GOLDEN, Colorado – It is considered by many engineers and scientists as the "Holy Grail" of robotic red planet exploration: a Mars Return Sample mission. A newly issued working group report by the ...

An Independent Review Board (IRB) looked at NASA’s current plans and goals of the first mission to return samples from Mars, and NASA is establishing a team to respond. In addition to bringing home ...

Complexity, cost and scheduling are major issues, and MSR is shrouded in doubt. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. NASA's bold plan ...

NASA's complex plan to return rocky samples from the Red Planet has faced scrutiny for increasing cost and delays. Reading time 3 minutes The findings from an independent review board suggest that ...

During his final months as the chief of NASA’s science programs last year, there was one mission Thomas Zurbuchen fretted about more than any other—the agency’s ambitious plan to return rocks from ...