Will the US hand space leadership to China by pulling Nasa out of Mars race?

White House moves to cancel Nasa’s flagship Mars sample return programme amid sweeping budget cuts would leave China’s Tianwen-3 mission – set to deliver around 600 grams (21 ounces) of Martian material to Earth by 2031 – alone in the race.

The White House recommended ending funding for the mission, already subject to major cost overruns and delays, in its 2026 budget proposal which is expected to be finalised by Congress and the White House in coming months.

“While the United States and China are battling on Earth for leadership in the global economy, the US is giving their leadership role in space to China,” said Yuqi Qian, a planetary geologist at the University of Hong Kong.

Qian, who works with international collaborators to study the volcanological history of the moon and other rocky bodies in space, said the White House was introducing substantial uncertainties for the US and its allies.

“The reversal of the joint Mars sample return mission between Nasa and the European Space Agency is a prime example. The team has already made significant progress collecting samples via the Perseverance rover since 2021,” he said.

Nasa’s international partners might be prompted by such a move to rethink their cooperation with the US, according to Qian.

“It would certainly weaken US leadership in space, especially as China is rolling out well-planned, ambitious programmes to return Martian samples and send humans to the moon.”

South China Morning Post