The OSIRIS-REx sample return capsule (foreground) landed in the Utah desert on September 24, carrying samples collected from the near-Earth asteroid Bennu (background). Illustration by Emily ...

NASA announced Friday that it will award contracts to seven companies, including SpaceX and Blue Origin, to study how to transport rock samples from Mars more cheaply back to Earth. The space agency ...

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Scientists at the Johnson Space Center in Houston now have their hands on the first asteroid sample ever obtained by the United States. The material could reveal unprecedented ...

One of NASA's biggest space missions is in deep trouble. The Mars Sample Return mission is currently on track to be one of the biggest undertakings the space agency has ever attempted, but the issues ...

NASA's beleaguered Mars Sample Return program currently faces extreme costs of up to $11 billion and a timeline that could reach 2040. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an ...

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. A new mission concept that would see a fleet of telescopes probing rocky planets in their stars' ...

A sample from the asteroid Bennu, collected by the OSIRIS-REx mission, has arrived at London's Natural History Museum for analysis. Scientists are optimistic that it could contain the seeds of life.

After years of speculation, NASA finally revealed on Thursday the totality of the asteroid sample returned from Bennu to Earth last fall: 4.29 ounces (121.6 grams). To put that number into perspective ...

After a seven-year mission, NASA revealed on Wednesday the asteroid sample it collected from a 4 billion-mile journey and brought back to Earth in September. NASA hosted the unveiling from the Johnson ...

A rock from the asteroid Ryugu that was brought back to Earth appears to be festooned with microbial life. But these microbes almost certainly came from Earth rather than outer space, say researchers.