NASA Seeks Cheaper Ideas for Mars Sample Return Mission Amid Budget Crunch

LOS ANGELES—NASA is seeking a cheaper, simpler approach to one of its top science priorities in the midst of a budget crunch–retrieving precious soil samples collected on Mars and flying them back to Earth, U.S. space agency officials said on Monday. A formal request for proposals will go out Tuesday to various NASA centers and laboratories, as well as to space industry companies, asking how to revamp a program mired in technical complexities, spending constraints, and ballooning costs, according to NASA executives. Agency officials said in a conference call with reporters they expect alternative plans submitted for review this fall or early winter....