The Future of NASA's Flagship Programs

Do Budget Cuts Mean an End to Flagship Programs?, Space Quarterly Magazine by Marcia S. Smith

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"The Obama Administration's decision to cut NASA's planetary exploration budget for FY2013 and beyond generated howls of protest. The action forced the United States to shelve planned cooperation with the European Space Agency (ESA) on two Mars probes in 2016 and 2018 that were the beginning of a string of missions to fulfill the holy grail of Mars scientists - returning a sample of Mars to Earth for analysis."