For an update on our Mars Sample Return Program to bring scientifically selected samples back to Earth, tune in Tuesday, Jan. 7, at 1pm ET (1800 UTC) as @SenBillNelson and @NASAScienceAA provide details: go.nasa.gov/3W6JMbb

@NASA @NASAPersevere @SenBillNelson @NASAScienceAA Hopefully they don’t bring some dangerous martian microbe

@NASA @SenBillNelson @NASAScienceAA Who took that

@NASA @SenBillNelson @NASAScienceAA

@NASA @SenBillNelson @NASAScienceAA I was wondering yesterday what type of soil Mars has. Could a future Mars colony possibly extract materials of interest for development? Where will it be necessary to import these materials from Earth?

@NASA @SenBillNelson @NASAScienceAA @SpaceX and @elonmusk could do it in a year, tops.

@NASA @SenBillNelson @NASAScienceAA Trust the science!

@NASA @SenBillNelson @NASAScienceAA How are the samples looking from Greenland ?

@NASA @SenBillNelson @NASAScienceAA Fascinating!

@NASA @SenBillNelson @NASAScienceAA Hey. Why not throw the old moon lander & the new Chinese moon lander there too?!

@NASA @SenBillNelson @NASAScienceAA I’ll be tuning in!! 1/7/2025 is marked on my calendar!

@NASA @SenBillNelson @NASAScienceAA The comment section: 1/3 conspiracy theorists, 1/3 these samples will propel us into the future, and 1/3 would be more excited over the opening of a fresh bag of potato chips. @NASA , I don't envy the PR part of your job.

NASA has scheduled a media teleconference to provide updates on its Mars Sample Return program. This briefing will take place on Monday, April 15, at 1 p.m. EDT, and will highlight the agency's response to the recommendations made by the Mars Sample Return Independent Review Board in September 2023. The event will feature insights from NASA Administrator Bill Nelson and Nicky Fox, Associate Administrator of the Science Mission Directorate. The Mars Sample Return mission is a groundbreaking initiative aimed at retrieving Martian rock and soil samples for detailed study on Earth, offering unprecedented insights into Mars’ geological history and the possibility of ancient life. The teleconference will be livestreamed on NASA TV, and media representatives are invited to participate by submitting an RSVP. For further details, visit NASA’s Mars exploration page.

@NASA @SunWeatherMan @SenBillNelson @NASAScienceAA When are you going to show us the buildings an stuff? Or do we have to wait for Elon?

@NASA @SenBillNelson @NASAScienceAA The next four years are going to be amazing for the space program. Thank you to everyone involved.

@NASA @SenBillNelson @NASAScienceAA Where on earth did the samples come from?

@NASA @SenBillNelson @NASAScienceAA did they drill here because it looks like a shattered intelligent made slab?

@NASA @SenBillNelson @NASAScienceAA So interesting. I hope I’ll get to see humans on Mars in my lifetime.

@NASA @SenBillNelson @NASAScienceAA Ah, NASA! Like my flying machines, your Mars samples return—an alchemist's dream, turning cosmic dust into earthly wisdom.

@NASA @SenBillNelson @NASAScienceAA Is Mars really 140,000,000 miles away?

@NASA @SenBillNelson @NASAScienceAA What an awesome movement forward. May this revelation help us to figure out how we can save our own planet.

@NASA @SenBillNelson @NASAScienceAA Sample return = astronaut picking up the samples and bring them back to earth.

@NASA @SenBillNelson @NASAScienceAA We want wider angle photos

@NASA @SenBillNelson @NASAScienceAA Maybe when the sample is taken add some white vinegar and salt to it like we do with pickles as not to have it change it's structure during the journey to earth

@NASA @SenBillNelson @NASAScienceAA The lighting and shadows make it seem like your on a studio movie set in deserts of Nevada.

@NASA @SenBillNelson @NASAScienceAA NASA is set to update its Mars Sample Return Program, aiming to bring Martian samples to Earth for study. Tune in on Jan. 7 at 1 PM ET for details from experts. A historic step in planetary exploration!

@NASA @SenBillNelson @NASAScienceAA Explore more to determine if the ground is fertile for planting seeds—or so I guess.

@NASA @SenBillNelson @NASAScienceAA Sure😂😂😂😂

@NASA @SenBillNelson @NASAScienceAA Great job! It would be so cool to work on those samples. I hope I get to hear the data down the line.

@NASA @SenBillNelson @NASAScienceAA Great photo NASA

@NASA @NASAMars @SenBillNelson @NASAScienceAA Can’t wait for those samples to come back.