The Mars Science Laboratory mission, a jumbo rover originally slated to launch for the red planet next year, has been delayed until 2011, NASA announced today.
“We will not be ready to launch by the hoped-for date next year,” said NASA Administrator Michael Griffin at a briefing.
A major review of the mission conducted earlier this year had concluded that MSL “had a solid chance of making the 2009 launch” if the launch window was extended into October 2009, which was done, and an additional $200 million was added to the project, said Ed Weiler, associate administrator for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C.
But new technical issues that came up since that review as well as missed delivery schedules have prompted NASA officials to further delay the mission to avoid a “mad dash to launch,” Weiler said. “Failure on this mission is not an option, the science is too important,” he added.