NASA asks: Can anyone help us get our Mars samples back?

With its plan to return samples from Mars in jeopardy, NASA is now making a desperate plea for outside help to save the costly and complex mission. NASA administrator Bill Nelson and the agency's head of science, Nikki Fox, announced Monday they will seek suggestions from the greater space industry with a formal request for ideas. The agency's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which has been overseeing the mission from California, has already laid off about 530 employees — about 8 percent of its