LOS ANGELES (AP) — NASA says it wants to launch another mega-rover to Mars modeled after the wildly popular Curiosity.
The space agency said Tuesday the spacecraft will be built from spare parts from Curiosity. It would also use the novel landing system that delivered the car-size rover to Mars in August.
[Cosmic Fizzle: No Forthcoming Announcement of Life on Mars]
The new mission is scheduled for 2020 and is estimated to cost about $1.5 billion. But scientists haven't hashed out exactly what the rover would try to accomplish on Mars.
NASA says it's another step toward eventually sending astronauts to the red planet in the 2030s.
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