A second Curiosity-like rover will touch down on Mars in 2020, NASA announced today.
The news came from a conference talk by John Mace Grunsfeld at the American Geophysical Union conference in San Francisco. Grunsfeld is a former astronaut and a NASA Management Astronaut and the Associate Administrator of the Science Mission Directorate at NASA headquarters.?
"The challenge to restructure the Mars Exploration Program has turned from the seven minutes of terror for the Curiosity landing to the start of seven years of innovation," Grunsfeld said in a NASA press release. "This mission concept fits within current and projected Mars exploration budget, builds on the exciting discoveries of Curiosity, and takes advantage of a favorable launch opportunity."
NASA will be saving money by reusing the design and landing plans that they used on Curiosity, and they even have a spare Multi-Mission Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator (MMRTG) ? the radioactive generator that powers the rover.
How much will this save? About a billion dollars. Planetary society reports from the conference:
The mission won't be paid for by taking money for other budgets, Grunsfeld said.
Not everyone is happy about the announcement.
We'll update as we have more news.
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