NASA Langley’s unmanned airplane will not soar across Mars. In a phone call Monday morning, scientists at Langley Research Center in Hampton learned that the ARES plane was not chosen as part of the Mars Scout mission, possibly because of the Columbia shuttle disaster. “I’m really shocked and disappointed that it’s not ARES,” said Joel S. Levine, principal investigator for the Mars airplane. “They did point out the reason we weren’t selected was due to circumstances beyond our control, in part, NASA’s growing concern with reducing risk.”