# NASA Looking for New Ways to Return Perseverance Samples From Mars

Source: [SpacePolicyOnline.com](https://spacepolicyonline.com/news/nasa-looking-for-new-ways-to-return-perseverance-samples-from-mars/) · 2026-11-13 · Space
Page: https://themorning.science/story/nasa-looking-for-new-ways-to-return-perseverance-samples-from-mars-a5e8b6a891893393
Kind: business · Impact: medium

## In brief

- NASA will begin assessing new strategies in January to return Perseverance rover Mars samples to Earth.
- NASA ended an earlier Mars Sample Return mission last year because of cost concerns.
- The assessment was discussed at a virtual NASA Town Hall meeting for the planetary science community.

## Why it matters

The Perseverance samples remain on Mars without a funded return path, so the choice of strategy affects when and whether planetary scientists can analyze them in Earth laboratories.

## Timeline

- 2026-11-13: SpacePolicyOnline reports NASA is looking for new ways to return Perseverance samples
- 2026-01-01: NASA is scheduled to begin assessing new sample return strategies (January, as reported)

## Coverage

- [NASA Looking for New Ways to Return Perseverance Samples From Mars](https://spacepolicyonline.com/news/nasa-looking-for-new-ways-to-return-perseverance-samples-from-mars/) — SpacePolicyOnline.com, 2026-11-13

Tags: mars, nasa, perseverance, sample return, planetary science

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Brief generated by AI (claude-haiku-5-5) from the reporting listed under Coverage. Headlines belong to their publishers. The Morning Science – https://themorning.science