Ellie in Space on MSN

NASA’s 2026 budget looked stable - but Mars sample return was put on ice

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 ...
Hosted on MSN

Could NASA's Mars Sample Return be saved? Lockheed Martin proposes $3 billion plan to haul home Red Planet rocks (video)

NASA's troubled efforts to get prized Martian samples to Earth could get a lifeline, if a new proposal for a more cost-effective mission architecture gets the go-ahead. The Perseverance rover landed ...
New Atlas

Rocket for first launch from another planet fires up on Earth

Northrop Grumman has successfully ground tested the motor that could be used for the historic first orbital rocket launch from another planet. The solid rocket booster is intended to help return the ...
ExtremeTech

Mars Sample Return Rocket Test Goes Off Without a Hitch

The new test proved the capability of a new propellant that will enhance the rocket's performance, making a sample return mission from Mars increasingly viable. Share on Facebook (opens in a new ...
SlashGear

Can Lockheed Martin Really Save The Mission To Mars? Here Is What It Has Planned

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 ...
Live Science

NASA's Mars Sample Return is dead, leaving China to retrieve signs of life from the Red Planet

NASA's Mars Sample Return program has been effectively cancelled, meaning the best evidence of life on Mars could be trapped in rock samples that NASA no longer has the budget to collect. On Monday ...
The Gazette

Mars Sample Return mission in jeopardy, Lockheed Martin thinks it can still be done

Companies in the space industry set up their displays for the Space Symposium at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs on Saturday, April 11, 2026. (The Gazette, Michael G. Seamans) When it landed on Mars ...