NASA MSR review continues despite committee leadership change

Leadership change does not derail December deadline

NASA announced the formation of the eight-person MSR-SR in late October, tasking it with reviewing a dozen industry and internal studies aimed at reducing cost and accelerating the sample return timeline. Days later, at an Oct. 21 National Academies committee meeting, Gramling laid out the same December target he reiterated at MEPAG. The only public sign of disruption came when NASA quietly updated its original press release on Oct. 24, removing Bridenstine's name from the committee roster without explanation. A NASA spokesperson later confirmed to SpaceNews that Bridenstine "made the decision to withdraw from his position" because he was "unable to fully dedicate the time necessary to complete this important work for the agency."

Gramling was at pains to stress that the change "does not appear to alter the schedule of the committee's work or its overall goal." The team remains free to cherry-pick elements from across the studies rather than adopt any single proposal wholesale. "That go-forward architecture doesn't necessarily have to be any of the studies as proposed," he said. "They're free to evaluate the benefits represented in the whole span of the studies and put together the architecture they think gives us the best chance of returning samples to Earth before 2040 and/or putting together an architecture that will cost less than $11 billion." If the December recommendation holds, an acquisition strategy meeting would follow in spring 2025.

JPL outlines a leaner, faster architecture

The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) presented a revised end-to-end architecture that would return samples to cislunar space in 2035—five years earlier than the current baseline—and cut the projected cost roughly in half, aligning with the planetary science decadal survey's recommended funding level. JPL planetary science directorate director Matt Wallace attributed the gains to several factors that did not exist when the original architecture was conceived: the Perseverance rover's continued health, which gives confidence it can deliver cached samples to a future lander; and capabilities emerging from the Artemis lunar programme that could handle the final Earth-return leg from cislunar space.

Central to the JPL concept is a dramatically smaller Sample Retrieval Lander. The current design weighs up to 3,450 kilograms, requiring a new, untested landing system. JPL's revision shrinks the lander to no more than 1,350 kilograms, light enough to use the proven "sky crane" technique demonstrated on the Curiosity and Perseverance missions. The Mars Ascent Vehicle (MAV) carried by that lander is likewise downsized, reducing overall mass and complexity.

Alternative MAV designs target mass and risk reduction

Two other studies zeroed in on the MAV itself. The Applied Physics Laboratory (APL), working with NASA's Wallops Flight Facility, proposed the Mars Integrated Launch System, drawing on the organisations' heritage in missiles and sounding rockets. APL's Doug Eng said the system could lift a full complement of 30 samples with a significantly smaller footprint, enabling the lighter landers JPL envisions.

L3Harris surveyed dozens of MAV configurations and recommended a single-stage rocket using a storable bipropellant pressure-fed propulsion system. Britton Reynolds of L3Harris described the result as a "lightweight and compact MAV" that also leverages the sky crane landing architecture. Both approaches aim to de-risk the most mass-critical element of the surface mission while staying compatible with the smaller lander paradigm.

Quantum Space offers a commercial Earth-return option

Ben Reed, chief innovation officer of Quantum Space, presented a study focused on the "anchor leg" of MSR—transporting samples from cislunar space to Earth. The company's Ranger spacecraft, adapted for this role, could reduce the complexity and mass of the European Space Agency's Earth Return Orbiter, currently the baseline for the final return segment. Reed said the commercial alternative could be ready as early as 2033, potentially providing schedule margin and cost savings on the most expensive leg of the journey.

Programme context and stakeholder implications

MSR has been a top priority of planetary science decadal surveys for decades, yet its estimated price tag has ballooned to as much as $11 billion with a sample return date slipping to 2040. Those figures triggered congressional scrutiny and a NASA-commissioned independent review that warned the programme was unsustainable in its current form. The MSR-SR was NASA's response, charged with finding a credible path forward that preserves the scientific payoff—pristine Martian samples analysed in terrestrial laboratories—while restoring fiscal and schedule credibility.

For industry, the review represents a significant procurement signal. The studies presented at MEPAG came from a mix of traditional NASA centres (JPL), defence-adjacent research labs (APL), established aerospace primes (L3Harris), and newer commercial entrants (Quantum Space). NASA's willingness to blend elements from multiple proposals suggests a hybrid acquisition strategy rather than a single prime contract. That could open doors for specialised suppliers in propulsion, Entry, Descent and Landing (EDL) systems, and cislunar transport services.

International partners, notably ESA, are watching closely. The Earth Return Orbiter is a major European contribution; any shift to a commercial US provider for the final return leg would renegotiate the partnership's balance. Conversely, a leaner, cheaper architecture that keeps ESA's orbiter on track would reinforce transatlantic cooperation on flagship science missions.

What this means

The leadership turnover on NASA's MSR review team grabbed headlines, but the substance of the November MEPAG meeting was the convergence of multiple credible pathways to a faster, cheaper sample return. JPL's sky-crane-compatible lander, compact MAV designs from APL and L3Harris, and a commercial Earth-return option from Quantum Space collectively give the review team a toolkit to assemble an architecture that meets the twin imperatives of sub-$11 billion cost and pre-2040 delivery. With a December recommendation and a spring 2025 acquisition strategy meeting on the calendar, the programme is moving from open-ended study to concrete procurement decisions. For suppliers and international partners alike, the coming months will clarify whether MSR emerges as a streamlined flagship mission or a restructured programme with new commercial and partnership models at its core.