Winning the Red Planet race: Returning Mars samples before China should be a top US priority, experts say

A circular machine on four legs launches a small rocket from the surface of a dusty reddish-orange planet.

Moon boots and Mars boots: anyway you look at it there are a lot of NASA shoes still to drop.

Among the agency's missions in perpetual déjà vu status is Mars Sample Return (MSR), an attempt to bring samples of the Red Planet back to Earth, an endeavor viewed as a U.S. high priority.