Mars, NASA

NASA’s Mars Rover Mission to Bring Samples Back Home From the Red Planet Is at Risk
An exploding budget and an unraveling schedule spell disappointment for NASA's mission to learn more about Mars's history.
Rocket Lab takes jab at NASA with release of Mars sample return plan
The company has outlined its proposed architecture to return martian rock and dust samples to Earth for research.
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 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’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 overhauls plan to bring samples from Mars back to Earth
NASA on Tuesday announced an overhaul to its plan to collect samples from Mars and return them to Earth. Agency officials said they have decided to scrap parts of their original plan to cut down on the mission’s technical difficulty and cost and to shorten the timeline for when the samples could be brought back.
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,
Evidence of Life on Mars? NASA’s Bold Strategy to Recover the Proof
NASA unveils a groundbreaking approach to bring Martian rock samples back to Earth by 2026, introducing competition between two strategic plans to enhance cost-efficiency and spark innovation. These Martian samples could revolutionize our understanding of Mars and the wider universe,
NASA's race to bring possible Mars life evidence home by 2033
The Perseverance rover has collected Martian rock samples in two different ways, which NASA believes may contain evidence of extraterrestrial life. This effort has been ongoing since 2021, and rocks and sediments have been gathered from an ancient Martian lakebed.
NASA's new satellite images reveal frozen 'kidney beans' on Mars, which may hold clues to water and life
NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter captures stunning images of frozen sand dunes on Mars, revealing clues about the planet's ...
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 ...
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 ...
earth2d
Space lettuce: NASA's plans to grow nutritious plants on Mars
NASA explores growing plants in space to ensure fresh, nutritious food for astronauts. Microgravity affects plant genetics ...
NASA proposes cheaper and 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. Administrator Bill Nelson presented two ...
New Scientist16h
Mars may have a solid inner core like Earth does
A new analysis of marsquakes measured by NASA’s InSight lander indicates Mars has a solid inner core – but other researchers ...
Nuclear electric propulsion technology could make missions to Mars faster
The trip to Mars and back is not one for the faint of heart. We're not talking days, weeks, or months. But there are ...
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 ...