In June of 2007 the Mars science Laboratory completed its Critical Design Review (CDR). This means that the project is ready to move from the design department into the building department. The problem is that with all of the new design features the project is expected to exceed its $1.7 billion dollar budget by $75 million dollars.
This mission is part of NASA's long-term effort to determine if Mars can support microbial life. The rover is expected to have the largest and most advanced set of scientific instruments ever sent to the surface of Mars.
Luckily, due to the incredible thriftiness of NASA, they were able to trim the projects budget without compromising any of the scientific tools and team. In order to save over $75 million dollars they just cut down on complexity and spare parts.
Not to doubt the intelligence of NASA but it must make every taxpayer a little hesitant when they hear that NASA is cutting out spare parts on a $1.7 billion dollar Mars rover. Lets just hope that nothing malfunctions! If you want more information on this story you can read about it on Mars today by clicking here.
No comments:
Post a Comment