The Perseverance rover has been driving around the surface of Mars, drilling and collecting core rock samples. The samples were supposed to be returned to Earth for analysis, but the return mission has not been scheduled or funded. NASA still hasn't decided how it will return the samples, if at all. So far, all we have are some high-resolution images of the samples.
In a scathing report released by NASA in 2023, the original plan for the Mars Sample Return mission (MSR) was found to have "unrealistic budget and schedule expectations." The plan was ditched, and NASA called for a Hail Mary to save the mission, encouraging private companies to submit their ideas.
When the time came to choose one of the options, NASA decided to punt. The agency narrowed the choices to two, but the final decision will be left to the next administration. The next NASA administrator will likely be billionaire and a close associate of SpaceX, Jared Isaacman. Isaacman participated in the first private spacewalk during the Polaris Dawn mission in 2024.
Collecting all these samples, preparing them for a return to Earth, and not bringing them home would be a colossal waste of resources and potential knowledge. Godspeed, Percy.
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Previously: NASA working to bring evidence of Martian life back to Earth