LOS ANGELES, April 16 (Xinhua) -- NASA is seeking innovative designs to return valuable samples from Mars to Earth, the agency said on Monday.

Mars Sample Return has been a long-term goal of international planetary exploration for the past two decades.

NASA's Perseverance rover has been collecting samples for later collection and return to Earth since it landed on Mars in 2021.

The current mission design will return samples in 2040, according to NASA. To achieve the ambitious goal of returning the key samples to Earth earlier and at a lower cost, the agency is asking the NASA community to work together to develop a revised plan that leverages innovation and proven technology.

NASA said it soon will solicit architecture proposals from industry that could return samples in the 2030s, and lowers cost, risk, and mission complexity.

"Safely landing and collecting the samples, launching a rocket with the samples off another planet - which has never been done before - and safely transporting the samples more than 33 million miles back to Earth is no small task," said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson.

"We need to look outside the box to find a way ahead that is both affordable and returns samples in a reasonable timeframe," he said. Enditem

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