NASA found intriguing rocks on Mars, so where does that leave Mars Sample Return?

""This is exciting news," said Duffy about an arrow-shaped rock on Mars found by NASA's Perseverance rover. The rock contained chemical signatures and structures that could have been formed by ancient microbial life. The findings were intriguing, but not conclusive. Further study of the rocks in an advanced lab on Earth might prove more definitive. Duffy was ready, he said, to discuss the scientific results along with NASA experts on the call with reporters."

"However, the very first question-and for any space reporter, the obvious one-concerned NASA's on-again, off-again plan to return rocks from the surface of Mars for study on Earth. This mission, called Mars Sample Return, has been on hold for nearly two years after an independent analysis found that NASA's bloated plan would cost at least $8 billion to $11 billion. President Trump has sought to cancel it outright."

""So listen, we're looking at how we get this sample back, or other samples back," Duffy replied. "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? 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.""

An arrow-shaped rock analyzed by Perseverance contained chemical signatures and structures that could have been formed by ancient microbial life. The findings are intriguing but remain inconclusive, and further study of returned samples in advanced Earth laboratories could provide more definitive answers. The Mars Sample Return mission to retrieve Perseverance's samples has been on hold for nearly two years after an independent analysis estimated costs of $8 to $11 billion, and the President sought cancellation. NASA is currently analyzing budget, timing, spending priorities, and available technologies to determine how to return samples more quickly and affordably.

Read at Ars Technica