The U.S. space agency said that it will delay launching the largest ever rover to Mars by one day and it will now take place on Saturday, Nov. 26.
The launch, which will take place at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, has been delayed “to allow time for the team to remove and replace a flight termination system battery,” NASA said in a statement.
Known as the Curiosity, the rover cost $2.5 billion and is a robotic machine capable of grabbing and analyzing rocks on Mars. It is also equipped with a video camera.
Curiosity is two times longer and five times heavier than the other two rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, and will carry 10 instruments. It is slated to land in the Gale Crater near a layered mountain to evaluate if life ever existed on the planet.
“Layers at the base of the mountain contain clays and sulfates, both known to form in water,” John Grotzinger, a scientist working on the project, stated.
It will have to travel more than 350 million miles to get to the planet, however, spending approximately eight months in transit.
