NASA has announced that its next Mars mission has been delayed for two years, and that's because of lengthening delays and lingering technical issues. The Mars Science Laboratory is an S.U.V.-size rover, which is set to explore the Martian surface for two years. Firstly, NASA programmed the launch for September or October 2009, with the reach of the planet in 2010.

Unfortunately, NASA officials decided that the spacecraft's electrical motors prevent it from meeting the schedule. Michael D. Griffin, NASA's administrator, told the media: “We’ve determined that trying for ‘09 would require us to assume too much risk, more than I think is appropriate for a flagship mission like Mars Science Laboratory.”

If you wonder why they've delayed it for two years, the answer is simple: Earth and Mars come close to each other only once every 26 months and the next chance for launching is not until fall 2011.

However, the delay comes at considerable cost. The mission was approved at an original cost of $1.63 billion in August 2006, but the budget has already swelled $1.88 billion. The delay will add $400 million, bringing the total cost to about $2.3 billion. The team at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, which is building the spacecraft, did not do a good job of estimating costs. However, it is said that every major NASA project suffered cost overruns, like the Hubble Space Telescope.

In related news, Edward Weiler, the associate administrator for space sciences, said that there have been some preliminary talks with the European Space Agency about cooperating on future Mars missions, especially ones that would bring some Martians rocks back to Earth. A sample return mission likely would not occur until the early 2020s and it would probably cost around $7 billion.