Continuing its work on Mars with vehicles such as the Perseverance rover, the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) planned to bring the rocky samples collected from the planet in 2033 with a vehicle to be sent in the coming years. However, recent news has shown that this mission is facing some problems.
At a recent meeting, it became clear that NASA needed more money for the mission. NASA Director Bill Nelson added that they need another $250 million this fiscal year for the mission to return samples from Mars. He also added that they need another 250 million dollars in 2024.
A sample return mission from Mars, which would require multiple vehicles, could cost more than $7 billion
The mission to return the rocky sample from Mars will be one of the most challenging missions NASA has ever undertaken. The mission, which is planned to launch in 2028 in partnership with NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA), will aim to bring rock samples collected by the Perseverance rover to our planet. This will require a series of spacecraft, including an orbiter, a lander, two helicopters and a rocket, which will require a huge budget.
That’s why it had been emphasized for some time that the mission would be quite expensive. It was stated in the estimates that it could cost both NASA and ESA up to at least 7 billion dollars. However, there were also concerns that the actual cost of the mission might exceed this estimate. In fact, NASA had requested $949.3 million for the 2024 budget of this mission alone. Let’s also add that $822.3 million was received for 2023.
If the mission really needs additional money, it may need support from elsewhere in NASA’s budget. This has the potential to affect other missions. It should be noted that the agency is already struggling with budgetary issues. That’s why we saw that VERITAS, the mission to send vehicles to Venus, was delayed indefinitely.
It should not go without saying that NASA has recently established an independent board for the mission. It was stated that the purpose of this committee would be to ensure that the mission to bring samples from Mars was on time and in accordance with the budget. But tell me how well it will work.
There is also a possibility that the task will be delayed due to budgetary issues.
Another solution to the budget problem might be to postpone this historic task. According to SpaceNews, Nelson’s statements at the meeting show that such a thing is possible: “Some of these costs will not be able to escape and we will have to make a choice. We can handle it, but it may not be when we hope. Spreading it out over a longer period of time might solve the problem.”
It is not possible to say anything about how this mission, which will be one of the most important missions in the history of NASA and humanity, will proceed. However, incoming information shows that Martian rocks will be brought to our planet even later than expected. On the other hand, it is also a matter of curiosity whether budgetary problems will affect the manned Mars missions expected to be made in late 2030 or early 2040.
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