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    Mars Sample Return

    Also known as MSR, Mars Sample Return campaign

    Mars Sample Return (MSR) was a NASA and ESA campaign to bring back the rock cores the Perseverance rover has been collecting, including one NASA calls a potential biosignature.[1][2] In January 2026 Congress declined to fund the existing programme, which NASA had said would cost $8 billion to $11 billion and not return samples until 2040. That leaves China's Tianwen-3, planned to launch in 2028, as the only scheduled return of Martian rocks.[3][4][5]

    Editor reviewedUpdated Space exploration and astronomySpaceScience
    Key facts

    What it was

    Since landing in Jezero Crater, NASA’s Perseverance rover has drilled more than 30 rock and soil cores and sealed them in tubes intended for eventual return to Earth.[2] Mars Sample Return was the joint NASA and ESA campaign to retrieve them.[3]

    Why the samples matter

    In September 2025 NASA said a core called Sapphire Canyon, drilled in July 2024 from a rock nicknamed Cheyava Falls, contains a potential biosignature, reported in a peer-reviewed Nature paper.[1] NASA defines a potential biosignature as something that might have a biological origin but needs more study before any conclusion about life can be reached.[1] The rock’s mineral “leopard spots” can also form without life, and mission scientists said non-biological explanations are less likely but cannot be ruled out.[6] Perseverance scientists say the key next step is bringing the sample to Earth for laboratory analysis.[7]

    Cost and cancellation

    Cost was the programme’s undoing. In April 2024 NASA said the existing design would likely cost $8 billion to $11 billion and would not return samples until 2040. The then Administrator called that too expensive and too late.[4] In January 2025 NASA said it would study two cheaper ways to land the retrieval mission on Mars: the sky-crane method used for Curiosity and Perseverance, and a commercial lander. Live Science reported estimates of $6.6 billion to $7.7 billion and $5.8 billion to $7.1 billion for the two options.[4]

    Congress’s January 2026 spending agreement stated that it “does not support the existing Mars Sample Return (MSR) program”.[3] Congress instead provided $110 million for a Mars Future Missions effort that continues some related technology work.[3]

    What NASA plans for Mars instead

    NASA’s March 2026 plans point Mars work in other directions. They include launching and delivering ESA’s Rosalind Franklin rover in 2028, carrying a NASA instrument to analyse organic matter, and seeking payloads for a Mars Telecom Network.[8] NASA also plans to launch SR-1 Freedom, a nuclear-electric spacecraft, to Mars before the end of 2028 to deploy small helicopters.[9]

    Who brings Mars rocks home now

    China’s Tianwen-3 sample return mission is scheduled to launch in 2028 and return samples in 2031, though it targets a more accessible site than Perseverance’s.[5] Japan’s MMX targets Mars’s moon Phobos rather than the planet. As of October 10, 2026, JAXA had scheduled it to launch on an H3 rocket from Tanegashima at 04:41 on October 20 Japan time (October 19 in the US), with backup dates to November 7.[10] It is due to reach Mars in August 2027, collect a sample no earlier than December 2028 and bring it to Earth in 2031.[10][11] NASA contributed MMX’s sampler mechanism and a gamma-ray and neutron spectrometer.[12]

    Open questions

    Whether a cheaper US or international retrieval mission emerges is unresolved. The debate over Mars samples overlaps with the wider argument about NASA’s science budget (the NASA priorities debate) and about how much evidence a claim of life needs (the debate over evidence for life).[3][6]

    Questions readers ask

    Is Mars Sample Return cancelled?

    The existing programme is. Congress's fiscal 2026 spending agreement did not support it, but it provided $110 million for Mars Future Missions, which keeps some sample-return technology work going.[3]

    How much was Mars Sample Return expected to cost?

    In April 2024 NASA put the existing design at $8 billion to $11 billion, with samples back in 2040. In January 2025 it began studying two cheaper landing options, estimated at roughly $5.8 billion to $7.7 billion.[4]

    Why do scientists want the samples back?

    One core, Sapphire Canyon, has features NASA calls a potential biosignature. Scientists say only laboratory analysis on Earth can tell whether life or chemistry made them.[1][7]

    Will anyone bring Mars rocks back?

    China's Tianwen-3 is scheduled to launch in 2028 and return samples in 2031. Japan's MMX, scheduled to launch on October 20, 2026 (Japan time), plans to return a sample from the Martian moon Phobos in 2031.[5][11][10]

    Sources

    Each numbered claim is a statement we checked against the sources listed with it. Status shows how well established it is.

    1. [1]

      In September 2025 NASA said a Perseverance rock core called Sapphire Canyon, drilled in July 2024 from the Cheyava Falls rock in Jezero Crater, contains a potential biosignature, reported in a peer-reviewed Nature paper. confirmedas of 2025-09-10

    2. [2]

      The Perseverance rover has collected more than 30 geological samples for possible return to Earth. reportedas of 2026-01-16

    3. [3]

      Congress's fiscal 2026 spending agreement did not support the existing Mars Sample Return programme, instead providing $110 million for a Mars Future Missions effort that keeps some sample-return technologies alive. confirmedas of 2026-01-16

    4. [4]

      In April 2024 NASA said the existing Mars Sample Return design would likely cost $8 billion to $11 billion and return samples in 2040, which the NASA Administrator called too expensive and too late; in January 2025 NASA chose to evaluate two cheaper landing architectures, estimated by Live Science at $6.6 billion to $7.7 billion and $5.8 billion to $7.1 billion. confirmedas of 2026-01-16

    5. [5]

      China's Tianwen-3 Mars sample return mission is scheduled to launch in 2028 and return samples in 2031, collecting fewer samples from a more accessible site than the one Perseverance has explored. reportedas of 2026-01-16

    6. [6]

      NASA scientists said the mineral "leopard spots" in the Cheyava Falls rock can also form without life, and that although non-biological explanations are less likely they cannot be ruled out. confirmedas of 2025-09-10

    7. [7]

      Perseverance scientists say laboratory analysis on Earth is needed to decide whether biological or non-biological processes made the Cheyava Falls features. reportedas of 2025-10-01

    8. [8]

      NASA's March 2026 plans include launching and delivering ESA's Rosalind Franklin rover to Mars in 2028, with a NASA mass spectrometer to analyse organic matter, and soliciting payloads for future Mars missions including a Mars Telecom Network. confirmedas of 2026-03-24

    9. [9]

      NASA's March 24, 2026 Ignition announcements included launching the SR-1 Freedom nuclear-electric spacecraft to Mars before the end of 2028 to deploy the Skyfall Ingenuity-class helicopters, a three-phase plan to build a Moon Base, and targeting up to 30 robotic Commercial Lunar Payload Services landings starting in 2027. confirmedas of 2026-03-24

    10. [10]

      As of October 10, 2026, JAXA had scheduled MMX to launch on H3 Launch Vehicle No. 10 from the Yoshinobu Launch Complex at Tanegashima at 04:41:03 JST on October 20, 2026 (October 19 in US time zones), with a backup window from October 21 to November 7; the spacecraft is due to reach Mars in August 2027. confirmedas of 2026-10-08

    11. [11]

      JAXA's Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) mission is scheduled to launch from Tanegashima on October 19, 2026 (EDT), to collect a sample from Phobos no earlier than December 2028 and return it to Earth in 2031. confirmedas of 2026-10-08

    12. [12]

      MMX is led by JAXA with participation from NASA, CNES, DLR and ESA; NASA contributed the MEGANE gamma-ray and neutron spectrometer, the sampler mechanism and Deep Space Network support. confirmedas of 2026-10-08

    Revision history (2)
    1. Page created.
    2. Corrected the cost history: the $11 billion and 2040 figures come from NASA's April 2024 statement, not a January 2025 review. Added NASA's 2025 two-option plan, its 2028 Mars plans and MMX's scheduled launch details.

    Created Oct 10, 2026. Last reviewed by an editor on Oct 10, 2026. Next scheduled review: Oct 20, 2026.

    Cite this page

    "Mars Sample Return." ContentLora, updated Oct 10, 2026. https://contentlora.com/wiki/mars-sample-return

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