NASA selects Lockheed Martin to transport samples from Mars back to Earth.

NASA said on Monday that Lockheed Martin’s space business has been awarded a contract to develop the rocket that would transport the first Mars rock samples back to Earth in the 2030s.

Retrieving “rock, sediment, and atmospheric samples from the surface of the Red Planet,” the “small, lightweight rocket” will be the first to launch from another planet, according to a statement from NASA.

Since setting foot on Earth’s neighbor a year ago, NASA’s Perseverance Rover has been gathering samples from diverse regions of Mars.

The mission’s objective is to locate signs of prehistoric life on the Red Planet. However, the analysis of these samples will need to take place in labs back on Earth, where more advanced tests than those that can be performed on Mars can be performed.

The Lockheed Martin rocket will play a crucial role in the intricate process that will collect the samples and return them to Earth.