Briefly, they’re: do the science, do it now, and do it with stability. That’s:
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Return the total suite of samples collected by the Perseverance rover, don’t go away valuable samples on the floor to shave proverbial pennies off the undertaking’s value;
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Don’t delay; pursue the undertaking now whereas we now have samples on the floor of Mars, an skilled Mars workforce (already threatened by layoffs), and buy-in from our European allies, which have made a billion-euro-plus dedication to the trouble;
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And do it with stability; we are able to’t let MSR eat NASA’s total science directorate. There are different missions, such because the Liveable Worlds Observatory, that are essential priorities in their very own proper that can advance our seek for life within the Cosmos.
There may be additionally a compelling connection to NASA’s long-term human exploration effort, which begins with Artemis after which factors towards Mars. MSR would offer vital proofs-of-concept of vital applied sciences, reminiscent of precision touchdown, launch from the Martian floor, and automatic in-orbit rendezvous. NASA ought to think about MSR inside its broader scope of human exploration, and combine its planning and outcomes affordably.
The technical, engineering, and administration challenges going through MSR are in the end the duty of NASA and its companions. The Planetary Society believes that so long as NASA follows the rules outlined above and incorporates the enter from the current unbiased evaluate board, that MSR and different high-priority science missions can succeed within the subsequent decade.
