The director of NASA’s Mars exploration programme has spoken of hopes that one day the rover Curiosity might be brought back to Earth by astronauts.
Doug McCuistion said it was his personal hope that humans would visit the Red Planet in the 2030s or 2040s.
He said he could imagine astronauts walking up to Curiosity.
McCuistion said the roving laboratory’s mission was scheduled to last two years, but it could have enough power for 20 years.