Mars scientists look to less expensive missions - SpaceNews:
The National Academies is scheduled to release the latest decadal survey for planetary sciences April 19. The report will set priorities for planetary science and astrobiology missions for 2023 through 2032.
The previous planetary science decadal survey, released in 2011, recommended as its top priority for large, or flagship, missions a rover that could cache samples for later return to Earth. NASA ultimately implemented that recommendation as Mars 2020, with the Perseverance rover currently collecting those samples.
Agency officials, speaking at a conference on low-cost Mars mission options in Pasadena, California, in late March, acknowledged it’s unlikely another flagship-class Mars mission will be the top priority of the new decadal survey. Even if it was, the expense of the ongoing Mars Sample Return (MSR) campaign to return the samples Perseverance is caching makes it unlikely the agency could afford another large mission this decade.
[...] At the conference, many were pinning their hopes on smaller missions, both orbiters and landers, that could address key scientific issues. Recent studies, one by the Mars Architecture Strategy Working Group (MASWG) and another by a committee organized by Caltech’s Keck Institute for Space Studies, concluded that low-cost Mars missions were both feasible and useful.
Bruce Jakosky of the University of Colorado, who chaired the MASWG study, said at the conference that there was potential for missions with a total lifecycle cost of between $100 million and $300 million. “We think missions in this range have the potential to do outstanding science,” he said.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday April 20 2022, @01:26PM (2 children)
Sojourner, Opportunity, and Spirit were heralded to be the Lean and Mean NASA of the future-- allowing more Science with smaller relatively inexpensive projects but more of them...
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Wednesday April 20 2022, @02:40PM (1 child)
Killing the cat would be part of the process of securing it in a sample-return container for later shipment back to Earth for study.
The server will be down for replacement of vacuum tubes, belts, worn parts and lubrication of gears and bearings.
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday April 20 2022, @06:46PM
Only if the container is cat-shaped. If it is suitably not-cat-chaped, preferably box shaped, the cat will climb in on its own and refuse to come out.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday April 20 2022, @02:20PM (2 children)
initial mission cost 50 trillion.
sample-return value 49'999'500'000'000.
net cost 500 million.
sounds good
-or-
initial 500 million - sample-return 1$ :(
i guess there's some stuff worth 49 trillion sitting on mars now. hmmm...
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday April 20 2022, @02:28PM
stranded assets: your obsolete "smart" communication device.
evil or negative stranded assets: the climate or pothole roads when flying cars arrive or technology allows sun-rays to push you around...
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 21 2022, @05:50AM
bbbut they're less expensive now. only $40T. return value 50c. so that saves $10T AMIRITE???
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Wednesday April 20 2022, @02:38PM (1 child)
Yes, really. This just in. A new discovery. If the launch cost is lower, that means the money saved could be spent on costs more directly related to the actual mission.
This controversial idea is still being debated. Accountants and scientists are still trying to convince senators.
The server will be down for replacement of vacuum tubes, belts, worn parts and lubrication of gears and bearings.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday April 20 2022, @04:55PM
Read the linked story because they go into that. They mention that there is a ~$50M smallsat mission in the planning, but the PI for that has basically said to not take $50M as a realistic marker because they are essentially flying a very simple instrument and getting the rocket for free. The next up the rung was the small mission being launched by the UAE, and that has a price of around $200M.