07/25/2011

Next Mars rover mission aims for a mountain within a crater

NASA has picked a destination for the next Mars rover. Engineers and scientists have debated where to send the car-sized Curiosity rover since 2006. The Mars target is the Gale Crater -- a 3-mile-deep Mars crater with a 3.5-mile-high mountain in it -- searching for signs of life.

■Class discussion: Curiosity is slated for launch in November and will arrive at the red planet in August 2012 for its planned two-year mission. Do the stories of space travel and visiting other planets intrigue you? Are these scientific missions important these days, or are there better ways to spend the money?