Mars Spirit and Opportunity will replace the "space truck" Mars Science Laboratory, reports Space.com. Mars the new generation will be a standalone chemical laboratory with a nuclear reactor on board, which would be several times larger and heavier than previous wireless devices. At the next planet he was sent to the end of the decade. "Space truck" to arrive at Mars during the summer of 2010 to a few months to go from 5 to 20 kilometers and carry out a full analysis of Martian soil. Installed on the search tools allow organic molecules and determine their structure, as well as probe the thick layer of soil in search of water. Using a special laser can be removed with mineral layers that prevent the chemical analysis. In addition, the spacecraft ukomplektuyut "subsidiary" of rockets for the controlled reduction, which did not have the first Mars.
"Architecture" device remain the same - a platform with the tools on six wheels. In doing so, it will be three times heavier and will cost 1.5 billion dollars. Electricity produced by solar batteries, replace the energy of radioactive decay of plutonium - engineers are going to get rid of the problems with "debris" catch the light of external panels.
As NASA notes that are involved in the development of apparatus and other space agencies. We know, for example, that Roskosmos to make a neutron detector for sensing soil analogs which are used when searching for anti-personnel mines.
Where it lands Mars Science Laboratory, scientists still do not know. A suitable site to choose the satellite with the help of Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, launched to Mars in August 2005.
The first mobile device on Mars began in 1997, Mars Pathfinder. The next two Mars, Spirit and Opportunity, landed in various spots in the world two years ago. Despite the fact that the planned duration of the mission was only 90 days, they continued to work until now.
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