NASA has since been curious about life on Mars. Now, the government agency is yet on another mission to unravel the truth about the Red Planet. The only catch, however, is that they are on a very tight budget. So how will the space team do it exactly?
According to The Christian Science Monitor, the upcoming NASA Mars rover has only managed to acquire $1 billion budget, which is less compared to its predecessor NASA Curiosity rover. But despite the limited resources, they still aim to improve every key aspect of the said rover.
The rover's landing mechanisms, gear and equipment and robotic arms will also be upgraded. In fact, the Space Systems of Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) has already been tasked to be in charge of building new parts for the new NASA Mars rover.
It is worth noting that this is not the first time SNC has been contacted to do some exemplary jobs. This is the 13th time that they are building and supplying equipment, as well as playing significant roles in every NASA missions.
The NASA Mars rover, which is expected to be in space in 2020, will include a robust brake system. Such mechanism is believed to have been upgraded for the purpose of even landing. Moreover, SNC is expected to come up with new parts for the robotic arms while building a new sample caching structure.
As for the current NASA Curiosity rover, it is experiencing some issues, taking some tolls on the Red Planet's rugged terrain. Fox News reports that the said rover is gradually accumulating some "cracks and punctures" while performing its duties.
Nonetheless, the NASA Curiosity rover is expected to complete its mission. It started trekking the mountains of Mars since September 2014, as scientists hope to find key information that will uncover the secrets of the Red Planet, as well as its potentials to host life.
As of this writing, Curiosity has finished climbing the rough terrains of Naukluft Plateau. It climbed the said plateau in March this year, after it spent some weeks studying some sand dunes located at the bottom of Mount Sharp.
