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NASA will decide how to bring soil samples back from Mars in 2026
The Mars Sample Return program has been way over budget and, according to NASA's administrator, has been "out of control." Now, the agency is exploring new options to get its Martian rock and dust samples back home to Earth.
The first method NASA is evaluating is called the "sky crane," in which a vehicle will head to Mars, get close to the surface with the help of a parachute, pick up the samples the Perseverance rover had collected using cables or other mechanisms and then fly away. Last year, the agency asked SpaceX, Blue Origin, Lockheed Martin and other companies to submit proposals on how to get the collected Martian samples back to Earth. Early last year, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory had to lay off 530 employees and cut off 100 contract workers mainly due to budget issues related to this mission.
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