Nasa will delay work on its Mars Sample Return (MSR) plan while it assesses two possible approaches on how to successfully fulfil the tricky mission.
In recent years the agency has been focused on trying to determine the early history of Mars and how it can help us understand the formation and evolution of habitable worlds, including Earth.
As part of that effort, the MSR programme has been a long-term goal for the past two decades. Nasa’s Perseverance rover has been collecting samples to return to Earth since it landed on Mars in 2021.
Nasa had planned to launch its Sample Retrieval Lander in 2028 to return the samples to Earth. This would have been the first to bring along a rocket and two helicopters designed to send the samples into Mars’ orbit to meet the Earth return orbiter, which would then take the samples the rest of the way home.
However, in 2023 an independent review board found that the plans faced serious scheduling and budget problems.
The agency will now pursue two strategic...