Los Angeles, Nov 22: NASA is scrapping a
controversial piece of hardware from its next-generation Mars
rover that would have allowed the spacecraft to store rock
fragments in a mini-basket for a future mission.
The decision to slash the storage bin from the Mars
Science Laboratory's payload came as engineers raced to meet an
October 2009 launch deadline on a project beset by escalating
costs and technical challenges.
After consulting with independent scientists, NASA this
week notified the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which manages the
mission, to fly the nuclear-powered mega-rover without the
container because of its "low science value." Removing the
already-built part also means engineers would not have to spend
time testing it.
Project scientist John Grotzinger of the California
Institute of Technology said the box would have taken time away
from other instruments during the mission.
"The cache would have tied our hands to some extent,"
Grotzinger said. "Now it restores our freedom."
The Mars Science Lab is billed as the most advanced craft
to roam the Martian plains. The size of a small sports utility
vehicle, it will study whether the environment was habitable in
Mars' early history and will carry high-tech instruments to
analyze rocks and soil in greater detail than previous surface
missions.
Over USD 1.5 billion has been spent so far to develop the
supersized project, but the final price tag is expected to top
USD 2 billion.
The storage box was controversial ever since it was added
to the project last year long after the mission goals had been
defined.
Bureau Report
First Published: Saturday, November 22, 2008, 00:00