WASHINGTON — As decision loom about its funding and architecture, a NASA review about the Mars Sample Return (MSR) program concluded its problems illustrate ongoing challenges the agency has managing large missions.
NASA’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) published an audit of the MSR program Feb. 28 that concluded that spiraling cost estimates can be linked to a lack of a stable design for the key elements of the effort and “initial over-optimism” in its development.
The report did not identify any major new issues with MSR beyond the assessment of an independent review board in September 2023, which concluded the program’s cost and schedule estimates were unrealistic and that the total cost of the effort would likely be in the range of $8 billion to $11 billion. That led NASA to start a reassessment of the overall MSR architecture that is ongoing.
The OIG audit noted that, as of June 2023, MSR had an unofficial lifecycle cost estimate of $7.4 billion. While less than the range offered by the independent review, that figure is significantly higher than past estimates. The cost growth was “of particular concern” to OIG, which concluded that “the $7.4 billion estimate is premature and may be insufficient.”
A particular focus of the report was one element of MSR, the Capture, Containment and Return System (CCRS). That is a system being developed by NASA that will be installed on the Earth Return Orbiter being built by the European Space Agency. The CCRS will capture the sample container placed into Mars orbit, sterilize it and seal it in a capsule for return to Earth.
The CCRS did not complete its preliminary design review until December 2023, more than a year behind schedule, as the project grappled with technical and cost challenges. That included a change in its sterilization system to comply with planetary protection requirements. Those delays contributed to $200 million in additional costs and a delay that, the audit…
Read the full article here