Scivillage.com Casual Discussion Science Forum

https://futurism.com/nasa-signs-life-mars-trump-error

INTRO: NASA's interim leader Sean Duffy didn't make it through a single sentence in his announcement that the agency's Mars Perseverance rover had spotted "potential biosignatures" on the Red Planet last year without sucking up to president Donald Trump.

While we're still far from a definitive conclusion about current or ancient life on Mars, it was an exciting finding, with a sampled rock containing minerals closely associated with Earth-based microbial life.

The only problem? The Trump administration has made it clear that it's not interested in returning the samples taken by NASA's Perseverance rover back to Earth for laboratory analysis.

The agency's Mars Sample Return mission had been a hot-button topic for years, with lawmakers balking at the proposed plan's astronomical price tag of $11 billion. But the Trump administration wants to nix the mission altogether in its potentially devastating 2026 budget proposal, alongside dozens of other planetary science missions.

In other words, as much as Duffy glazes Trump publicly, in reality, Trump is our planet's number one obstacle to following up on NASA's blockbuster findings about life on Mars.

As Ars Technica reports, Duffy had very little to add when needled by reporters this week about the Trump administration's commitment to returning the Mars samples, clumsily avoiding making any promises.

"What we're going to do is look at our budget, so we look at our timing, and you know, how do we spend money better?" he told one reporter. "And you know, what technology do we have to get samples back more quickly? And so that's a current analysis that's happening right now."

Duffy also reiterated that the Trump administration was pouring all of its resources into sending "our boots to the Moon and to Mars" — efforts that would be far more complex, expensive, and time-intensive than a sample return mission. (And that's if sending astronauts to the Red Planet is even feasible in the first place.)

To experts, canceling the Mars Sample Return mission would be an enormous and costly mistake... (MORE - details)

Live press conference with Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy ... https://youtu.be/HTcQwnSimk8

This changes everything..

MR's breaking news: LOL!

As far as NASA's recent announcement goes, I'm a bit skeptical. It looks a little too much like implicit NASA lobbying for the Mars Sample Return mission.

Which is precisely how Futurism chose to spin it, with an added spoonful of anti-Trump rhetoric added to suit democrats' taste.

But Mars Sample Return has been in trouble long before Trump arrived on the scene. Wikipedia says:

"Although NASA and ESA's proposal is still in the design stage, the first leg of gathering samples is currently being executed by the Perseverance rover on Mars and components of the sample retrieval lander (second leg) are in testing phase on earth.[4][56][57] The later phases were facing significant cost overruns as of August 2023.[58][59] In November 2023, NASA was reported to have cut back the program due to a possible shortage of funds.[60] As of January 2024, the plan was facing ongoing scrutiny due to budget and scheduling considerations, and a new overhaul plan was being pursued.[61] In April 2024, NASA reported that the originally projected cost of $7 billion and expected sample return of 2033 was updated to an unacceptable $11 billion and return of 2040 instead, prompting the agency to search for a better solution."

So despite being in the planning stage since at least the 1990's, Mars Sample Return still hasn't decided upon a final vehicle architecture. It anticipates costing $11 billion (that will almost certainly rise significantly) and doesn't anticipate returning samples for 15 years in 2040 (which will almost certainly slip).

My own view is that Elon and Starship will likely be on Mars well before 2040. Probably with Optimus robots, and likely with humans. While it's unlikely that SpaceX will be able to construct a large Mars colony by then, returning samples is well within the realm of possibility. And that could be accomplished more quickly and for less cost to NASA than their current Mars Sample Return boondoggle.

So NASA might be best advised to get behind the Starship Mars program. They probably should also talk to Blue Origin, Firefly and the others about how a cheaper/quicker alternative to Mars Sample Return might be constructed using New Glenn or some vehicle like that. (New Armstrong should be available before 2040.)

I'd like to see all of New Space join together to design different elements of a Mars Sample Return mission, partly privately funded and partly by the NASA science mission directorate. Then inject the whole thing with an Elon-style sense of urgency. (Get it done yesterday!)