Postponed

News Service, Cornell University, July 15, 1998
Astronomer confirms Cornell's new role in 2001 Mars lander mission

ITHACA, N.Y. -- Cornell University's astronomy department is working in a newly defined role on NASA's Mars Surveyor lander mission scheduled for launch in April 2001. Although the Cornell-led Athena Rover vehicle program will not be included in the mission as previously planned, "we will be doing a pretty good job of recovery" by continuing to provide most of the science for the 2001 lander, says astronomy professor Steven Squyres, the lead researcher on the project to explore and analyze part of the Martian surface.

Squyres confirms that because of revised budgets and time pressures NASA has postponed the Athena Rover segment of the Surveyor Mars mission from 2001, and has tentatively rescheduled it for the 2003 Mars Surveyor launch. The highly complex package consists of a suite of experiments on board a roving vehicle. In 2005, another Mars Surveyor mission has the goal of returning to Earth with Martian rock samples collected by Athena. "Of course, it's a little disappointing," says Squyres about the postponement of the Athena Rover program. "But having a somewhat delayed program that is realistic is better than having an on-schedule program that isn't going to work." ...

The 2001 investigations will still provide valuable geology and geochemistry data, says Squyres, although the research into biological aspects will be more limited than it will be for the 2003 mission.