The next NASA Mars rover, a twin probe to its current Curiosity rover, will undertake the first part of a long-sought dream of planetary scientists: a sample-return mission from the Red Planet.
In December, a surprise announcement from NASA unveiled that it had selected a 2020 Mars mission that would reuse spare parts and plans from its highly successful Curiosity rover. Little was said at the time about what exactly Curiosity’s twin would be doing. The agency estimated that the rover would cost around $1.5 billion, far cheaper than Curiosity’s total $2.5 billion price tag.
via Wired
Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech
