The launch of the second of two US probes to study the planet Mars has been delayed until June 26, NASA said. The one-day delay from the scheduled launch June 25 was to allow time for more testing of the probe, dubbed Opportunity, the US space agency said.

The probe is scheduled to land on January 25, 2004 in an area of Mars known as the Meridiani Planum. The first probe, dubbed Spirit, blasted off a week ago from Cape Canaveral in Florida.

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Better to be safe than sorry.

I think NASA could do without losing another Mars probe right now, it's always a good idea to make absolutely sure everything's ok before launching.

I appreciate their wanting to make sure absolutely nothing goes wrong, but why weren't they this careful before the Columbia shuttle took off? I mean, of course they don't want anything to go wrong with these Mars probes for what they may tell us could be more than we could ever imagine, but for heaven's sake, they are only probes. They carry no passengers, whereas the Columbia shuttle carried 7.

Star,

They exert extreme caution when it comes to the shuttle launches, Columbia's disaster was a result of a large chunk of insulation that came off one of it's external booster rockets, which then slammed into the space shuttles wing. It was a freakish occurance that wasn't detectable prior to launch. Revelations since the accident, however, could make one wonder if everything humanly possible is done to insure the safety of our astronauts. There are far more people and variables involved in putting humans into space versus other craft though, so there's really no comparison. Sadly, nothing can ever be perfect, there will always be a certain degree of danger and unpredictablity in space travel.

Magikman

Magikman, you are right. It just makes me sad that there isn't more that can be done. But I suppose going into it astronauts know and understand the dangers with space travel. It is a risky business and I bow down to them for their bravery.

starlyte,
There is a lot more that can be done to improve the safety and reliablity of the shuttle and it's crew. First and foremost is better management at NASA. Without that, there will continue to be gross mishandling of the Quality Assurance teams. These are only two issues, but there are many more that could improve the situation at NASA.