![]() That budget proposal paused work on a heliophysics mission, the Geospace Dynamics Constellation, citing the “high budgetary requirements” of other missions like MSR. “Mars Sample Return costs are expected to increase beyond what is shown in the outyear profile in this budget,” the agency stated in its fiscal year 2024 budget request, which seeks $949.3 million for MSR. However, even before this estimate there were warning signs about cost growth on MSR. ![]() “We’re taking this very seriously and we’re trying to make sure we have solid plans before we go to confirmation.” He called NASA’s decision to convene a second independent review before confirmation “unprecedented” and a sign of the emphasis the agency was putting on keeping MSR on track. We’re trying to go back and make sure that we’ve put scrutiny on all of our technical plans and we’ve gotten scrutiny on the associated cost and schedule,” Jeff Gramling, MSR program director at NASA Headquarters, said in a June 7 presentation at a meeting of the National Academies’ Space Studies Board and Aeronautics and Space Engineering Board. “We’re taking a very deliberate approach to confirmation. That will come after a series of preliminary design reviews and a review by a second independent board led by Orlando Figueroa, a former director of NASA’s Mars exploration program. NASA officials have been careful not to give any estimates of costs for MSR in recent presentations, stating that it will wait until a formal confirmation review for the program, scheduled for the fall, before providing an official cost and schedule baseline. “One included a lifecycle cost range of $8–9 billion, which included launch, operation, and closeout cost estimates.” Missions in formulation, such as Mars Sample Return, have more variables to consider, providing for a greater range of scenarios to evaluate - all scenarios are highly speculative,” the agency stated. “NASA evaluates a wide range of funding scenarios every year for its portfolio of missions as part of its annual budget process. ![]() Ars Technica first reported on the higher cost estimate for MSR June 23. An independent review in 2020 estimated the cost of MSR at $3.8 billion to $4.4 billion, which itself was a significant increase over earlier estimates. In a June 26 statement to SpaceNews, NASA said that one “highly speculative” estimate for the full cost of MSR was in the range of $8 billion to $9 billion. WASHINGTON - NASA has confirmed that one scenario for the cost of its Mars Sample Return (MSR) program is far higher than previous estimates, heightening concerns among scientists about its impacts on other missions. ![]()
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