Core Viewpoint - The U.S. House Appropriations Committee has released a funding bill for fiscal year 2026 that supports the White House's proposal to terminate NASA's Mars Sample Return mission, which aimed to bring back dozens of Martian rock core samples collected by the Perseverance rover [1] Group 1 - The funding bill reflects a significant shift in priorities regarding space exploration, particularly concerning the Mars Sample Return mission [1] - There has been a long-standing division among planetary scientists regarding the feasibility and budget of the Mars Sample Return mission, with concerns that its high costs could divert essential research funding [1]

Group 1 - The U.S. House Appropriations Committee has proposed a funding bill for fiscal year 2026 that supports the termination of NASA's "Mars Sample Return" mission [1] - The bill reallocates $110 million to a project called "Mars Future Missions," aimed at continuing the technological development related to the "Mars Sample Return" mission [1] - NASA's science budget for fiscal year 2026 is set at $7.25 billion, reflecting a 1% decrease from the previous year, but is significantly higher than the White House's earlier proposal to cut the budget by half [1] Group 2 - There has been a long-standing divide among U.S. planetary scientists regarding the "Mars Sample Return" mission, with concerns about its high budget potentially consuming too much research funding [2] - An independent review committee's assessment indicated that the total budget for the project could reach $11 billion, although NASA later proposed to reduce it to $7 billion [2] - Terminating the "Mars Sample Return" mission would leave a significant research goal for U.S. planetary scientists in a state of uncertainty, potentially jeopardizing the country's leadership in Mars exploration [2]