Mars Sample Return
Perseverance collects first Mars samples
NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover has collected and stored the first samples of Martian rock for later return to Earth, but exactly when those samples will arrive on Earth remains uncertain.
Perseverance first sampling attempt comes up empty
NASA scientists and engineers are working to understand why the first sampling attempt by the Mars rover Perseverance failed to collect any material.
NASA requests $24.8 billion in 2022, proposes to cancel SOFIA again
NASA released its fiscal year 2022 budget request May 28, asking for $24.8 billion to support a number of new and existing science and exploration programs but also proposing once again to cancel an airborne astronomical observatory.
Perseverance makes its first drive on Mars
NASA’s Perseverance rover has started moving on the Martian surface as project scientists prepare to send the rover toward the remnants of a river delta in search of signs of past life.
The multi-decade challenge of Mars Sample Return
Making recommendations is easy enough. Following them, as Mars Sample Return shows, can be much more challenging.
Report calls for revamped cost-conscious vision for Mars exploration
With NASA’s Mars Perseverance rover set to begin its multiyear mission to collect rocks and soil for future retrieval, planetary scientists are concerned other Mars research goals could suffer during the decade-long wait for those samples to complete their three-legged relay back to Earth.
Scientists look ahead to the search for past Martian life with Perseverance
On the eve of the landing of the rover Perseverance on Mars, scientists are looking ahead to the work it will do searching for evidence of past life on the planet and collecting samples for return to Earth.
Mars 2020 on track for landing
NASA’s Mars 2020 spacecraft is operating “perfectly” ahead of its Feb. 18 landing on Mars that will be a key milestone for the agency’s future Mars exploration plans.
NASA prepares for Mars 2020 landing
NASA’s Mars 2020 rover is on track for a landing next month that will begin in earnest an effort to return samples of the planet to Earth.
NASA moves Mars Sample Return program into next phase of development
NASA is moving ahead with work on a pair of Mars sample return missions, although some in the planetary science community worry how the cost of that effort will affect other projects.
Independent panel recommends delaying Mars Sample Return missions
An independent review panel created by NASA to examine its plans to return samples from Mars endorsed the overall campaign, but recommended that the agency delay two upcoming missions to provide a more realistic development schedule.
ESA awards contracts for moon and Mars exploration
The European Space Agency has awarded contracts for work on elements of its moon and Mars exploration program, ranging from modules for the lunar Gateway to a mission to return Mars samples to Earth.
NASA to perform independent review of Mars sample return plans
NASA will carry out an independent review of its overall efforts to return samples from Mars, seeking to find any potential issues with the campaign while still in its earliest stages of development.
NASA and ESA outline cost of Mars sample return
NASA and the European Space Agency expect to spend at least $7 billion to collect samples of Mars and return them to Earth, a process that will start with the impending launch of NASA’s Mars 2020 mission.
“Overstressed” NASA Mars exploration budget threatens missions
Cost overruns on a major rover mission and proposals for both sample return missions and a new orbiter are straining NASA’s Mars exploration program and threatening the future of two ongoing missions.
Scientists worry about long-term future of NASA’s Mars exploration program
As NASA gears up a decade-long effort to return samples from Mars, some scientists are worried that the campaign may not leave any funding available for other robotic missions to the planet.
Mars sample return mission plans begin to take shape
While neither NASA nor ESA has yet to give formal approval, or funding, for missions to return samples from Mars, both agencies are taking steps to refine plans for what those missions will be.
NASA unlikely to return Mars samples in the 2020s
Despite a new emphasis on a streamlined, “lean” sample return architecture, a NASA official says it’s unlikely that suite of missions will be able to return Martian rock and soil samples to the Earth before the end of the 2020s.
NASA selects landing site for Mars 2020 rover
NASA has chosen a Martian crater that once hosted a lake and river delta as the landing site for a mission that will collect samples for eventual return to Earth.
ESA awards Mars sample return study contracts as international cooperation plans take shape
The European Space Agency awarded two contracts to Airbus to study elements of a Mars sample return approach as the outlines of international cooperation with NASA on that effort materialize.
