NASA is moving forward with critical decisions on its Mars Sample Return (MSR) mission, aiming to reduce costs and expedite the return of samples from the Red Planet. On October 15, NASA received the final reports from 12 studies commissioned to explore alternative architectures.
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In what I’ve always viewed as a bold move by NASA, since 2021 Perseverance has been collecting Martian core samples for future return. The issue is a return plan wasn’t finalized or paid for before launch, which in recent years has been under attack by Congress who wants a lighter budget. On Monday NASA conceded to complaints that it’s too expensive.
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In a letter to employees and contractors, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory announced a deduction of 570 personnel between its workforce and contractors. The lab sites concerns over NASA‘s 2024 budget to continue funding the Mars Sample Return (MSR) project it is developing at high enough levels to support its team.
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Earth and Mars are now home to flight testing programs to develop better future Martian helicopters for NASA’s Mars Sample Return Mission. NASA now has new blades for a future Martian helicopter while Ingenuity on Mars has been pushing the limits it was designed for.
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NASA’s Mars Ascent Vehicle is receiving some wind tunnel treatment as the agency and its partners continue to development a rocket capable of launching from Mars. However, doubts as to its feasibility politically are still up in the air.
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NASA and the European Space Agency are on track to bring the first-ever Mars soil and atmosphere samples back to Earth. Today both space agencies shared an update on exactly how they plan to do that thanks to the Mars helicopter Ingenuity.
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It’s that time of year again (I feel like it is always that time of year) when drafts of NASA’s next fiscal year budget start to form. During this process, we gain insight into how Congress wants that money spent, which could include changes to existing programs. For example, this year, it looks like Congress was so impressed with Ingenuity’s success that it wants more helicopters (air spacecraft?) for NASA’s Mars Sample Return mission.
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