NASA’s Mars Sample Return mission, designed to bring Martian rock samples back to Earth, is experiencing difficulties.
The agency found itself forced to reconsider its original plan due to excessive costs (about $11 billion), complexity and timing problems. To find alternative solutions and recover vital scientific material from Mars, the American space agency has launched a request for new proposals.
During the annual Humans to Mars Summit, Jim Green, former NASA chief scientist, presented Boeing’s vision for a retooled Martian sample return mission. The key idea is to take advantage of NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS), of which Boeing is a major contractor. This huge rocket, which succeeded on its first and so far only flight – the Artemis I lunar mission in late 2022 – could theoretically carry all the equipment needed for a complex Mars sample return mission involving the launch of multiple spacecraft.
Let us remember that NASA’s previous plan was quite complex and envisaged a departure from Earth in 2028 to end with a return in 2032. The original project was well underway and required the dispatch of 3 separate vehicles to complete the operation, that is, a rover, a lander and an ascent vehicle called the Mars Ascent Vehicle, which would have included a compact launch platform for restarting from Mars. But that’s not all, there was also talk of new drones derived from the Ingenuity experience. In short, a truly complicated operation that this video tried to summarize by simulating the sequence.
Boeing’s proposed plan also includes a recovery rover to collect samples left behind by Perseverance. A two-stage MAV with a sample container and encapsulation system would then be capable of reaching Martian orbit and subsequently fire its engines to return home, eliminating the need for a rendezvous and docking in Martian orbit with a transfer vehicle, as envisioned in the original concept.
While trying to cut costs, even using the gigantic SLS would still be expensive; a single launch could cost at least $2 billion. In contrast to Boeing’s proposed larger MAV approach, NASA’s initial reconsideration appeared to lean toward a smaller, more economical MAV, with the potential to collect fewer than the 43 sealed titanium tubes containing samples initially planned.
NASA is accepting proposals through May 17 and will finalize a new path for the Mars Sample Return (MSR) mission later this year. The MSR project remains a top priority for NASA, agency Administrator Bill Nelson said last month when announcing the reorganization of the project.
