One Down, One Up
(From the July/August 2000 issue of StarDate magazine)
After canceling plans to send a rover to Mars in 2001, NASA may launch a larger and more sophisticated rover in 2003. Last year's failures of Mars Climate Orbiter and Mars Polar Lander forced the space agency to trim its ambitious Mars exploration program, which had called for the launch of an orbiter and a lander every two years. NASA cancelled a 2001 rover mission, but will proceed with plans to launch a new orbiter early next year. This summer, the agency will decide whether to send a rover or an orbiter in 2003. The rover would land like Mars Pathfinder, encased in protective airbags. It could travel up to 100 yards a day.
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