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 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 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 Innovative Approaches to Bring Mars Samples Back to Earth
The first approach involves utilizing NASA’s proven sky crane technology, which successfully delivered the Perseverance rover to the Martian surface in 2021. This technology could play a key role in returning the precious samples to Earth by deploying a system capable of safely bringing them back to the planet’s surface.
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 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 mulls new strategies for Mars sample return mission
NASA has announced potential plans to retrieve rock samples from Mars. Scientists aim to investigate whether extraterrestrial life exists on the Red Planet. Bringing back the Perseverance rover, which has been gathering materials from the bottom of a Martian lake since 2021,
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.
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 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 decision on Mars Sample Return reboot slides to 2026
NASA is weighing two options to return samples from Mars — one using proven technology and another that seeks help from industry.
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 ...
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 ...