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Mars Science Laboratory Faces Technical Hurdles

Posted on: Friday, 29 February 2008, 09:05 CST

NASA’s proposed mission to send a nuclear-powered rover to Mars by 2009 is facing funding and developmental problems which may force its launch date to be pushed back.

In a congressional hearing this month, NASA Administrator Michael Griffin said that preliminary tests revealed that the heat shield on the Mars Science Laboratory would be unable to survive its prospective entrance through the Martian atmosphere.

NASA chose to use a heat shield that is similar in composition to the one used by the Stardust probe. Because Stardust re-entered Earth's atmosphere at twice the speed expected for Mars Science Lab, engineers feel confident the new shield will hold, NASA spokesman Dwayne Brown told Associated Press.

Added preparations necessary to make the rover functional are expected to cost $20 million to $30 million. The project price tag, currently set at $1.8 billion, is already $165 million over budget.

"Things have gone along more slowly than we would like," Griffin said.

He also said that he expected the project to run into roadblocks, and that these issues were not out of the ordinary.

Griffin told the House Science and Technology Committee that although the team was still hoping to launch next year, they are also exploring options of waiting until 2010 or 2011.

The project is managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena.

Brown University geologist John Mustard is skeptical about the developmental problems faced by the project. He said that he believes the costs will skyrocket as the launch date is pushed back.

"It kind of interrupts what has been an incredibly successful sequence of missions," he said.

The 9-foot-long rover would be the most breakthrough unmanned probe ever sent to the Martian surface. It will outperform twin rovers Spirit and Opportunity who are currently still operational. Both rovers have returned evidence which points toward the possibility of water existing on the planet.

NASA hopes that The Mars Science Laboratory will be able to determine whether Mars could once have been a favorable spot for microbial life. Additionally, NASA hopes that the information produced from the lab will help them prepare for manned flights to both Mars and a return to the moon.

U.S. Rep. Mark Udall, D-Colo., said he would not question NASA’s decision, but he added "I want to be confident that NASA is doing all that it can to carry out the ... development efficiently and effectively."

Some analysts are concerned about the implications of the increasing budget of the robotic mission.

"The repercussions are more pronounced for the future of the space program," said Howard McCurdy, an American University public policy professor. "Are robots really that much more superior to human beings for going to the planets? Or are robots harder than we thought to manage?"

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On the Net:

Mars Science Laboratory: http://marsprogram.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/index.html

Source: redOrbit staff and wires

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