NASA’s Perseverance rover is currently collecting samples on the surface of Mars, and some of them will be coming to Earth—that is, if all goes well. NASA has a complex plan to bring bits of the Red Planet here, arriving in 2033, so scientists can study them to answer some burning questions. What’s the planet’s history? What is its dust like? And, are there any signs that life may have existed there? WSJ’s Alex Ossola speaks to Lindsay Hays, an astrobiologist at NASA and deputy lead scientist for the Mars Sample Return mission, about how this mission could help us better understand the history of our own planet and shape future missions to Mars and beyond.

Further reading: 

NASA Lands Perseverance Rover Safely on Mars After ‘Seven Minutes of Terror’ 

NASA Collects Mars Rock Samples in Historic First for Perseverance Rover 

NASA’s Perseverance Rover Begins Its Search for Life on Mars 

Mars Photos: See NASA’s Perseverance Rover’s First Visions of Red Planet  

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