Boeing came up with its own idea to help NASA get its Mars sample return project back on track and on budget. NASA issued a request for new ideas After being told the current plan is about delivering scientifically valuable Mars material to Earth very expensive (about $11 billion) and is also very complex and has planning problems.

Last week, at the annual People to Mars Summit, former NASA Chief Scientist Jim Green presented Boeing’s vision for a modified Mars return mission concept.

The concept focuses on the use of NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, for which Boeing is the prime contractor. The giant rocket, which performed well on its first and so far only flight (the Artemis 1 mission to the moon in late 2022), can carry all the equipment needed to carry out an ambitious mission to send samples to Mars with multiple spacecraft, Green said. . .

“So this new concept does a single launch to reduce the complexity of the mission, which is one of the main things NASA wants to do,” he said in his presentation.

NASA’s previous plan called for multiple launches of the Mars Ascent Vehicle (MAV) to the Martian surface, retrieving samples collected by the agency’s Perseverance rover, and returning them to Earth. Boeing’s single launch concept would put a lander with airborne rocket entry and landing on Mars, as well as a launcher with retro rockets that could do all the work needed to bring the valuable samples home.

Boeing’s proposed plan includes the Perseverance sample rover. A two-stage MAV with a sample box and encapsulation system would be able to reach Mars orbit and then ignite its engines and head home, rather than rendezvous in Mars orbit and dock with a transfer vehicle as in the original concept.

Ars Technica noted that despite efforts to cut costs, the giant SLS itself would be expensive to use; a launch would likely cost at least $2 billion. Unlike Boeing’s approach to a larger MAV, NASA’s initial redesign went for a smaller, cheaper MAV and may have collected fewer than originally planned, such as the 43 sealed titanium tubes containing samples collected by Perseverance.

NASA is accepting proposals until May 17 and will begin planning a new path for MSR later this year. The MSR project remains a priority for NASA, Agency Administrator Bill Nelson said last month when announcing the project’s renewal. Returning samples before possible human missions is critical to understanding the Martian environment, including soil toxicity and resource availability, Green said.