Mars, NASA and Rocket Lab

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.
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 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 options on Tuesday, less than two weeks before stepping down as NASA's chief.
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 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 Torn Over Two Plans To Bring Mars Rocks To Earth, Why It Matters
NASA torn over two plans to bring rock samples from Mars: recreating a previous rocket method or getting a lander from a commercial company.
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 hedges its bets on costly Mars rock mission
NASA has decided it's going to pursue parallel missions to attempt to retrieve samples of rock on Mars collected by rovers.
NASA’s plans to get Mars rocks delivered to the Utah desert are changing
Bringing Martian rock and soil samples to Earth is among the top priorities of planetary scientists. By studying fresh rocks up close with the latest, most powerful instruments in their laboratories,
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 faces delays in martian rock return mission
The Perseverance rover has collected Martian rock samples in two distinct ways, which NASA believes might contain evidence of extraterrestrial life. This mission has been underway since 2021, with rocks and sediments gathered from the ancient lakebed on Mars.
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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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
NASA asked for cheaper ways to get Mars samples. It had one all along.
Recent exceptional rock discoveries have only mounted pressure on NASA to solve the problems facing its Mars Sample Return mission, its plan to fly bits of rock, dust, and air collected by ...