"NASA's Quest for Innovative Solutions to Bring Mars Samples Back to Earth"

NASA's $11 billion plan to bring rock samples from Mars back to Earth is deemed too expensive and time-consuming, prompting the agency to seek alternative proposals from government and private sector engineers. The current plan, involving a large lander, two helicopters, a bespoke rocket, and a European-built Earth return vehicle, faces budget constraints and delays, with samples not returning until 2040. The agency aims to revamp the Mars Sample Return program by spreading out expenditures over a five-year span, removing helicopters from the Sample Retrieval Lander, and making other architectural changes to fit within the projected budget.