NASA's plan to retrieve as many as 30 geological samples from Mars is getting a major rewrite, agency officials said on Monday. The initial plan, which would not return the samples to Earth until 2040, was deemed "too expensive" and "unacceptably too long."
NASA's CADRE mini rovers have been test driven across the agency's "Mars Yard" and subjected to various other tests to confirm they are ready to launch to the moon.
The future European Space Agency mission could include an orbiting spacecraft as well as a lander, both of which would sample ocean material in Enceladus' plumes.