NASA changed its plan to bring Martian samples to Earth

The results of analyzing samples collected by NASA’s Perseverance rover can reveal a lot of data about Mars and the planet’s history, including whether there was ever life here. Therefore, NASA is very interested in transporting Martian material, including about 20 cigarette-sized sealed tubes containing rock cores and sediments, to Earth, then sent to laboratories around the world. . But the process of implementing that task was much more difficult and expensive than initially expected.

For example, in July 2020, the maximum total cost of the Mars Sample Return (MSR) campaign, a joint project between NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA), was predicted to be about 3 billion USD. Just 3 years later, the expected cost has increased to 8 – 11 billion USD. Even at that cost, the sample likely wouldn’t reach Earth before 2040.

Recently, NASA commented that this situation is very difficult to accept. In April 2024, NASA director Bill Nelson announced that they were working to upgrade the MSR, seeking creative ideas from research centers, private companies and academia. Several months later, NASA selected 11 MSR proposals from academic institutions and industrial corporations for further development. Eight of the private organizations receive $1.5 million to develop their ideas over the next 90 days. Finally, on January 7, NASA announced that it is focusing on two potential MSR proposals that differ in how they send equipment to Mars.

The first option is to deploy the “sky crane”, the rocket-powered system that successfully landed NASA’s Curiosity and Perseverance rovers on Mars in August 2012 and February 2021, respectively. Using sky crane, MSR’s cost will be at 6.6 – 7.7 billion USD. The second option, not detailed by NASA due to copyrighted technology and design, would be slightly cheaper (5.8 – 7.1 billion USD). According to Nelson, both options create simpler, faster and less expensive versions than the original plan.

With the new plan, the sample could land on Earth as early as 2035, if Congress allocates enough funding. About $300 million needs to be spent on MSR research and development this fiscal year.

Both options send the same type of device to the surface of Mars, a lander equipped with a small rocket called the Mars Ascent Vehicle (MAV). The lander will land near Perseverance, then collect the sample tubes with the robotic arm developed for the Perseverance mission, placing them in a container on the MAV. The rocket will launch the sample into Mars orbit and transfer it to a spacecraft provided by ESA to bring it back to Earth. In both cases, the MAV and lander were smaller than originally planned, allowing for the use of sky cranes. The lander will also use nuclear power from a radioisotope thermoelectric generator (RTG) similar to the Curiosity and Perseverance robots instead of photovoltaic batteries. RTG provides two big advantages: the ability to operate in dust storms and keeping the rocket motor on the MAV warm.

NASA is studying both landing options and will make a final decision by mid-2026. With that time frame, the European orbiter to return samples to Earth could launch as soon as possible. 2030 and the lander/MAV will not launch earlier than 2031, according to Nicky Fox, head of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate.

Therefore, Perseverance’s sample may not be the first Martian material returned to Earth. China aims to launch a similar mission in 2028 and return samples to Earth as early as 2031. But that mission will only collect material from one location instead of in diverse environments like Perseverance.