WASHINGTON (AFP) - NASA will send a "mobile scientific lander" that will arrive on Mars in 2004 in an effort to find out more about water that may have existed on the Red Planet, officials said.
The U.S. space agency said it would launch in 2003 a relative of the 1997 Mars Pathfinder rover. "Using drop, bounce, and roll technology, this larger cousin is expected to reach the surface of the Red Planet in January, 2004, and begin the longest journey of scientific exploration ever undertaken across the surface of that alien world," NASA said in a statement.
Edward Weiler, associate administrator of NASA's Office of Space Science, said that the agency decided to select the "Exploration Program Rover" rather than the orbiter option. It was also looking at the possibility of sending two rovers to different locations on Mars, he said. "I intend to make a decision in the next few weeks so that, if the decision is to proceed with two rovers, we can meet the development schedule for a 2003 launch," Weiler said.
Officials said the mission would help scientists learn more, following the recent announcement that water may have existed on Mars, raising the possibility that some forms of life existed as well.
"By studying a diverse array of Martian materials, including the interiors of rocks, the instruments aboard the rover will reveal the secrets of past Martian environments, possibly providing new perspectives on where to focus the quest for signs of past life," said Jim Garvin, Mars program scientist at NASA Headquarters.
NASA said the new robotic explorer would have "far greater mobility and scientific capability than the 1997 Mars Pathfinder Sojourner rover," and would be able to travel up to 100 meters (110 yards) across the surface each Martian day, which is 24 hours and 37 minutes
