NASA’s ambitious Mars Sample Return (MSR) Program, which aims to bring pristine samples of Mars to Earth for analysis, is facing significant challenges, according to a recent audit report by NASA’s Office of Inspector General (OIG). The report highlights design, cost, and scheduling issues as major obstacles to the success of the program.
MSR involves collecting samples from Mars using the Perseverance rover and then launching them to rendezvous with an orbiter that will transport them back to Earth. While the Perseverance rover is already on Mars, the program still needs to develop a Sample Retrieval Lander (SRL) and an Earth Return Orbiter (ERO), with the latter being funded by the European Space Agency (ESA).
The OIG report emphasizes that MSR is one of NASA’s most technically complex and operationally demanding robotic science missions ever undertaken. It points out design, architecture, and schedule problems with the Capture Containment and Return System (CCRS), which have led to a $200 million budget increase and a one-year delay in the schedule.
One of the major concerns raised in the report is the life-cycle cost estimates for MSR. The report suggests that the current estimate of $7.4 billion may be insufficient due to the number and significance of cost increase indicators. The complexity of the mission could drive costs up to $8 billion to $11 billion, according to an Independent Review Board (IRB) report from September 2023. This is a significant increase from the previous estimate of $2.5 to $3 billion in July 2020.
The financial challenges and uncertainties surrounding the MSR Program’s life-cycle costs are attributed to factors such as inflation, supply chain problems, and increased funding requests for specific program components. To address these challenges, the report recommends enhanced coordination between NASA and ESA, stable CCRS design, and incorporating program complexity into cost and schedule estimates.
In a broader recommendation, the OIG report calls for NASA to develop a corrective action plan based on lessons learned and recommendations from the Large Mission Study completed in 2020. This plan aims to improve guidance and practices for pre-formulation of large missions.
NASA management has concurred or partially concurred with the report’s recommendations in its responses. However, the MSR program has recently faced political pressure due to its expanding cost estimates, raising doubts about its future. NASA is currently reassessing the program’s architecture and budget, with results expected to be released later this month.
The program’s challenges have also been compounded by the continuing resolution that freezes spending at 2023 budgetary limits until Congress agrees on the spending for the new fiscal year. This has led to layoffs at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, impacting the MSR program.
Despite these setbacks, MSR is considered a mission of major scientific significance by many planetary scientists. China is also working on its own mission, Tianwen-3, to collect samples from Mars, which is set to launch around the end of the decade. The competition between NASA and China in the race to bring back Martian samples adds further excitement and urgency to the MSR program.
While the challenges facing NASA’s Mars Sample Return Program are significant, the scientific potential of analyzing pristine samples from Mars remains a driving force behind the program’s continued efforts. As NASA works to address the design, cost, and scheduling issues, the future of MSR hangs in the balance, with hopes of unlocking new insights into the mysteries of the Red Planet.
