This series discusses the Mars Sample Return (MSR) mission, looking at the proposed options and what else may be possible.

Currently NASA's Perseverance rover is on Mars and has been collecting samples of soil at various points on its travels. They are being collected on the assumption that at some point another lander will collect them and return them to Earth. This is the Mars Sample Return (MSR) mission.

It reviews NASA’s plans for completion in the early 2030s, Rocket Lab’s plans for 2031, and KiwiThinker’s logical variation for a return by late 2027, integrating with SpaceX’s Starship missions.

NASA's current strategy considers two approaches, one using proven sky crane technology and another leveraging emerging commercial heavy-lift capabilities, with a decision expected in 2026 and a tentative sample return in the early 2030s.

However, escalating costs and delays have led to scrutiny over the mission's feasibility and scientific worth.

Rocket Lab proposes an alternative, cheaper plan, potentially returning samples by 2031.

A more divergent and logical approach has been suggested by kiwithinker that involves integrating MSR with SpaceX's Starship missions, aiming for a sample return by late 2027.

MSR has a time issue - if it does not happen soon enough then other missions will have overtaken it and thus make it redundant. These include humanoid robots on Mars in 2027 or 2029 with a lab that can process samples in situ, or humans already arriving.

If either of these things happen, there is no point in even attempting MSR.

Next Article . . .

Part 2 will look more closely at the current plans and the timelines involved with each