The White House's 2026 budget request axes NASA's long-held plan to bring Mars samples to Earth for analysis. Here's why that cancellation would be a mistake.

While NASA's Mars Sample Return initiative is in political hot water, China is moving ahead on plotting out its rendezvous with the Red Planet. New details of China's aims are emerging. China's ...

Mars Sample Return has been on NASA's radar since mid-1970's studies to modify a Viking Mars lander to perform a relatively simple sample return, Connolly told Space.com.

An illustration of NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover on the surface of the Red Planet. Perseverance is gathering samples for return to Earth in the 2030s, but proposed budget cuts could delay or ...

NASA is weighing two options to return samples from Mars — one using proven technology and another that seeks help from industry. ... NASA decision on Mars Sample Return reboot slides to 2026.

The roadmap of the Chinese Mars Sample Return mission, which will be launched in 2028. Credit: Nature Astronomy (2025). DOI: 10.1038/s41550-025-02572-0 ...

Japan tests its Mars moon sample-return probe ahead of 2026 launch (photo) Andrew Jones. Fri, May 23, 2025 at 9:00 AM UTC. 2 min read.

Considering we might not ever see the return of the samples gathered by the Mars Sample Return mission, scientists are looking for other ways to learn more about one of our closest neighbors.