NASA Mars Mission: Sample Return Attempt Hampered by Lack of Funding

NASA's Mars Sample Return mission is at risk of being delayed over a lack of funding
The space agency is now requesting a total of half a million dollars to support the mission's timeline
The mission aims to bring back rocks that the Perseverance rover collected

NASA's Mars Sample Return mission to bring back rocks that the space agency's Perseverance rover collected is at risk over a lack of funding as it already costs authorities more than the allotted budget for this year.

The agency's administrator, Bill Nelson, attended a hearing of the Senate Appropriations Committee's Commerce, Justice, and Science subcommittee. There, the official revealed that the mission requires an additional $250 million in the current fiscal year and another $250 million next year if they want it to be on track for completion by 2028.

NASA Mars Sample Return Mission Lack of Funding

The Mars Sample Return mission is considered to be one of the space agency's most complex missions that have ever been attempted. As per Gizmodo, it is a joint effort between NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA).

The mission seeks to bring back rock samples that NASA's Perseverance rover has collected on the surface of the Red Planet. The space agency requires an orbiter, a lander, two helicopters, and a rocket to complete its objective.

In the 2023 spending bill, the Mars Sample Return mission received $822.3 million in funding, and NASA requested $949.3 for the mission in its budget proposal for 2024. It is now getting a portion of the total financing of science, which is roughly $8.26 billion in the budget for 2024.

NASA and ESA estimated in 2020 that the mission would need total funding of $7 billion. However, there are concerns that the Mars Sample Return mission's actual cost will significantly surpass the initial estimate.

Bringing Back Crucial Rock Samples

The American space agency is now setting up a second independent review board that seeks to oversee the mission. According to Yahoo News, this is part of a broader effort to keep the Mars Sample Return mission on track and within the given budget.

If the mission does require more funding, the space agency will be forced to get money from somewhere else within its budget. This would delay the VERITAS mission that seeks to travel to Venus to rekindle the Psyche mission heading toward a metal-rich asteroid.

The other way for NASA to fund the Mars Sample Return mission would be to delay its return to Earth, which is already under consideration. Nelson said that some of the costs of the mission are unavoidable and are forcing the space agency to make choices.

The head of science for NASA, Nicola Fox, said that the two space agencies in charge of the mission would have to make crucial decisions regarding how to move forward. She added that they were contemplating various questions regarding the cost of the mission, said Nature.