NASA-ESA Mars Sample Return
(Artwork; July 27, 2022)
The NASA-ESA Mars Sample Return was a proposed Flagship-class Mars sample return (MSR) mission to collect Martian rock and soil samples in 43 small, cylindrical, pencil-sized, titanium tubes and return them to Earth around 2033.
The NASA–ESA plan, approved in September 2022, was to return samples using three missions: a sample collection mission (Perseverance), a sample retrieval mission (Sample Retrieval Lander + Mars Ascent Vehicle + Sample Transfer Arm + 2 Ingenuity-class helicopters), and a return mission (Earth Return Orbiter). The mission hoped to resolve the question of whether Mars once harbored life.
Although the proposal never went beyond the design stage, the Perseverance rover is currently gathering samples on Mars.
After a project review critical of its cost and complexity, NASA announced that the project was "paused" as of November 13, 2023. On November 22, NASA was reported to have cut back on the Mars sample-return mission due to a possible shortage of funds. In April 2024, in a NASA update via teleconference, the NASA Administrator emphasized continuing the commitment to retrieving the samples. However, the $11 billion cost was deemed infeasible. NASA turned to industry and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) to form a new, more fiscally feasible mission profile to retrieve the samples. In January 2026, Congress confirmed the Trump administration's plan to cancel the project.