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 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 the cache can make it back in the 2030s.
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 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 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 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 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 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 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 ...
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 ...
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NASA will announce update to Mars sample return plans today. Here's how to listen in
NASA's beleaguered Mars Sample Return program currently faces extreme costs of up to $11 billion and a timeline that could ...
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.
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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 ...