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NASA’s Mars Sample Return has a new price tag—and it’s colossal
(arstechnica.com)
So the total anticipated cost for development and 5 years of operation is like, 1.2% of the US military budget for just 2024. Say 5 years for development and 5 years of operation, that's 0.12% of the military budget per year.
That doesn't sound that massive to me. In the scope of things.
Things like this that are done for the first time tend to be have large price tags. As we get better at it, the price tag will lower.
c/space Rules