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Tightening budgets, vanishing hopes

An artist’s conception of the Earth Return Orbiter (part of the Mars Sample Return mission) over Mars.
An artist’s conception of the Earth Return Orbiter (part of the Mars Sample Return mission) over Mars. Illustration: NASA/ESA/JPL-Caltech/GSFC

Until space agencies gin up funds to land craft beyond Mars in earnest, the search for life will stay focused on the fourth planet from the Sun.

That’s not to say Mars isn’t a compelling venue for astrobiological inquiry. It absolutely is! But farther-flung stretches of our solar system—namely the subsurface seasof Europa and Enceladus—are equally compelling, if not moreso for the water that actively flows beneath their crusts.

Unfortunately, the Mars mission is already on shaky ground. As reported by Gizmodo in April, NASA needs an additional $250 million this fiscal year to ensure the sample return can launch by 2028.

Furthermore, last month NASA’s deputy administrator announced that the agency probably wouldn’t get its full budget request for 2024. The belts are tightening around the federal government’s waist, and the search for life is suffering for it.

More: Curiosity Rover Spots Clear Evidence of Ancient Water on Mars

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