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.
Mars rock samples may contain evidence of alien life, but can NASA get them back to Earth?
NASA will explore two different strategies for fetching Mars rocks collected by the Perseverance rover, and there's a chance these samples contain evidence of alien life.
NASA will announce update to Mars sample return plans today. Here's how to listen in
NASA's beleaguered Mars Sample Return program currently faces extreme costs of up to $11 billion and a timeline that could reach 2040.
NASA exploring two new options for costly Mars sample return mission
US company Firefly Aerospace said Tuesday it is aiming to launch a lander to the Moon next week under an experimental NASA program that partners with the commercial sector to reduce costs.Firefly Aerospace was awarded a $93 million contract in 2021 under NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative.
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.
NASA asked for cheaper ways to get Mars samples. It had one all along.
Recent exceptional rock discoveries have only mounted pressure on NASA to solve the problems facing its Mars Sample Return mission, its plan to fly bits of rock, dust, and air collected by Perseverance back to Earth.
NASA hedges its bets on costly Mars rock mission
NASA has decided it's going to pursue parallel missions to attempt to retrieve samples of rock on Mars collected by rovers.
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 proposes cheaper, quicker way to get Mars rocks and soil to Earth
The space agency said it is considering two options that would cost in the $6 billion to $7 billion range, including one that would feature innovative designs by commercial partners.
NASA collected potential evidence of life on Mars. Now it’s pitching new plans to retrieve the cache
NASA has arrived at two ways of returning samples collected on Mars to Earth. Now, the agency will test the options to see if ...
Scientific American1d
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 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 ...
Space on MSN2d
NASA won't decide on overhaul for Mars Sample Return mission until mid-2026
NASA recently deemed this situation unacceptable. In April 2024, agency chief Bill Nelson announced that an overhaul of the ...
NASA to explore two landing options for returning samples from Mars
To maximize chances of successfully bringing the first Martian rock and sediment samples to Earth for the benefit of humanity ...