket from the surface of another planet, the space agency says it remains committed to the mission and that it recognizes the returning of the samples as an "important national objective".