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Mars Science Laboratory delayed for two years
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To no one's surprise, NASA today announced that it is delaying the launch of the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) from fall 2009 to 2011. The troubled program has been wallowing in cost over-runs and has battled problems with equipment, software, testing, and meeting schedules.
Recently heralded as one of Time's Best Inventions of 2008, the MSL has been teetering on the edge of program delay for months. There's also been talk that the project was considered for cancellation, a charge that NASA denied in October.
From today's NASA announcement:
NASA's Mars Science Laboratory will launch two years later than previously planned, in the fall of 2011. The mission will send a next-generation rover with unprecedented research tools to study the early environmental history of Mars.
A launch date of October 2009 no longer is feasible because of testing and hardware challenges that must be addressed to ensure mission success. The window for a 2009 launch ends in late October. The relative positions of Earth and Mars are favorable for flights to Mars only a few weeks every two years. The next launch opportunity after 2009 is in 2011.
"We will not lessen our standards for testing the mission's complex flight systems, so we are choosing the more responsible option of changing the launch date," said Doug McCuistion, director of the Mars Exploration Program at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "Up to this point, efforts have focused on launching next year, both to begin the exciting science and because the delay will increase taxpayers' investment in the mission. However, we've reached the point where we can not condense the schedule further without compromising vital testing."
NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the MSL program.
Image: artist's concept of the MSL/NASA
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