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

Verified

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 aims to achieve a historic first by returning Mars rock and soil samples to Earth in the 2030s, but requires until mid-2026 to finalize the mission's architecture.
The agency is evaluating two main options: an updated Sky Crane method utilizing NASA-proven technology or a strategy incorporating commercial partners for a heavy lander.
Both proposed architectures are designed to significantly reduce the mission's estimated cost (from ~$11B to $5.8B-$7.7B) and accelerate the sample return timeline from the 2040s to between 2035 and 2039, with key design improvements like radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTGs).

See a mistake? Contact us.

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.