Mars, NASA

NASA scrapped its $11 billion scheme to grab Mars rocks that may point to alien life. Now it has a faster, cheaper plan.
NASA's mission to return samples from Mars and potentially discover the first signs of alien life has a new timeline. The samples may arrive sooner.
NASA’s plans to get Mars rocks delivered to the Utah desert are changing
Bringing Martian rock and soil samples to Earth is among the top priorities of planetary scientists. By studying fresh rocks up close with the latest, most powerful instruments in their laboratories,
NASA collected Mars rocks to haul to Earth. It still hasn’t decided how.
The Mars Sample Return mission has been ranked as the highest priority by planetary scientists, who hope to find signs of ancient life on Mars.
NASA Is One Step Closer to Bringing Mars Samples to Earth
The agency is starting down two different paths toward the samples' return, but only one will bring the red rocks home.
NASA won't decide on Mars Sample Return plan until mid-2026
NASA is considering two ways to get its precious Mars samples back to Earth but won't pick a winner for another 18 months or so.
NASA’s Answer to Mars Sample Return Problem: Develop Two Plans
The Perseverance rover has been collecting Martian rock samples since 2021, but NASA is still figuring out how to bring them back to Earth.
NASA Will Let Trump Decide How to Bring Mars Rocks to Earth
The Mars Sample Return effort was billions of dollars over budget and not expected to return to Earth with its samples until 2040.
NASA Proposes Cheaper, Quicker Way to Get Mars Rocks and Soil to Earth
NASA is pitching a cheaper and quicker way of getting rocks and soil back from Mars, after seeing its original plan swell to $11 billion. Administrator Bill Nelson presented a revised scenario Tuesday,
NASA pitches cheaper, faster plan to bring Mars samples to Earth
NASA has unveiled two revamped plans to bring Mars samples to Earth in the 2030s, reducing costs by nearly half from its initial $11 billion proposal while expediting the timeline.
NASA hedges its bets on costly Mars rock mission
NASA and the European Space Agency are planning to return some of these precious rock samples to Earth, the culmination of a decades-long dream to retrieve pristine rocks from Mars. The ambitious, multi-billion-dollar effort,
NASA Considers Two Options For Mars Rock Retrieval in New Race With China
NASA announced Tuesday it may turn to Elon Musk's SpaceX or Jeff Bezos's Blue Origin to help reduce the soaring costs of returning Martian rocks collected by the Perseverance rover to Earth.
Perseverance's 2024 journey: From SHERLOC's revival to ancient rocks
Perseverance's past year operating on the surface of Mars was filled with some of the mission's highest highs, but also some ...
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NASA’s Mars Sample Return Program Faces Stark Choices
NASA sees two paths for saving its beleaguered plan to retrieve materials from the Red Planet but won’t choose between them ...
NASA defers decision on Mars Sample Return to the Trump administration
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson left a final decision on a new mission architecture to the next NASA administrator working ...
Was there ever life on Mars? NASA may have found evidence, but retrieving it could cost $7.7 billion
NASA has revealed two new strategies to bring back rock and dust samples from Mars collected by Perseverance rover. The aim ...
Mars Perseverance Rover's New 'Comet Geyser' Sample 'Great For Biosignature Studies'
NASA's Perseverance rover on Mars has collected its 24th sample of Jezero Crater. The 'Comet Geyser' sample is "great for ...
NASA exploring 2 options to lower costs, speed up Mars Sample Return mission
NASA hopes a revised plan will get Mars samples back to Earth faster and cost less than the agency's original plan.