"There are incredibly tantalizing samples in the Perseverance rover's cache that could revolutionize our understanding of ...

NASA’s Mars Sample Return program faces opposition from planetary scientists following proposed cancellation, with concerns raised over Perseverance samples, future Mars missions, and international ...

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A crescent of the northern hemisphere of Mars taken by Tianwen-1's medium-resolution camera in March 2021. Credit: CNSA/PEC HELSINKI — China is inviting interested parties to submit proposals to join ...

This mosaic is made up of more than 100 images captured by NASA’s Viking 1 orbiter, which operated around Mars from 1976 to 1980. The scar across the center of the planet is the vast Valles Marineris ...

For nearly four years, NASA’s Perseverance rover has journeyed across an unexplored patch of land on Mars—once home to an ancient river delta—and collected a slew of rock samples sealed inside ...

Update: A minibus spending package passed by the House of Representatives on January 8, 2026, effectively cancels the Mars Sample Return program by eliminating almost all funding for future missions.

U.S. plans to return Mars samples face delays as China advances its own mission. Scientists and policymakers debate costs, timelines, and the role of sample return in future Mars exploration ...

NASA has announced an overhaul to its plan to bring samples from Mars back to Earth. Agency officials have decided to scrap parts of their original plan to cut down on the difficulty and cost. Instead ...

'There is now a genuine chance that China could return Martian samples before the U.S.' When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. China has ...