NASA will explore two different strategies for fetching Mars rocks collected by the Perseverance rover, and there's a chance these samples contain evidence of alien life.

NASA has arrived at two ways of returning samples collected on Mars to Earth. Now, the agency will test the options to see if the cache can make it back in the 2030s.

Bringing Martian rock and soil samples to Earth is among the top priorities of planetary scientists. By studying fresh rocks up close with the latest, most powerful instruments in their laboratories,

NASA's mission to return samples from Mars and potentially discover the first signs of alien life has a new timeline. The samples may arrive sooner.

NASA will investigate two new approaches to bring its Mars samples to Earth through a mission proposal that is less expensive and technically complicated. The space agency will flesh out options that could either involve using a commercial lander,

The agency has collected 30 samples on the red planet but the cost of getting them back had delayed the Mars Sample Return mission. It was initially estimated at $11 billion, with a 2040 return date: a price tag and timeline that administrator Bill Nelson explained was “simply unacceptable.