NASA is exploring two potential strategies to bring Mars samples back to Earth, aiming to simplify and reduce the cost of the mission.

Dozens of samples collected from missions on Mars that could be used to detect ancient microbial life could be returned as soon as 2035 and as late as 2039, depending on the course of the next few months, NASA announced Tuesday.

NASA has announced an overhaul to its plan to bring samples from Mars back to Earth. Agency officials have decided to scrap parts of their original plan to cut down on the difficulty and cost. Instead, NASA plans to pursue two alternative options simultaneously.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — NASA is pitching a cheaper and quicker way of getting rocks and soil back from Mars, after seeing its original plan swell to $11 billion. Administrator Bill Nelson presented a revised scenario Tuesday, less than two weeks before stepping down as NASA’s chief when President-elect Donald Trump is inaugurated.

The Mars Sample Return effort was billions of dollars over budget and not expected to return to Earth with its samples until 2040.

NASA will analyze and explore two different landing options for its Mars Sample Return program, though it will take almost two years to do so and is expected to announce its decision in late 2026. The agency had to temporarily hit pause on the program after an independent review found that it could cost between $8 billion and $11 billion,

NASA has unveiled two revamped plans to bring Mars samples to Earth in the 2030s, reducing costs by nearly half from its initial $11 billion proposal while expediting the timeline.