NASA plans Mars landing in August
March 6th, 2012 - 7:33 pm ICT by IANSLondon, March 6 (IANS) NASA will attempt to lower a probe onto the surface of Mars for the first time as it continues its search for signs of life on the red planet, The Telegraph reported Tuesday.
The new approach to landing a rover on the planet, to be attempted in August, will involve winching it slowly to the surface using nylon ropes attached to a spacecraft overhead.
Once the probe, named Curiosity, has safely reached the ground the 25 feet-long cords will be cut and the parent ship will use rockets to fire itself well away from the probe for a crash landing.
But NASA experts admitted the project, which will come to a head during the attempted landing Aug 6, is a gamble which could prove to be a 1.7 billion pounds ($2.5 billion) disaster.
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- NASA's Mars rover begins research in space - Dec 14, 2011
- NASA's Odyssey spacecraft sets exploration record on Mars - Dec 16, 2010
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- NASA picks landing site for next Mars probe - Jul 23, 2011
- Curiosity sends first 3D images from Mars - Aug 08, 2012
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- NASA to launch Mars rover in November - Nov 11, 2011
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Tags: crash landing, curiosity, disaster, london march, mars landing, nasa, nasa experts, new approach, nylon ropes, red planet, rockets, signs of life, spacecraft, telegraph