CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — NASA’s plan to bring samples from Mars back to Earth is on hold until there’s a faster, cheaper way, space agency officials said Monday.
Retrieving Mars soil and rocks has been on NASA’s to-do list for decades, but the date kept moving forward, as costs ballooned. A recent independent review put the total cost at $8 billion to $11 billion, with an arrival date of 2040, about a decade later than advertised.
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said that’s too much and too late. He’s asking private industry and the space agency’s centers to come up with other options to revamp the project. With NASA facing across-the-board budget cuts, he wants to avoid gutting other science projects to finance the Mars sample project.
“We want to get every new and fresh idea that we can,” he said at a news conference.
NASA’s rover Perseverance already has gathered 24 core samples in tubes since landing in 2021 at Mars’ Jezero Crater, an ancient river delta. The goal is more than 30 samples to scour for possible signs of ancient Martian life.
Related articles:
Related suggestion:
Kylie Jenner flaunts her eyeTennis power couple Katie Boulter and Alex de Minaur look lovedScottie Scheffler did NOT consider withdrawing from RBC Heritage to be with heavilyReview of UNWRA finds Israel did not express concern about staffThe UK government finally passes bill to send migrants to Rwanda. What took so long?Mississippi lawmakers move toward restoring voting rights to 32 felonsMom who took her oneChristina Aguilera, 43, looks very slim in a TNo Giannis? No Leonard? No problem just yet for the Bucks and Clippers in the postseasonKhloe Kardashian shares sweet photo of 'mini
3.0647s , 6515.9921875 kb
Copyright © 2024 Powered by NASA seeks faster, cheaper way to bring Mars samples to Earth ,Culture Craft news portal