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Freeman [soylentnews.org] writes:

https://arstechnica.com/space/2023/07/the-senate-just-lobbed-a-tactical-nuke-at-nasas-mars-sample-return-program/ [arstechnica.com]

The US Senate on Thursday slashed the budget for NASA's ambitious mission to return soil and rock samples from Mars' surface.

NASA had asked for $949 million to support its Mars Sample Return mission, or MSR, in fiscal year 2024. In its proposed budget for the space agency, released Thursday, the Senate offered just $300 million and threatened to take that amount away.
[...]
The Senate's proposed budget for the Mars mission follows a report by Ars three weeks ago [arstechnica.com] that delved into its exploding costs. Internally, NASA has been discussing scenarios in which the total mission costs might reach $9 billion.

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