NASA’s Big Mars Update: How to Watch the Upcoming Sample Return Reveal

Check, check—is this happening on? NASA officials volition denote an update connected the Mars Sample Return ngo time afternoon, providing immoderate eagerly awaited clarity connected 1 of the astir hyped planetary subject goals of the period to date.

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson and Nicky Fox, the agency’s Science Mission Directorate subordinate administrator, volition big the call. The call’s audio volition beryllium streamed connected the NASA website astatine 1 p.m. ET tomorrow, January 7.

Top of tomorrow’s docket is however NASA aims to bring Martian stone samples collected by the Perseverance rover to Earth successful a safe, cost-effective, and timely manner. So far, that has proven an insurmountable challenge.

The Mars illustration instrumentality has everything to bash with the Perseverance rover, which landed connected Mars successful February 2021. Since then, the rover has been collecting pieces of Martian rock that scientists see compelling capable to beryllium retrieved for survey connected Earth.

Thus, the illustration instrumentality ngo revolves astir Perseverance. But the rover has done its job, collecting plentifulness of Martian rocks that clasp clues to the planet’s geological, hydrological, and perchance astrobiological history. The illustration tubes besides incorporate a bit of Martian atmosphere; each told, having samples of different satellite connected Earth volition let scientists to larn overmuch much than what they tin bash remotely with rovers (just look astatine the Apollo samples, which proceed to uncover caller insights astir the property and improvement of Earth’s Moon).

The illustration instrumentality ngo has not been continuing astatine pace; successful 2022, NASA and ESA tweaked the ngo citing unacceptable levels of risk. In September 2023, an autarkic reappraisal board’s study recovered the illustration instrumentality ngo was essentially unfeasible, and the pursuing period NASA went back to the drafting board to marque the ngo possible. In November 2023, the bureau paused work connected the mission.

Last April, NASA called connected manufacture partners to assistance out. In a teleconference held astatine the time, Nelson said that the cited ngo outgo of $11 cardinal was simply excessively expensive, and the anticipated illustration betterment day of 2040 is “unacceptably excessively long.” In October, NASA selected the nationalist institution Rocket Lab to fig out an alternate program to the Mars Sample Return arsenic it was primitively conceived.

Mars Sample Return is an ambitious task which could revolutionize our knowing of Mars, 1 of the astir akin planets to Earth successful our star system.

Recovering the samples is of paramount value to NASA, but whether the bureau tin chopped the mission’s bloated timeline and trim the abdominous that saw ngo outgo estimates astir quadruple successful 4 years is different question. We whitethorn get immoderate answers tomorrow—but you’ll person to tune successful to find out.