JAKARTA - NASA has just announced a change in plans to return samples of Martian rock from Perseverance to Earth, rescheduled as early as 2033.
By returning the rocks of Planet Mars to Earth it will be useful for scientists to study further. Initially, NASA was going to launch the lander in 2026, but now they need until 2028, with samples due to be returned to Earth in 2033.
The latest plan says NASA will use two landers to increase the probability of the mission succeeding. As one might imagine, having two landers would require more funding as well, so NASA has requested further funding for the Mars Sample Return project within its budget.
To make a difference, NASA will delay the launch of its asteroid-spotting project, NEO Surveyor, by two years. Not only that, but NASA is also withdrawing funds from the Mars Ice Mapper project to focus more on Mars Sample Return.
"Due to the need to fund higher priorities, including to cover the expected cost growth of the Mars Sample Return mission, the budget discontinues NASA's financial support for Mars Ice Mapper, which is still in pre-formulation with roles being discussed with international partners," NASA said in its report as quoted from ScreenRant, Wednesday, March 30.
"NASA does not plan to contribute hardware to this mission, but has discussed the possibility of conducting mission management activities."
The idea for the Ice Mapper Mars mission is to support the Canadian, Italian, and Japanese space agencies in building and launching Mars orbiters.
The orbiter will use two types of radar to look beneath the Martian surface to determine how deep the water ice is there, paving the way for future crewed missions to harness this resource. With that said, this mission seemed unlikely to continue now.
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For your information, since landing on Mars in February 2021, Perseverance has become a Mars rover, providing information about the ancient lake Jezero Crater, exploring different parts of the planet, and sharing hundreds of thousands of new photos along the way.
Perseverance was the first rover tasked with collecting Martian rock samples with the aim of returning them to Earth. Despite some obstacles along the way, the mission was a resounding success.
The rover has collected eight samples to date and should have a total of 43 by the end of the mission. Drilling and collecting these samples is a remarkable feat.
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