NASA and ESA Change Plans for Ambitious Mars Sample Return Mission

Citing unacceptable levels of “high risk,” NASA and the European Space Agency have made key adjustments to a highly complex future mission that will attempt to bring Martian surface samples to Earth.Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator for science at NASA, made the announcement on March 21 during a presentation to the National Academies’ Space Studies Board. The Mars Sample Return mission is a joint effort between NASA and ESA, and it’s seeking to do something that&r