Mars Exploration News

Space.com • Leonard David

Trump’s 2026 Budget Plan Would Scrap Mars Sample Return; Experts Call It a 'Major Step Back'

President Trump’s fiscal 2026 budget blueprint would eliminate NASA’s Mars Sample Return mission, reversing decades of scientific planning and stalling efforts to recover Martian rock and soil samples. Experts warn the decision risks undermining U.S. leadership in planetary science and could derail international cooperation on deep-space exploration.

2025-05-13T02:06:17.584108-07:00

Payload

Trump’s 2026 “Skinny Budget” Proposes 24% NASA Cut, Axes SLS, Orion, Gateway and Mars Sample Return

2025-05-02T08:40:43.602197-07:00

NBC News

China's Shenzhou 20 Launch Advances Space Station Operations and Lunar Ambitions

2025-04-24T06:51:53.917784-07:00

Space.com

Hubble Space Telescope Commemorates 35 Years with New Cosmic Images

2025-04-23T06:08:10.419408-07:00

Mars Exploration News Timeline

NZ Herald

Rocket Lab CEO Peter Beck to Press Ahead with Mars Missions Amid U.S. Budget Cuts Rocket Lab CEO Peter Beck has vowed to continue development of Mars mission plans despite looming cuts to U.S. space budgets, underscoring the company’s pivot into defense launches and diverse revenue streams. Beck outlined how growing military contracts will underpin the firm’s long-term ambitions beyond low-Earth orbit.

2025-05-16T07:46:33.750481-07:00

Rocket Lab CEO Peter Beck to Press Ahead with Mars Missions Amid U.S. Budget Cuts

BBC

London’s Natural History Museum to Let Visitors Handle Moon and Mars Samples Visitors to London’s Natural History Museum will soon be able to handle lunar and Martian rock samples when the institution unveils its first space exploration exhibition, showcasing actual moon fragments, meteorites and spacecraft components via interactive touch stations.

2025-05-15T06:03:53.599661-07:00

London’s Natural History Museum to Let Visitors Handle Moon and Mars Samples

brown.edu

Crater Ejecta Reveal Buried Glaciers on Mars Scientists propose a new method for mapping buried glaciers and subsurface features on Mars by analyzing the ballistics of material ejected from impact craters. By measuring ejecta distribution and travel distances, the technique could locate hidden ice and inform selection of future rover sampling sites.

2025-05-15T06:02:30.095854-07:00

Crater Ejecta Reveal Buried Glaciers on Mars

Washington Post

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Perseverance Captures First Visible Green Aurora on Mars NASA’s Perseverance rover has recorded the first-ever green aurora visible to the human eye at Mars’ Jezero Crater, triggered by a solar storm last year. Previously only detectable in ultraviolet, this landmark observation demonstrated three days’ advance notice for aurora forecasting, offering new insights for planetary space weather.

2025-05-14T11:14:49.740451-07:00

Perseverance Captures First Visible Green Aurora on Mars

Space.com

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Trump’s 2026 Budget Plan Would Scrap Mars Sample Return; Experts Call It a 'Major Step Back' President Trump’s fiscal 2026 budget blueprint would eliminate NASA’s Mars Sample Return mission, reversing decades of scientific planning and stalling efforts to recover Martian rock and soil samples. Experts warn the decision risks undermining U.S. leadership in planetary science and could derail international cooperation on deep-space exploration.

2025-05-13T02:06:17.584108-07:00

Trump’s 2026 Budget Plan Would Scrap Mars Sample Return; Experts Call It a 'Major Step Back'

Payload

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Trump’s 2026 “Skinny Budget” Proposes 24% NASA Cut, Axes SLS, Orion, Gateway and Mars Sample Return The Trump administration’s fiscal 2026 budget blueprint proposes cutting NASA’s funding by $6.34 billion (24%) from FY25 levels, eliminating the Space Launch System, Orion spacecraft, Gateway lunar station and Mars Sample Return mission. It also calls for scaling back ISS operations and redirecting resources toward select human exploration priorities.

2025-05-02T08:40:43.602197-07:00

Trump’s 2026 “Skinny Budget” Proposes 24% NASA Cut, Axes SLS, Orion, Gateway and Mars Sample Return

Universe Today

Study proposes helicopters to survey Valles Marineris canyon on Mars A team of researchers presented at the 56th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference a study proposing rotary-wing aircraft for surveying Valles Marineris, Mars’ largest canyon. Helicopters could access rugged terrain unreachable by rovers, offering new ways to map geological structures and probe the planet’s past habitability.

2025-04-30T19:43:59.070197-07:00

Study proposes helicopters to survey Valles Marineris canyon on Mars

The Space Review

China Sets Ambitious Goal for Crewed Mars Mission by 2050 China is actively progressing in its space exploration agenda with plans for a human-crewed mission to Mars by 2050, according to recent announcements by the CAS and CNSA. The timeline coincides with ongoing studies on human health and radiation conducted at the Chinese Space Station.

2025-04-29T02:09:26.029756-07:00

China Sets Ambitious Goal for Crewed Mars Mission by 2050

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Our Mars Exploration news feed is the go-to source for the latest discoveries, mission updates, and technological advancements related to the Red Planet. With a focus on the international efforts to explore Mars, from robotic rovers to plans for human colonization, our coverage tracks humanity's progress in uncovering the secrets of our celestial neighbor.