NASA Seeks Public Comments on 2020 Mars Rover Mission

Planning for NASA's 2020 Mars rover envisions a basic structure that capitalizes on the design and engineering work done for the NASA rover Curiosity, which landed on Mars in 2012, but with new science instruments selected through competition for accomplishing different science objectives. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
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NASA is requesting the public and interested organizations to review and comment on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for the agency's proposed Mars 2020 mission. The comment period runs through July 21.

During the comment period, NASA will host an online public meeting from 10 a.m. to noon PDT (1 to 3 p.m. EDT) Thursday, June 26, at:

https://ac.arc.nasa.gov/mars2020

The meeting site will be accessible to participants at 9:45 a.m. PDT (12:45 p.m. EDT). The meeting will include briefings about the proposed mission, its power source options, and the findings of the DEIS. A question-and-answer session and an open period for the public to submit live written comments will follow. Advance registration for the meeting is not required.

The DEIS addresses the potential environmental impacts associated with carrying out the Mars 2020 mission, a continuation of NASA's in-depth exploration of the planet. The mission would include a mobile science rover based closely on the design of the Curiosity rover, which was launched in November 2011 and is operating successfully on Mars.

The mission is planned to launch in July or August 2020 from Florida on an expendable launch vehicle.

NASA will consider all received comments in the development of its Mars 2020 Final Environmental Impact Statement, and comments received, and responses to these comments, will be included in the final document.

The DEIS, background material on the proposed mission, and instructions on how to submit comments on the DEIS are available at:

http://www.nasa.gov/agency/nepa/mars2020eis

More - Link >>> http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/mars2020/news/whatsnew/index.cfm?FuseAction=ShowNews&NewsID=1651

Source: NASA / Jet Propulsion Laboratory - California Institute of Technology

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