Mars Sample Return
The flagship that was going to bring the first pieces of another planet home — defunded by Congress in January 2026 and abandoned by ESA in March 2026, leaving Perseverance's sample tubes on Mars and China's Tianwen-3 on track to get there first.
Funding & Contract Structure
Total committed: Effectively zero going forward; sunk cost not disclosed as a consolidated figure
Annual run-rate: $110M/yr for the successor Mars Future Missions technology line, not for sample return
Procurement vehicle: MIXED — Combination of vehicles across program phases.
Congressional status: FY2026 CJS minibus (signed 23 Jan 2026) provided $0 for MSR — the Senate position, which won over a House proposal of $300M.
Beneficiary Breakdown
| Contractor | Role | Share | Ticker |
|---|---|---|---|
| NASA JPL | prime | Sample Retrieval Lander, Mars Ascent Vehicle, campaign systems engineering (work stood down)[0] | private |
| Airbus Defence and Space | prime | ESA Earth Return Orbiter (proposed for cancellation, repurposing as ZefERO)[1] | private |
Key Milestones
Perseverance lands in Jezero Crater and begins caching sealed sample tubes
Independent Review Board: cost up to $10.9B, return slips to the 2040s
FY2026 appropriations provide $0 for MSR and close the program office
ESA member states propose cancelling the Earth Return Orbiter (28 March)
ZefERO — repurposed European Mars science/relay orbiter, notional launch
Catalysts
| Date | Event | Sentiment |
|---|---|---|
| FY2026 minibus signed: $0 for MSR, program office closed[0] | bearish | |
| ESA member states formally propose Earth Return Orbiter cancellation[2] | bearish |
Risk Register
Competitive Landscape
Sources
- [0] The Planetary Society — You just saved NASA's budget (GAO / CRS report, accessed )
- [1] European Spaceflight — ESA to Repurpose ERO (Agency press / Congressional record, accessed )
- [2] Science/AAAS — NASA's Mars Sample Return mission is dead (GAO / CRS report, accessed )