""Those hours could have been spent running and analyzing data from these valuable missions," Dreier said. "It created a lot of needless friction and churn at a time when NASA is being told it must remain competitive with China and other nations in space.""
""As proposed in the budget, the agreement does not support the existing Mars Sample Return (MSR) program," the budget document states. "However, the technological capabilities being developed in the MSR program are not only critical to the success of future science missions but also to human exploration of the Moon and Mars.""
"Although it offers no details, the budget provides $110 million for something called the "Mars Future Missions" program to support "radar, spectroscopy, entry, descent, and landing systems.""
Congress is advancing a Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies budget bill expected to be signed and enacted for the current fiscal year starting October 1. The NASA science budget removes support for the Mars Sample Return (MSR) program while allocating $110 million to a Mars Future Missions program for radar, spectroscopy, entry, descent, and landing systems. The budget text notes MSR technologies remain critical for future science and human exploration of the Moon and Mars. NASA paused MSR because of an estimated $10 billion cost and unclear sample return timing. The budget preserves missions including the DAVINCI Venus probe and provides $10 million to study a Uranus orbiter. New NASA leadership under Jared Isaacman must develop an alternative strategy, possibly prioritizing human missions to Mars over sample return.
Read at Ars Technica
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