The debt and deficit problems of the federal government may force cancellation of NASA's two missions to Mars set for launch in the second half of this decade.
The science community will no doubt fight for the missions, which are being developed in partnership with the ESA, but budget troubles in both the U. S. and Europe may make saving the missions an uphill battle.
NASAA designed its Mars exploration program to build a foundation that would support a manned Mars mission. So, cutting part of that program, at least for now, would seem to push the first human flight to Mars deeper into the future. That may or may not be inevitable given the economic reality of our time, but it is unfortunate on many levels.
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