Will NASA be able to return Mars samples to Earth? New audit raises doubts
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Will NASA be able to return Mars samples to Earth? New audit raises doubts
"NASA's bold plan to get pristine samples of Mars to Earth for analysis is facing major challenges, according to a new report.
Design, cost and scheduling are all significant obstacles, an audit report of NASA's Mars Sample Return (MSR) Program by the agency's Office of Inspector General (OIG) finds."
https://www.space.com/nasa-mars-sample- ... ruary-2024
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Re: Will NASA be able to return Mars samples to Earth? New audit raises doubts
I never did understand why they programmed Percy to leave the samples all over the place instead of collecting and collating as he went.
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Re: Will NASA be able to return Mars samples to Earth? New audit raises doubts
I used to be amazed at what NASA could do, now I am just baffled.
The only culture I have is from yogurt
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Re: Will NASA be able to return Mars samples to Earth? New audit raises doubts
I agree. Just keep the individual samples onboard in their separate containers and eject them all at one location. Now the retriever only has to get to one location to pick them up.Graeme1858 wrote: ↑Tue Mar 05, 2024 9:43 am That would be a shame if they can't collect the samples.
I never did understand why they programmed Percy to leave the samples all over the place instead of collecting and collating as he went.
Graeme
Or better yet, don't even bother trying to retrieve samples unless they are onboard the return vessel.
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Re: Will NASA be able to return Mars samples to Earth? New audit raises doubts
However, in case that's not possible, a set of samples has been deposited on the surface close to each other. This will allow them to be collected (hopefully) in one go.
So, they're doing both - they have the option of collection of the full set from Perseverance itself, as well as an emergency cache in case collection from the rover is impossible.
https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/nasas-per ... rs-samples
It was a good question though, and led me down a very welcome rabbit-hole that I wouldn't otherwise explored. Thanks for that.
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Re: Will NASA be able to return Mars samples to Earth? New audit raises doubts
Cheers for that.
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Re: Will NASA be able to return Mars samples to Earth? New audit raises doubts
"Nasa: 'New plan needed to return rocks from Mars'"
"The US space agency says the current mission design can't return the samples before 2040 on the existing funds and the more realistic $11bn (£9bn) needed to make it happen is not sustainable."
https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-68819153
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Re: Will NASA be able to return Mars samples to Earth? New audit raises doubts
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Re: Will NASA be able to return Mars samples to Earth? New audit raises doubts
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