Review board: Mega project is way over budget, needs cash, and senators want it axed
The IRB said in its report that NASA has an imperative to continue the MSR program, describing it as a"critical next step" in humanity's plans to explore Mars and could answer key questions like whether Mars harbored life, as well as test systems for ensuring"backward planetary protection" from extraterrestrial contaminates.
Whether MSR can survive this cost overrun and the congressional scrutiny it's sure to bring is another thing altogether. In July when the Senate Appropriations Committee published NASA's budget recommendations they madeMSR, the Committee said, had ballooned well beyond the original $5.
"The committee has significant concerns about the technical challenges facing MSR and potential further impacts on confirmed missions," the Senators wrote in their appropriations[PDF]. The penalty for noncompliance is steep, too:"If NASA is unable to provide the Committee with a MSR lifecycle cost profile within the [$5.3 billion] budget profile, NASA is directed to either provide options to de-scope or rework MSR or face mission cancellation.
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