NASA announced yesterday that is has delayed its planned October 2009 launch of the Mars Science Laboratory rover until 2011. The rover is set to test the Martian surface in order to see if there are some signs of past potential habitability, continuing the work of the lifeless Phoenix Mars Lander and the two Mars Exploration Rovers, Spirit and Opportunity. Technical issues and delivery delays have removed that possibility, unfortunately. Because Mars and Earth only come close enough to permit a launch every 26 months, the MSL will be launched in 2011. NASA's first commitment to MSL came in August 2006, during the mission's “confirmation review” for $1.63 billion. The problems that appeared in the middle of 2007 bumped the cost up to $1.88 billion, while the delay will make this mission around $2.3 billion worth.

It seems like a curse for the American space agency, and that's because every major mission that attempted things no one has ever tried before caused money problems. In other words, revolutionary missions call for revolutionary costs. Charles Elachi, the JPL director, told the media: "We have not been very good at cost estimates, and I take responsibility for that. This has been just a very complicated mission."

In other news, it seems that there will be another attempt for NASA engineers to once again wake up the Mars Phoenix Lander. This was launched in August 2007 towards the red planet. In 2008, the craft landed, beginning its mission on Mars. One of its main objectives was to find out if water ice was present in the Martian soil, and the Phoenix found evidence that ice was over there. The advancing Martian winter is depriving the lander of the solar energy it needs to maintain working power levels. However, even if NASA officially closed the mission, they will try to re-establish contact with the Lander in the Martian springtime.