Mars Sample Return Proposal Stirs Excitement, Controversy

摘要

Proposals for a multibillion dollar Mars sample return mission — perhaps even a comprehensive sample return program — appear to be on the front burner again, but not without controversy.rnIt turns out, Alan Stern, NASA's new associate administrator for the Science Mission Directorate, is a big proponent of Mars sample return. But while many NASA planetary scientists share that sentiment, a number of others also worry that such an ambitious mission — Stern estimates it could cost from $3 billion to $4 billion — would suck up all the available money for most other Mars missions in the next decade and disrupt NASA's ability to send at least one robotic mission to Mars every two years.rnThe Mars sample return program and related proposals for the early caching of Mars samples were big topics at the Seventh International Conference on Mars, held here July 9-13 at the California Institute of Technology. The meeting brought together some 500 leading experts on the red planet to discuss current and future exploration plans.