The country’s first pristine asteroid sample — protected by a heat shield invented in Silicon Valley — landed in Utah’s Great Salt Lake Desert Sunday morning, where it was greeted by a team of NASA ...

NASA's bold plan to get pristine samples of Mars to Earth for analysis is facing major challenges, according to a new report. Design, cost and scheduling are all significant obstacles, an audit report ...

This mosaic is made up of more than 100 images captured by NASA’s Viking 1 orbiter, which operated around Mars from 1976 to 1980. The scar across the center of the planet is the vast Valles Marineris ...

A mission will deliver rock and soil from Mars to laboratories on Earth in the 2030s. Mars Sample Return (MSR) is led by NASA with participation from the European Space Agency (ESA). The mission will ...

Sign up for CNN’s Wonder Theory science newsletter. Explore the universe with news on fascinating discoveries, scientific advancements and more. Two new potential ...

Vital samples from a dried up lakebed on Mars could contain crucial evidence for past life on the Red Planet — but budget overruns are threatening the effort to bring those samples back to Earth, ...

Sign up for CNN’s Wonder Theory science newsletter. Explore the universe with news on fascinating discoveries, scientific advancements and more. NASA is seeking ...

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 ...

"These samples are the reason why our mission was flown." When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. Vital samples from a dried up lakebed ...