NASA's Mars Sample Return (MSR) mission could be the boldest robotic exploration endeavor ever attempted: a multi-mission effort to collect rock samples from the red planet and bring them back to labs on Earth. However, the cost is astronomically high: a recent assessment found it could run up to $11 billion.
NASA is seeking faster and more cost-effective ways to retrieve Mars samples due to budget constraints. Agency leaders revealed on April 15 that, with current plans and budget, samples wouldn't return until 2040, which NASA Administrator Bill Nelson deemed unacceptable due to the $11 billion price tag and lengthy timeline.
To expedite and economize sample return, NASA is reaching out to private companies and its research centers for new Mars Sample Return (MSR) methods. From April 16 to May 17, NASA will gather industry proposals for MSR, aiming to develop a more detailed mission architecture by autumn.
Some planetary science advocates question whether these new proposals will truly improve upon the plan developed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) over the past decade.
Last year, a 16-member panel led by former Mars exploration chief Orlando Figueroa conducted an independent review of MSR. While stressing MSR's scientific importance, the report found the likelihood of launching within the initially envisioned 2027–2028 timeframe "approaching zero." The panel also estimated the mission, a collaboration between NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA), would cost $8-11 billion, significantly higher than the initial $5.6-7.2 billion estimate.
Both the 2011 and 2023 Decadal Surveys for Planetary Science have ranked MSR as a top scientific priority. The first phase began in 2021 when NASA's Perseverance rover landed in Mars' Jezero Crater to collect and store samples. NASA plans to launch a lander to rendezvous near Perseverance. The rover will transfer samples to the lander, which will use an onboard rocket to launch them onto the Martian surface. An ESA spacecraft in Martian orbit will rendezvous with the samples using NASA's capture system and return them to Earth.
ESA's spacecraft is currently scheduled to launch no earlier than 2027 and enter Martian orbit no earlier than 2030. In a briefing, NASA's Associate Administrator for Science, Nicola Fox, stated ESA's timeline aligns with their situation plan. However, at least part of NASA's mission is now up in the air. Fox suggested NASA remain open to designs using "heritage" hardware, take on higher risks, or downsize the rocket carrying the samples from the Martian surface.
During the media briefing, Nelson emphasized that MSR's budget woes stem not only from ballooning mission costs but also from overall agency budget tightness, traced back to a June 2023 agreement between Congress and the White House to temporarily suspend the U.S. debt limit. The agreement included a two-year cap on non-defense discretionary spending by the federal government, including NASA's budget. Prior to the agreement, NASA projected a budget exceeding $27 billion by 2025. In its budget request for the 2025 fiscal year announced in March, NASA sought $25.4 billion, identical to two years prior.
Amid this broader budget uncertainty, NASA has proposed canceling or gradually reducing several projects, including the James Webb Space Telescope. JPL laid off 8% of its workforce in February. In the latest budget request, NASA listed MSR's budget as to be determined, with Fox now suggesting allocating $200 million for MSR next year, lower than the minimum of $300 million set by Congress for MSR last year.
Nelson stated they are working to figure out how to keep this mission going.
