{"id":3523,"date":"2024-04-16T02:02:58","date_gmt":"2024-04-16T02:02:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/?p=3523"},"modified":"2024-04-16T02:02:58","modified_gmt":"2024-04-16T02:02:58","slug":"nasa-looking-for-faster-cheaper-way-to-collect-mars-rocks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/?p=3523","title":{"rendered":"NASA looking for faster, cheaper way to collect mars rocks"},"content":{"rendered":"


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NASA put out the call Monday for ideas to bring back the rocks that the Perseverance rover has been collecting more quickly and cheaply than current plans. <\/p>\n

The agency is calling for help from its entire community and anyone else with an idea for a less complicated mission. <\/p>\n

A review of the mission last year by an independent review board identified the Mars Sample Return Mission as too costly – as much as $11 billion – and \u201cnear zero\u201d possibility of maintaining its launch dates. <\/p>\n

While NASA\u2019s mission would have rock samples from the planet brought to Earth by 2040, a Chinese mission to Mars is expected to bring back rocks in 2030, according to state media. <\/p>\n

NASA is now looking for \u201cout-of-the-box possibilities,\u201d the agency\u2019s head of science Nicola Fox said Monday. The agency wants to grab the rock samples and bring them here as quickly as possible. The rocks can provide \u201ccritical new insights into the origins and evolution of Mars, our solar system and life on Earth,\u201d said Fox. <\/p>\n

NASA\u2019s current mission plan is complicated with several vehicles needed to travel, gather the samples, blast off into space again, and deposit the samples into another vehicle before landing on Earth. <\/p>\n

Stanford professor G. Scott Hubbard, who once led NASA\u2019s Mars program, told The Washington Post<\/em>, NASA needs a \u201cmagic wand solution.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n