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The Conversation USA

The Mars Sample Return mission has a shaky future, and NASA is calling on private companies for backup

  • Written by Chris Impey, University Distinguished Professor of Astronomy, University of Arizona
imageThe equipment planned to help bring samples back from Mars. NASA/JPL

A critical NASA mission in the search for life beyond Earth, Mars Sample Return, is in trouble. Its budget has ballooned from US$5 billion to over $11 billion, and the sample return date may slip from the end of this decade to 2040.

The mission would be the first to try to return...

Read more: The Mars Sample Return mission has a shaky future, and NASA is calling on private companies for...

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