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 the cache can make it back in the 2030s.
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 samples that could help us find alien life are stuck there until at least 2035, NASA says
Dozens of samples collected from missions on Mars that could be used to detect ancient microbial life could be returned as soon as 2035 and as late as 2039, depending on the course of the next few months, NASA announced Tuesday.
NASA weighs options to bring Mars samples back to Earth
NASA is exploring two potential strategies to bring Mars samples back to Earth, aiming to simplify and reduce the cost of the mission.
NASA won't decide on Mars Sample Return plan 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 has two ideas for how to get samples back from Mars
NASA's Mars Sample Return mission is only in development and has already struggled. Now, the agency has laid out two paths forward.
NASA will decide how to bring soil samples back from Mars in 2026
NASA will analyze and explore two different landing options for its Mars Sample Return program, though it will take almost two years to do so and is expected to announce its decision in late 2026. The agency had to temporarily hit pause on the program after an independent review found that it could cost between $8 billion and $11 billion,
NASA overhauls plan to bring samples from Mars back to Earth
NASA said in its announcement it is changing the plan for the spacecraft that will land on Mars to retrieve the samples and exploring two new, different options. One of the option
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.
Sharp Martian Rocks Turns Curiosity Rover
NASA's Curiosity rover has encountered patches of sharp “gator-back” rocks causing mission planners to look for a new route ...
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Curiosity Uncovers Pure Sulfur on Mars: A Groundbreaking Discovery Redefining the Red Planet’s History
NASA's Curiosity rover has made a groundbreaking discovery on Mars by uncovering pure sulfur crystals within a broken rock.
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 ...
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A Rover Retrospective: Turning Trials to Triumphs in 2024
A look back at a few Mars 2020 mission highlights of 2024   Perseverance’s past year operating on the surface of Mars was ...
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.
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Ingenuity Mars Helicopter flies again as first drone on Rose Parade float
The City of La Cañada Flintridge celebrated the Jet Propulsion Propulsion Laboratory and Mars exploration with its 2025 float ...