The initial plan, which involved multiple spacecraft, is being restructured to address technical and financial challenges.
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said Tuesday that the agency is now considering two new options for the spacecraft that will land on Mars to collect samples.
One option involves using a landing technique similar to the successful methods employed for the Curiosity and Perseverance rovers.
This method uses rockets to slow the spacecraft’s descent and a sky crane to lower it to the Martian surface. The second option would involve collaborating with private space companies to develop a new lander.
The Mars Sample Return Program, under development for more than 20 years, aims to retrieve soil and rock samples collected by the Perseverance rover, which landed on Mars in 2021.
The rover has been exploring an ancient river delta in a 45-kilometer- (around 28-mile-) wide basin north of the Martian equator, where it has been caching samples.
Nelson noted that the program’s budget and timeline had become unsustainable, with costs potentially reaching $11 billion and a completion date extending to 2040, adding: “That was simply unacceptable.”
The original plan included a sample retrieval lander equipped with helicopters to collect sealed sample tubes and a rocket to launch them into orbit.
NASA’s revised approach seeks to streamline the process while maintaining the mission’s objectives.
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