• Education
    • Higher Education
    • Scholarships & Grants
    • Online Learning
    • School Reforms
    • Research & Innovation
  • Lifestyle
    • Travel
    • Food & Drink
    • Fashion & Beauty
    • Home & Living
    • Relationships & Family
  • Technology & Startups
    • Software & Apps
    • Startup Success Stories
    • Startups & Innovations
    • Tech Regulations
    • Venture Capital
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Cybersecurity
    • Emerging Technologies
    • Gadgets & Devices
    • Industry Analysis
  • About us
  • Contact
  • Advertise with Us
  • Privacy & Policy
Today Headline
  • Home
  • World News
    • Us & Canada
    • Europe
    • Asia
    • Africa
    • Middle East
  • Politics
    • Elections
    • Political Parties
    • Government Policies
    • International Relations
    • Legislative News
  • Business & Finance
    • Market Trends
    • Stock Market
    • Entrepreneurship
    • Corporate News
    • Economic Policies
  • Science & Environment
    • Space Exploration
    • Climate Change
    • Wildlife & Conservation
    • Environmental Policies
    • Medical Research
  • Health
    • Public Health
    • Mental Health
    • Medical Breakthroughs
    • Fitness & Nutrition
    • Pandemic Updates
  • Sports
    • Football
    • Basketball
    • Tennis
    • Olympics
    • Motorsport
  • Entertainment
    • Movies
    • Music
    • TV & Streaming
    • Celebrity News
    • Awards & Festivals
  • Crime & Justice
    • Court Cases
    • Cybercrime
    • Policing
    • Criminal Investigations
    • Legal Reforms
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • World News
    • Us & Canada
    • Europe
    • Asia
    • Africa
    • Middle East
  • Politics
    • Elections
    • Political Parties
    • Government Policies
    • International Relations
    • Legislative News
  • Business & Finance
    • Market Trends
    • Stock Market
    • Entrepreneurship
    • Corporate News
    • Economic Policies
  • Science & Environment
    • Space Exploration
    • Climate Change
    • Wildlife & Conservation
    • Environmental Policies
    • Medical Research
  • Health
    • Public Health
    • Mental Health
    • Medical Breakthroughs
    • Fitness & Nutrition
    • Pandemic Updates
  • Sports
    • Football
    • Basketball
    • Tennis
    • Olympics
    • Motorsport
  • Entertainment
    • Movies
    • Music
    • TV & Streaming
    • Celebrity News
    • Awards & Festivals
  • Crime & Justice
    • Court Cases
    • Cybercrime
    • Policing
    • Criminal Investigations
    • Legal Reforms
No Result
View All Result
Today Headline
No Result
View All Result
Home Science & Environment Space Exploration

Can NASA’s troubled Mars Sample Return mission be saved?

January 3, 2025
in Space Exploration
Reading Time: 5 mins read
A A
0
a four-wheeled robot on orange soil next to a hexagonal lander with four triangular legs
9
SHARES
20
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter


There appears to be an unofficial robotic space race underway involving the Red Planet. Both the U.S. and China are scripting strategies for bringing goodies back to Earth from Mars via their respective Mars Sample Return (MSR) endeavors.

For America, things are currently happening in real-time on Mars. NASA’s Perseverance rover is busily wheeling about within the ins and outs of Jezero Crater, biting into and snatching primo chunks of Mars for eventual pick-up by a future MSR mission. But early on, for NASA, the space agency found itself caught between a Mars rock and a budgetary and timing hard place. The space agency’s plans for MSR eventually rang a price tag upwards of $11 billion. Additionally, NASA estimated that samples of Mars dirt, rock, and atmosphere wouldn’t be returned to Earth until 2040.

That plan, as blueprinted by NASA and its cooperative MSR partner, the European Space Agency (ESA), was unacceptable and declared so by NASA leadership. What followed were a set of studies for NASA, from within and outside the agency, to help pinpoint avenues to cut MSR costs and shorten the calendar time for return to Earth of prime-time Mars collectibles. Now, yet another shoe is set to drop thanks to an additional review by an independent committee looking into the MSR program.

MSR Review team

The new review is being conducted by the MSR Strategy Review Team chaired by Maria Zuber, an MIT planetary scientist. The team is assessing the studies conducted by industry, a team across NASA centers, the agency’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory.

That team will recommend to NASA a primary architecture for the campaign, including associated cost and schedule estimates.

What they have found will be reported by NASA soon.

“Our current status is that the Mars Sample Return Strategy Review team is delivering a final report to NASA’s associate administrator for the Science Mission Directorate before the end of [2024]. NASA anticipates additional Mars Sample Return updates in the first quarter of 2025,” said Karen Fox, a NASA spokesperson, responding to a Space.com inquiry.

Breaking space news, the latest updates on rocket launches, skywatching events and more!

Zuber and colleagues are to assess all the study outputs, eyeing a central question: Is America’s Mars Sample Return endeavor salvageable?

Red planet probing

Looming large in space and time for sampling of Mars is China’s Tianwen-3 mission that could retrieve specimens for lab looks here on Earth around 2031.

According to a newly published research paper, the Tianwen-3 spacecraft involves two launches around 2028 headed for distant Mars.

According to the study, which appeared in the National Science Review journal, mission planners are currently analyzing where on Mars to sample, what to choose, how to sample and how to utilize the collected materials.

At China’s Deep Space Exploration Laboratory, the mission’s chief scientist Hou Zengqian and its chief designer Liu Jizhong, with colleagues, are blueprinting their exploration strategy. “The primary scientific goal of which is to search for signatures of life on Mars,” they explain.

But will China’s Mars mission constitute a “grab bag,” one-stop shopping approach or host other type of sample-gathering gear once on the Red Planet. So far, details are skimpy.

A ‘selfie’ taken by China’s Zhurong Mars rover during the Tianwen-1 mission. (Image credit: China News Service)

High priority questions

Meanwhile, the MSR dilemma in the United States is under intense discussion at gatherings of the Mars Exploration Program Analysis Group (MEPAG). It serves as a community-based, interdisciplinary forum for inquiry and analysis to support NASA Mars exploration objectives.

“The NASA/ESA approach to MSR seeks to address as many different high-priority science questions about Mars as we can from one location – Jezero Crater,” said MEPAG chair, Victoria Hamilton, also a leading planetary scientist at Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colorado.

“Although looking for signs of ancient biosignatures addresses one of those questions, it is only one of the many scientific questions that can be addressed by returning samples from Mars, and the choice to collect samples from in and around Jezero Crater reflects this thinking,” said Hamilton. “MEPAG has not put forward a position on China’s plans for MSR.”

a cube-shaped lander with four round solar panels launches a domed cube from the surface of a reddish-orange planet

Under review are studies from within and outside NASA to help pinpoint innovative avenues for a Mars Sample Return effort, such as an approach depicted in artwork from Rocket Lab, a private space firm. (Image credit: Rocket Lab)

Scientifically selected samples

That said, MEPAG has always advocated strongly for the return of a scientifically-selected suite of samples, Hamilton told Space.com, “so that we can best address as many high-priority science questions as possible.

Hamilton said that “scientifically-selected” includes things like obtaining samples representing a diversity of geologic environments/processes, the availability of bedrock or other in-place materials to sample and obtain appropriate context information, “and specifically targeting locations where there is a likelihood of ancient bio-signature preservation.”

Abandoned idea

Although the return of any samples from Mars, Hamilton added, will certainly provide new insights, “not all destinations provide samples of equivalent value.”

The science community largely abandoned the idea of a “grab bag” site partly because the Mars Pathfinder mission of 1997 landed in a region with no intact bedrock, “and the results obtained from measurements of the nearby loose rocks were difficult to understand absent their original context,” said Hamilton.

In short, the approach taken jointly by NASA and ESA with MSR has been focused on returning the best possible samples, Hamilton said, “and that could end up meaning that MSR is not the first Mars sample return mission.”

China scoops

Bruce Jakosky is a long-time Mars investigator and is a senior research scientist at the University of Colorado’s Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics in Boulder.

“Any sample is better than no sample,” Jakosky told Space.com, “but the suite of samples that has been collected by Perseverance is way, way better than any grab sample or short traverse rover you could do.”

Carefully selected samples of different type of materials are far better than one piece of a rock or one soil sample, said Jakosky. “In that sense, scientifically, I don’t worry about whether the Chinese will scoop us. I think that all science is good science. It becomes a political question of whether we want to let the Chinese scoop us,” he said.

Previous Post

Syringe Exchange Fears Hobble Fight Against West Virginia HIV Outbreak

Next Post

Scientists Identify New Blood Group After 50 Year Mystery : ScienceAlert todayheadline

Related Posts

Screenshot from Predator: Badlands

Predator: Badlands: Release date, plot, trailers & everything we know about Predator’s silver screen return

June 1, 2025
4
aurora forecast for tonight shows the possible aurora view line and 23 states lying above it, with a possibility of seeing the northern lights tonight.

Northern lights may be visible in these 23 US States tonight

June 1, 2025
8
Next Post
Diagram showing the different blood groups, the antigens on the blood cells and the antibodies in the blood plasma

Scientists Identify New Blood Group After 50 Year Mystery : ScienceAlert todayheadline

  • Trending
  • Comments
  • Latest
Family calls for change after B.C. nurse dies by suicide after attacks on the job

Family calls for change after B.C. nurse dies by suicide after attacks on the job

April 2, 2025
Pioneering 3D printing project shares successes

Product reduces TPH levels to non-hazardous status

November 27, 2024

Hospital Mergers Fail to Deliver Better Care or Lower Costs, Study Finds todayheadline

December 31, 2024

Police ID man who died after Corso Italia fight

December 23, 2024
Harris tells supporters 'never give up' and urges peaceful transfer of power

Harris tells supporters ‘never give up’ and urges peaceful transfer of power

0
Des Moines Man Accused Of Shooting Ex-Girlfriend's Mother

Des Moines Man Accused Of Shooting Ex-Girlfriend’s Mother

0

Trump ‘looks forward’ to White House meeting with Biden

0
Catholic voters were critical to Donald Trump’s blowout victory: ‘Harris snubbed us’

Catholic voters were critical to Donald Trump’s blowout victory: ‘Harris snubbed us’

0
Gasoline, diesel prices to go up this week

Gasoline, diesel prices to go up this week

June 2, 2025
Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 1,194

Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 1,194

June 2, 2025

Goldman Sachs sees OPEC+ raising oil output by 0.41 mb/d in August

June 2, 2025
Man dead after falling from condo building near downtown Calgary

Man dead after falling from condo building near downtown Calgary

June 2, 2025

Recent News

Gasoline, diesel prices to go up this week

Gasoline, diesel prices to go up this week

June 2, 2025
4
Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 1,194

Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 1,194

June 2, 2025
4

Goldman Sachs sees OPEC+ raising oil output by 0.41 mb/d in August

June 2, 2025
5
Man dead after falling from condo building near downtown Calgary

Man dead after falling from condo building near downtown Calgary

June 2, 2025
5

TodayHeadline is a dynamic news website dedicated to delivering up-to-date and comprehensive news coverage from around the globe.

Follow Us

Browse by Category

  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Basketball
  • Business & Finance
  • Climate Change
  • Crime & Justice
  • Cybersecurity
  • Economic Policies
  • Elections
  • Entertainment
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Environmental Policies
  • Europe
  • Football
  • Gadgets & Devices
  • Health
  • Medical Research
  • Mental Health
  • Middle East
  • Motorsport
  • Olympics
  • Politics
  • Public Health
  • Relationships & Family
  • Science & Environment
  • Software & Apps
  • Space Exploration
  • Sports
  • Stock Market
  • Technology & Startups
  • Tennis
  • Travel
  • Uncategorized
  • Us & Canada
  • Wildlife & Conservation
  • World News

Recent News

Gasoline, diesel prices to go up this week

Gasoline, diesel prices to go up this week

June 2, 2025
Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 1,194

Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 1,194

June 2, 2025
  • Education
  • Lifestyle
  • Technology & Startups
  • About us
  • Contact
  • Advertise with Us
  • Privacy & Policy

© 2024 Todayheadline.co

Welcome Back!

OR

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Business & Finance
  • Corporate News
  • Economic Policies
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Market Trends
  • Crime & Justice
  • Court Cases
  • Criminal Investigations
  • Cybercrime
  • Legal Reforms
  • Policing
  • Education
  • Higher Education
  • Online Learning
  • Entertainment
  • Awards & Festivals
  • Celebrity News
  • Movies
  • Music
  • Health
  • Fitness & Nutrition
  • Medical Breakthroughs
  • Mental Health
  • Pandemic Updates
  • Lifestyle
  • Fashion & Beauty
  • Food & Drink
  • Home & Living
  • Politics
  • Elections
  • Government Policies
  • International Relations
  • Legislative News
  • Political Parties
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Europe
  • Middle East
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Cybersecurity
  • Emerging Technologies
  • Gadgets & Devices
  • Industry Analysis
  • Basketball
  • Football
  • Motorsport
  • Olympics
  • Climate Change
  • Environmental Policies
  • Medical Research
  • Science & Environment
  • Space Exploration
  • Wildlife & Conservation
  • Sports
  • Tennis
  • Technology & Startups
  • Software & Apps
  • Startup Success Stories
  • Startups & Innovations
  • Tech Regulations
  • Venture Capital
  • Uncategorized
  • World News
  • Us & Canada
  • Public Health
  • Relationships & Family
  • Travel
  • Research & Innovation
  • Scholarships & Grants
  • School Reforms
  • Stock Market
  • TV & Streaming
  • Advertise with Us
  • Privacy & Policy
  • About us
  • Contact

© 2024 Todayheadline.co