"Unprecedented Challenges: NASA's Mission to Bring Home Part of Mars"

NASA's Mars Sample Return mission is facing massive cost overruns and missed deadlines, similar to the challenges the James Webb Space Telescope overcame before its successful launch. The mission's budget has drawn threats of cancellation from lawmakers, and an independent review found "near zero probability" of meeting its proposed 2028 launch date within the current budget. Despite the challenges, supporters remain hopeful that the mission can follow a similar trajectory to the James Webb Space Telescope and deliver significant scientific progress.