News World Nasa aims for Mars, robotic Maven set to soar

Nasa aims for Mars, robotic Maven set to soar

Cape Canaveral, Florida: Nasa is headed back to Mars, this time with a robotic scout named Maven that will attempt to solve the mystery of the red planet's radical climate change.Maven is scheduled to blast

Three spacecraft currently are collecting data in orbit around Mars: Nasa's 2001-launched Mars Odyssey, Europe's 2003-launched Mars Express and Nasa's 2005-launched Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.



Two rovers are on the surface, still working: Nasa's 2003-launched Opportunity and 2011-launched Curiosity.

Nasa plans to launch a robotic geologist named InSight in 2016; the lander will penetrate the Martian surface with a seismometer and heat probe.

The next Nasa wheeled rover will fly in 2020, collecting rock samples for potential return to Earth. A human expedition is not anticipated until the 2030s.

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