Scientists say it would cost between $4.5 billion and $8 billion and would require the cooperation of several space agencies, but they also say there's no reason not to do it.
It is considered by many engineers and scientists as the "Holy Grail" of robotic red planet exploration: a Mars Return Sample mission [SPACE.com].
Now, an international group of researchers from NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) have produced a report explaining how they could get a robotic explorer to scoop up rocks from the Martian surface, and then bring them back to Earth to let humans touch a piece of Mars.
Now, space agencies say that bringing rocks back from Mars would serve as an intermediary step on the path to sending a manned expedition to our neighbor planet. Says researcher Monica Grady: "If you can't bring a rock back you are not going to be able to ...
