Labroots

NASA Unveils New Approach for Mars Sample Return Program

How will NASA conduct its Mars Sample Return (MSR) Program? This is what the renowned space agency recently discussed as it unveiled two potential landing options for MSR with the goal of determining ...
SpaceNews

Revised NASA/ESA Mars Sample Return Architecture Uses Helicopters

NASA has finished the system requirements review for its Mars Sample Return Program, which is nearing completion of the conceptual design phase. During this phase, the program team evaluated and ...
GeekWire

Cybertrucks on Mars? Space advocates and NASA consider ideas for sample return

These AI images of a “Cybertruck on Mars” were created by the Stable Diffusion image generation program, running on Tesla’s Dojo supercomputer in 2022. (Tesla ...
Engadget

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 ...
Gizmodo

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. Reading time 3 minutes NASA’s Perseverance rover has been ...

One Mars spacecraft, two senators, and a cloud of questions

What is not controversial is that NASA needs a new spacecraft capable of relaying communications from Mars to Earth. NASA’s best communications relay today is the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, which ...
Digital Trends

NASA has two ideas for how to get samples back from Mars

This photomontage shows tubes containing samples from Mars, as collected by NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover. The agency’s Mars Sample Return Program plans to bring these samples back to study them in ...
Ars Technica

NASA wants a cheaper Mars Sample Return—Boeing proposes most expensive rocket

NASA is looking for ways to get rock samples back from Mars for less than the $11 billion the agency would need under its own plan, so last month, officials put out a call to industry to propose ideas ...
autoevolution

NASA Realized Just How Expensive Bringing Mars Samples to Earth Is, Wants New Ideas

There are several high-profile and high-intensity space missions being planned right now, including the return of humans to the Moon, but if you ask me, the most ambitious one seems to be the one ...

Will NASA’s SkyFall Mars helicopter fleet sink science at the Red Planet?

NASA wants to send an ambitious fleet of helicopters to soar through Martian skies—but scientists fear the endeavor could ...
SpaceNews

NASA Releases Independent Review’s Mars Sample Return Report

An Independent Review Board (IRB) looked at NASA’s current plans and goals of the first mission to return samples from Mars, and NASA is establishing a team to respond. In addition to bringing home ...