NASA: More Time Needed To Plan Mars Sample Return

Space agency is weighing two options to return samples from the Red Planet—one using NASA-proven technology and another that seeks help from the industry.

Tuesday, January 07, 2025 at 05:04 PM ET

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NASA’s Perseverance rover has so far collected 28 tubes of Martian rock and soil samples awaiting delivery to Earth for research. [Courtesy: NASA]

Key Takeaways:

NASA's Mars Sample Return mission, a joint effort with ESA aiming to bring Martian samples to Earth in the 2030s, faces significant budget overruns and delays, pushing the mission profile decision to mid-2026.
The agency is evaluating two revised "landing architectures": an updated Sky Crane method utilizing NASA's proven technology, and a commercial partner-led heavy lander option.
Both proposed options are designed to be more simplified, faster, and significantly less expensive (estimated $5.8-$7.7 billion) than the original plan, potentially allowing sample return between 2035 and 2039.
NASA has requested at least $300 million for the Mars Sample Return program in fiscal year 2025 to maintain its revised timeline, underscoring the samples' critical scientific importance for understanding early Earth and potential Martian life.

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NASA has set a goal to return rock and soil samples from the surface of Mars in the 2030s. The mission would represent the first time scientific samples from another planet have been returned to Earth. But the space agency said it needs another year to determine how to do it.

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson and Nicky Fox, associate administrator for the space agency’s Science Mission Directorate, on Tuesday said officials would not decide on a Mars Sample Return mission profile until mid-2026, at the earliest. The space agency will weigh two different options, or “landing architectures”—one that would use NASA-proven technology and another that would enlist commercial partners.

Jack Daleo

Jack is a staff writer covering advanced air mobility, including everything from drones to unmanned aircraft systems to space travel—and a whole lot more. He spent close to two years reporting on drone delivery for FreightWaves, covering the biggest news and developments in the space and connecting with industry executives and experts. Jack is also a basketball aficionado, a frequent traveler and a lover of all things logistics.