Re: The other rescopes
One of the early plans was a ~100kg rocket to go from Mars surface to low Mars orbit (LMO) then transfer the samples to a vehicle able to get them back to Earth.
That plan got killed because people decided the transfer in orbit was too difficult.
The revised plan required landing all the kit required for LMO->Earth on Mars with a big rocket to lift it back to LMO.
That plan did not last long because it is too big fo parachutes + hovering sky crane.
Next up, do not land the return propellant but manufacture it out of CO2 and ice.
Another plan is to make some dinky pump fed hypergolic propellant rockets that have better thrust to weight ratio than pressure fed hypergolics.
Every one of these plans requires making kit that has no other purpose than to return a few hundred grams of samples to Earth. It would be like flags and foot prints on the Moon then cancel for 50 years because it is too expensive. I would go for a five year delay on Mars sample return studies, work on making access to space cheaper then look at what can be done with kit available off the shelf at that time. There will be plenty of flag waving opportunities with Artemis, plenty of new capabilities. The interest generated could be enough to fund MSR and get it ready to go before people get thoroughly bored of yet another Moon mission.