NASA seeks new way to bring Martian rocks to Earth

NASA says it’s looking for faster, cheaper plan to transport rocks to Mars sample world.

The search for new plans was carried out after independence review The board provided input on the agency’s Mars sample return plan.Additionally, NASA has recently faced significant budget cuts that could impact many of the agency’s scientific areas mission.

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said the results of the independent review convinced the agency to reconsider the sample return effort. The goal is to seek others’ ideas and suggestions on how to reduce mission costs and shorten sample return dates.

NASA established an independent review committee in May 2023 to carefully review the Mars sample recovery plan. The board estimates the total cost of the mission to be between $8 billion and $11 billion. Mars samples may not reach Earth until 2040.

NASA estimates the total mission cost to be $5 billion to $7 billion, with sample return scheduled for the early 2030s.

The review board also said it found the sample return mission was “organized under a clumsy organization” structure.

NASA’s recent budget woes led the agency to cut hundreds of jobs at its Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in California earlier this year. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) Mars Exploration Team operates at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL).

NASA’s Perseverance rover has been collecting rock and soil samples around the Jezero Crater area on Mars since 2021. Scientists say the samples may provide new evidence of whether life existed on Mars.

To date, Perseverance has collected 24 Martian samples using its robotic equipment. NASA’s earlier plan called for the rover to collect 30 samples and transport them to Earth. The samples are kept in secure titanium containers to protect them from the harsh conditions on Mars.

NASA originally planned to collect these materials by sending a spacecraft to Mars. But then the spacecraft must launch from the surface of Mars to rendezvous with another orbiting spacecraft. The spacecraft will then take them to Earth. The operation will be a joint mission between NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA).

NASA Administrator Nielsen said an independent review of cost and target date estimates shows the agency should be committed to doing better. NASA says it hopes to bring at least some of the samples to Earth sometime in the 2030s at a cost of no more than $7 billion.

“The bottom line is that an $11 billion budget is too expensive, and the return date of 2040 is too far away,” Nelson said. He added that he has asked private industry experts and other groups within NASA to help come up with other possibilities.

Nikki Fox, head of NASA’s science mission, said the focus on finding new solutions is “Innovation and proven technologies” rather than major new experimental proposals.

Fox did not provide an estimated date for the samples to arrive on Earth. That date, along with any information on the number of samples transported, will only be included in future mission proposals, she said.

“We’ve never launched from another planet, which is actually why so many samples from Mars are returned. challenging “It’s an interesting mission,” Fox said.

Scientists hope to scrutinize Martian material in their own laboratories to confirm any evidence of microscopic life dating back billions of years. Strong evidence already exists that water may have flowed freely on Mars in the distant past. NASA officials say the samples may also help the agency decide where to send astronauts on a possible mission to Mars.

Nielsen expressed hope that the brightest minds at NASA, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and private space companies can find the right solutions.

“These people can figure out Pretty difficult stuff,” he said.

I’m Brian Lynn.

Bryan Lynn wrote this report for VOA Learning English based on reports from the Associated Press, Reuters, AFP and NASA.

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words from this story

sample noun A small amount of stuff that can give you information about where it comes from

review noun The process of considering ideas, plans, etc. with a view to making changes to them

mission noun An important project or trip, especially one involving space travel

bulky adjective difficult to deal with

expensive adjective spend a lot of money

Innovation noun Introduce changes or new ideas

challenging adjective It’s hard to do it in a way that tests one’s abilities and limits

figure out phr v. After much thought, I finally understood something.