The New Mars Rover Is Bigger And Better

The scientists at NASA are still gathering both data and images from the last two rovers that it launched to Mars years after they were expected to go dead. Spirit and Oppourtunity are still running around the surface taking pictures of all they see. They are certainly going to be a tough act to follow but NASA thinks it can do it. They are calling it the Mars Science Laboratory and it will include technology based on the lessons learned from their two great and long lasting rovers running all over Mars now more than 4 years after thier mission began (The rovers were expected to last only a few months with a little luck) and have been astonishing all with their staying power. The new rover will not only be built tougher but much larger and heavier too. It is just about 9 feet long and well over 200 pounds and will be powered by plutonium which should give it much more kick than it needs. Among its features it will have on board a neutron gun which it will use to fire at the ground in an attempt to detect any kind of ice beneath the surface. If there is ice then that is water and if there is water than there is the possibility of life either microbial or other and that is among the mysteries that NASA is trying to get to the bottom of with these missions. The Mars Science Laboratory (God I hope they can come up with a better name than that - why not call it MAC or something) is set for launch sometime in 2009.