NASA: Mars mission to be delayed

WATCH VIDEO

Source: CCTV.com | 12-05-2008 14:30

NASA says it's delaying the launch of next generation rover to Mars. A NASA official says the main reason is a problem with the rover's actuator motors. But he also says a number of other projects have pushed the mission back.

This NASA artist's concept shows the Mars Science Laboratory, a mobile robot for investigating Mars' past or present ability to sustain microbial life. (AFP/NASA)

The massive roving robot was due for launch in 2009, but now it won't get off the ground until 2011. The delay inflates the project's cost by 400 million dollars, bringing the total price to nearly 2.3 billion dollars.

The six-wheeled Mars Science Laboratory is designed to be the most powerful spacecraft to explore the Martian surface.

The lab is about the size of a small sport utility vehicle and will probe the red planet's climate and geology in finer detail than previous missions.

Editor:Zhang Pengfei