It could bring samples from Mars to Earth for the first time.

Nasa employees have revealed details of a 'budget' plan to send a SpaceX capsule to the red planet in 2020 to return samples.

Elon Musk has backed the idea - and even tweeted images of what the mission would look like.

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A Dragon on Mars: The mission would grab samples collected by Nasa's 2020 rover and return them to Earth.

A SOFT LANDING The Dragon 2 capsule is designed to land on any surface in the solar system, SpaceX says. It uses jets to land itself, the same system SpaceX is developing for its booster rockets. Once the rockets bring the craft close to Earth, four extendable legs allow it to land. Advertisement

The 'Red Dragon' project was developed by a team at Nasa.

It would grab samples collected by the space agency's 202 rover and return them to Earth.

The sample-return effort would keep costs and complexity down by using SpaceX's Falcon Heavy rocket and a modified version of the company's robotic Dragon cargo capsule, the concept's developers say.

Red Dragon is 'technically feasible with the use of these emerging commercial technologies, coupled with technologies that already exist,' Andy Gonzales, of NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, California, said during a presentation with the space agency's Future In-Space Operations (FISO) working group.

The Red Dragon team has developed the concept independently, without any involvement or endorsement by SpaceX, Gonzales said.

The adapted Red Dragon would include a robotic arm, extra fuel tanks and a central tube that houses a rocket-powered Mars Ascent Vehicle (MAV) and an Earth Return Vehicle (ERV).

AMAZON'S MEGAROCKET REVEALED Amazon's Jeff Bezos has revealed his rocket firm Blue Origin will relocate to Florida and take over a historic Cape Canaveral launch pad in its bid to take on Elon Musk's SpaceX. The space startup run by announced a roughly $200 million investment to build rockets and capsules in Florida, and then launch them from a nearby Cape Canaveral pad which hasn't been used for a decade. Bezos also teased a new 'megarocket' the firm is planning to build. The rocket will be tested at the new site, it was revealed. The new monster rocket will run on BE-4 engines instead of the BE-3 engines powering 'New Shepard' the firm's current craft. Bezos also revealed he wants to go into orbit - but only on a Blue Origin craft. 'I definitely plan to go at some point,' he said. 'I want to go on a Blue Origin vehicle.' Advertisement

However, Musk took to social media to back the project - even releasing these images showing what the mission would look like.

'Dragon 2 is designed to land on any surface (liquid or solid) in the solar system. Am glad to see people thinking about applications!,' he tweeted.

'In expendable mode, Falcon Heavy can send a fully loaded Dragon to Mars or a light Dragon to Jupiter's moons. Europa mission wd be cool,' he said.

Touchdown! Once the rockets bring the craft close to Earth, four extendable legs allow it to land.

The mission would grab samples collected by the space agency's 2020 rover and return them to Earth.

Musk, one of the world's best-known entrepreneurs believes the technology could be used to make Mars more hospitable.

Elon Musk has hypothesised Mars could be heated up quickly by dropping nuclear weapons over its poles and said he would like to visit the red planet one day.

The Tesla and SpaceX CEO agrees that Mars would be an inhospitable place to call home in its current state.

In a series of posts Musk showed the mission - here, the craft can be seen approaching the surface

The adapted Red Dragon would include a robotic arm, extra fuel tanks and a central tube that houses a rocket-powered Mars Ascent Vehicle (MAV) and an Earth Return Vehicle (ERV).

Mars' atmosphere is 96 per cent carbon dioxide and less than one per cent oxygen, meaning any human who steps foot on the planet will have to wear a suit at all times.

They will also have to cope with its gravity, which is 63 per cent weaker than on Earth so that someone who weighs 100lbs (45kg) here, would only weigh 38lbs (17kg) on Mars.

The average temperature on Mars is -62°C (-81°F), with lows reaching -176°C (284°F).

Despite these harsh conditions, Musk told CBS' new Late Show with Stephen Colbert that Mars is 'a fixer upper of a planet' that could be made by Earth-like if it were warmer, USA Today reported.

Elon Musk has hypothesised Mars could be heated up quickly by dropping nuclear weapons over its poles and said he would like to visit the red planet one day.

CONDITIONS ON MARS Mars' atmosphere is 96 per cent carbon dioxide and less than one per cent oxygen, meaning any human who steps foot on the planet will have to wear a suit at all times. This compares to Earth, where 21 per cent of the atmosphere is oxygen and less than 1 per cent carbon dioxide. The average temperature on Mars is -62°C (-81°F), with lows reaching -176°C (284°F). By comparison, Earth's average temperature is 14°C (57°F), with the coldest temperature ever on record being minus -87°C (-126°F). Mars' gravity is 63 per cent weaker than on Earth so that someone who weighs 100lbs (45kg) here, would only weigh 38lbs (17kg) on Mars. Advertisement

He also said his rocket firm, Space Exploration Technologies, or SpaceX, will be capable of ferrying astronauts to the International Space Station in two or three years. At present, SpaceX' Falcon rockets deliver cargo to the ISS.

He explained that this could be achieved slowly – with the gradual release of greenhouse gases, to make a process like global warming on Earth – or quickly, using nuclear bombs.

Nuclear weapons emit large amounts of thermal radiation as visible, infrared and ultraviolet light, known as 'flash'.

On Earth, they can cause burns, eye injuries and fires, but the effects may be different on Mars.

Heat accounts for between 35 and 45 per cent of the energy released by the explosion, meaning a huge amount of heat is generated incredibly quickly, which could potentially be harnessed to heat up the Martian atmosphere, according to Musk's fledgling theory.

The race is on to send a man on a 140 million mile (225 million km) trip to Mars and to potentially colonise the red planet.

In this May 29, 2014 photo, Elon Musk, CEO and CTO of SpaceX, introduces the SpaceX Dragon V2 spaceship - now referred to as Crew Dragon - at the SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, California. Nasa also selected Boeing's CST-100 as another private vehicle they will use to take astronauts to space

Nasa Administrator Charles Bolden believes that colonising Mars is essential to ensure the survival of our species.

'It's important for the preservation of the species, and I want to make sure that my grand-daughters, and great-great-grandaughters, have the opportunity to go there,' he said.

The Tesla and SpaceX CEO agrees that Mars would be an inhospitable place to call home in its current state. The race is on to send man to the red planet and potential colonise it

President Barack Obama predicted in 2010 that a manned Mars mission will happen in the mid-2030s.

Currently, no-one else has suggested as audacious-a-move as using nuclear weapons to geo-engineer a planet, and the Mars One mission slated to launch in 2016, would rely on small pods or 'habitats'.

A privately funded, nonprofit project, Mars One was set up by Dutch energy entrepreneur Bas Lansdorp and European Space Agency scientist Arno Wielders, but its ambitious aims have been criticised by others.

It aims to create a permanent human settlement on Mars starting in 2027.

Under the plans, a new four-person crew will depart every two years on a one-way trip.

'ALIEN NUCLEAR WARS COULD BE SEEN FROM EARTH' EXPERTS CLAIM The theory goes that if there is intelligent across the universe, aliens will probably have developed the same technology as us, including nuclear weapons. So like on Earth, they could use them to bring about their own demise. Now a group of physicists has studied the various ways in which such alien civilisations could destroy themselves and established that signs of this destruction would be visible using telescopes on Earth. For each scenario, physicists from The Open University, University of Edinburgh, University of St Andrews, and Cornell University detailed the types of signals that would be emitted into the atmosphere and the likelihood of these signals being picked up with technology on Earth. They think the approach is the best chance of finding any evidence of intelligent life beyond Earth. For example, the researchers explained that nuclear weapons produce a short, intense burst of gamma radiation with a characteristic 'double peak'. These flashes could be detected using the same techniques used to detect gamma ray bursts from other stellar events. When gamma-rays smash into Earth's upper atmosphere, they emit a faint, blue light and astronomers use this to trace the rays back to their source. Advertisement

The first Mars One mission is slated to launch in 2026 - amid widespread criticism from scientists and space luminaries - with four people to touch down, and then another four every two years from there. An illustration of the proposed colony is shown

Mars One has yet to select an aerospace company to build the spacecraft, but says it will be built using existing technology.

Colonists would live in pods and have 538 square feet (50 square metres) each and a total of more than 2153 square feet (200 square metres) combined interior space, according to Mars One.

It says: 'Within the settlement are inflatable components which contain bedrooms, working areas, a living room and a 'plant production unit', where they will grow greenery.

'They will also be able to shower as normal, prepare fresh food in the kitchen, wear regular clothes, and, in essence, lead typical day-to-day lives'