Mars, NASA

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 until 2026
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 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 under the incoming Trump administration. President-elect Donald Trump nominated entrepreneur and commercial astronaut Jared Isaacman as the agency's 15th administrator last month.
NASA exploring two lower-cost options to go forward with Mars Sample Return mission
NASA announced Tuesday that it is exploring two options to move forward with its mission to return samples from Mars at a lower cost.
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 MSR strategy is in the works, saying that NASA will seek innovative new ideas from its research centers, private industry and academia.
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.
Rocket Lab Takes Jab at NASA With Release of Mars Sample Return Plan
After the space agency punts a decision on the mission’s profile to 2026, Rocket Lab unveils its own Mars Sample Return plan.
NASA’s Big Mars Update: How to Watch the Upcoming Sample Return Reveal
The space agency will provide a broadcast update on the marquee mission that is intended to recover samples of Martian rock for study on Earth.
NASA punts Mars Sample Return decision to the next administration
Anyone hoping for a clear path forward this year for NASA's imperiled Mars Sample Return mission will have to wait a little longer.
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’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 is fighting to return samples from Mars. Here are the two ways it might do it in the 2030s
NASA has arrived at two ways of returning samples collected on Mars to Earth. Now, the agency will test the options to see if ...
Samples from Mars' surface could unravel planet's history, researchers argue
Geologically, Mars is very reminiscent of the moon. But it also looks a lot like the Earth. It all depends on who you ask.