Mars is living up to its mythological status as the god of war. The Red Planet is the focus of a budgetary battle between NASA and US scientists.
On Monday, a group of scientists protested proposed cuts to the agency's Mars programme at a meeting with NASA officials. The cuts were revealed two weeks ago, when the White House released its 2013 budget proposal, in which NASA is set to receive about $1 billion less than previous budget projections suggested.
As a result, the agency said it could no longer afford to contribute to a pair of missions called ExoMars, intended to search for signs of life and being developed with the European Space Agency for launch in 2016 and 2018. NASA says the cuts mean that bringing Martian soil samples back to Earth for detailed study – which the US National Academy of Sciences (NAS) ranks as the top priority for planetary science research in the next decade – will have to be delayed indefinitely.
Isn't that special. :-( To read more, click here.