NASA grants over $10M to explore innovative Mars sample return methods

NASA has granted nearly $1.5 million each to seven companies to develop more cost-effective methods for the Mars Sample Return (MSR) mission. This initiative comes as the mission faces financial and logistical challenges, with current cost estimates reaching $11 billion and a plan requiring multiple launches to Mars.

In response to these challenges, NASA is exploring simpler and more affordable solutions through studies submitted by various industry and academic groups. These studies aim to optimize the MSR architecture by reducing risks, accelerating the timeline, and lowering costs.

The MSR mission, a collaborative effort between NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA), seeks to collect samples from Mars’ surface and return them to Earth. Selected companies, including Lockheed Martin, SpaceX, Blue Origin, Quantum Space, and Northrop Grumman, will each conduct ten three-month-long studies to propose innovative approaches.

Initially, the mission involves placing a Mars Ascent Vehicle (MAV) on the Martian surface to retrieve samples collected by the Perseverance rover. The MAV would then launch these samples into orbit, where another spacecraft would collect them for return to Earth.

NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California and Johns Hopkins’ Applied Physics Laboratory are also contributing to these studies. NASA plans to review the findings to consider potential modifications or improvements to the MSR mission plan.

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson emphasized the mission’s importance, stating that it will be “critical to carry it out more quickly, with less risk, and at a lower cost.” He expressed excitement about the innovative ideas that these companies and partners will present to help uncover significant cosmic secrets from Mars.

The Mars Sample Return mission is part of NASA’s broader effort to understand Mars’ early history and the formation and evolution of habitable worlds, including Earth.