Mars 2020 rover will pave the way for future manned missions (BBC)

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By Jonathan Webb
Science reporter, BBC News

Nasa's next Martian rover will attempt to make oxygen on the surface of the red planet when it lands there in 2021.

The rover will carry seven scientific projects, aimed at paving the way for future manned missions, seeking evidence of life and storing samples to be brought back in the future.

Among them is a device for turning the CO2 that dominates the thin Martian air into oxygen.

This could support human life or make rocket fuel for return missions.

The rover will also carry an experimental weather station among the 88lb (40kg) of instruments.
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more: http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-28582903

[longship]

1. It is going to be based on the Curiousity platform.

Which means that it will be another big honker, about the size of an SUV.

R&K for more cutting edge, Martian science.