Mars rock samples may contain evidence of alien life

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 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’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 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 ancient life on Mars.
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.
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 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 will decide how to bring soil samples back from Mars in 2026
The Mars Sample Return program has been way over budget and, according to NASA's administrator, has been "out of control." Now, the agency is exploring new options to get its Martian rock and dust samples back home to Earth.

Wolf Moon Eats Mars

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 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 ...
Observer8h
Could Elon Musk Upend NASA’s Return to the Moon? Astronaut Weighs In
Reid Wiseman, commander of NASA’s Artemis II mission to fly the agency’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket with a crew around ...