NASA has said that its next mission to Mars would set its sights on finding signs of life, with a mission to bring back samples of Martian rock for the first time.

NASA made the announcement in a statement outlining the future of Mars missions, which are projected for 2020.

At the moment, NASA has not made it clear if concrete plans are already in place to pursue a Martian rock retrieval.

"We're not signing up to a timetable or a commitment for a follow-on mission," NASA science chief John Grunsfeld said. Future planners would be responsible for the upcoming steps, he added.

Whatever plan NASA eventually commits to, they currently have $1.5 billion budgeted for an exploratory rover, which excludes the amount necessary for the launch vehicle that would send the rover to its destination.

"The rover will be modeled after Curiosity, which captivated the world last year with its daring controlled-crash landing near the Martian equator," The Hindustan Times wrote.

But the Curiosity mission also had its share of difficulties, despite its successful Mars landing. The rover mission exceeded its $2.5 billion budget and faced some technical problems at the development stage. "To save money, engineers will dust off Curiosity's blueprints and reuse spare parts where possible," The Hindustan Times wrote.

The 2020 rover will base its mission on the discoveries made by its predecessors, Spirit and Opportunity, which were launched 2004. Curiosity, meanwhile, found an environment that was habitable to microbes.

The next Mars mission, according to NASA, would probably be able to examine Martian rocks at a microscopic level. This means that the rover would be able to look at past microbial presence in the event these are found.

At the moment, no water has been definitively found on Mars' surface, and the panel believes it's pointless to search for life on the planet.

A search for life, said John Mustard of the Brown University, would be a "foolish investment."