Next NASA Mars Mission Reset To 2011

December 4, 2008 9:20 p.m. EST

Washington, D.C. (AHN) - The third Mars rover will be launched in 2011 instead of next year, NASA announced Thursday.

The launch date for the rover called Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) was changed because more testing of the spacecraft's complex flight systems are needed and parts need to be re-engineered, according to officials of the Mars Exploration Program at NASA Headquarters in Washington.

Unlike the Spirit and Opportunity Mars rovers, the MSL will have more equipment and research instruments onboard, drive longer distance and use a new propulsion system. It will also be brought to the Mars surface differently, with a tether lowering it to the ground while the spacecraft carrying it is still hovering.

The MSL will further explore wet areas of Mars discovered by the two NASA rovers that landed on the planet.