NASA seeks assistance to create a cheaper Mars Sample Return mission

NASA plans to seek new ideas from engineers, researchers, and the private sector to develop alternative mission designs for the Mars Sample Return mission.

In response to an independent assessment of NASA's ambitious Mars Sample Return mission, agency representatives announced on Monday that they would solicit new concepts from engineers, researchers, and the private sector to develop alternative mission designs that would reduce soaring costs and expedite the return of the priceless samples to Earth.

The independent review board came to the conclusion in September that, even with development delays, the intricate multi-spacecraft sample return mission would end up costing up to $11 billion to execute — 4 billion to $5 billion more than anticipated. It also might not return samples to Earth before 2040. NASA Administrator Bill Nelson deemed the predicted cost, which may reach $11 billion based on the chosen course of action, to be “unacceptable.” Slightly less than $6 billion was the initial goal in a National Science Foundation decadal review that suggested a sample return mission.

Elon Musk, SpaceX's founder, announced that his Starship rocket, which NASA Artemis astronauts will use to reach the moon's surface, has the potential to return significant amounts of cargo from Mars in less than five years. The Mars Sample Return Mission (MSR) is the most ambitious robotic planetary science mission ever attempted, involving a new NASA lander carrying a rocket to the surface.