It is a hot debate bracketed by cold hard facts: What are the best methods for handling Mars samples here on Earth? Planetary protection is a measure to safeguard our world from any contamination that ...

This concept video illustrates the entire process of a Mars sample return mission, from leaving Earth's orbit, to a complex landing on the Red Planet, and launching the precious cargo back home. Credi ...

NASA's long-planned Mars Sample Return mission is in serious trouble. A flagship endeavor meant to retrieve rock samples collected by the Perseverance rover is now facing budget cuts, delays, and some ...

The origin of life is one of the most fundamental and enduring questions of mankind and one of the three greatest Origin Questions in the natural sciences. Recently, China officially launched its Mars ...

NASA’s interim administrator, Sean Duffy, was fired up on Wednesday when he joined a teleconference to talk about new scientific findings that concerned the potential for life to have once existed on ...

A crescent of the northern hemisphere of Mars taken by Tianwen-1's medium-resolution camera in March 2021. Credit: CNSA/PEC ESPOO, Finland — China’s Tianwen-3 Mars sample return mission is entering ...

Congress largely rejected the massive NASA cuts proposed earlier in 2025 and approved a fiscal year 2026 budget that kept science and exploration funding close to current levels. But lawmakers did not ...

Japan recently gave the world a look at the spacecraft of its MMX mission, which will launch on Oct. 19 to grab pieces of the Mars moon Phobos and haul them back to Earth.