Mars Science Laboratory is supposed to quicken the pace of searching for life on Mars. A nuclear-powered, 9-foot long rover, MSL has capabilities far exceeding the rovers Spirit and Opportunity. NASA plans to launch MSL next year, but budget overruns may yet scuttle the project.
So far, $1.5 billion has heen spent, which is well over budget. Given today's economic climate, Congress could decide to end the project.
The problem with MSL is illustrative of a historical tug within NASA regarding planetary missions: Do you do fewer big projects capable of doing lots of science, which makes failure disastrous, or do you do several less expensive, more focused missions, which will produce less science but might increase the chances of at least some success? Both approaches have worked in the past. Perhaps the next administration will chart the immediate future.
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