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 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 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.
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, NASA announced Tuesday a new approach to its Mars Sample Return Program.
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 announces new approach to Mars Sample Return Program during news conference Tuesday
NASA announced Tuesday their new approach to their Mars Sample Return Program. The agency will develop two landing architectures in parallel, promoting competition and innovation while aiming for cost and schedule efficiency.
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 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 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 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 ...
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 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 ...