Scientists have blueprinted a low-cost Mars sample-return mission that would use a souped-up Dragon capsule from the private spaceflight company SpaceX and the firm’s planned Falcon Heavy rocket to get to the Red Planet by the early 2020s.

Dragon currently serves as a commercial cargo spacecraft, delivering supplies and scientific experiments to the International Space Station for NASA.

The study group spent a couple of years reviewing the engineering problem.

They concluded that a minimally modified Dragon capsule — dubbed “Red Dragon” — could indeed successfully perform an all-propulsive entry, descent and landing on Mars.

Via SPACE.com.