WASHINGTON (nasa) - The U.S. space agency hopes to launch its latest robotic explorer overnight on a mission to the planet Mars.
But the threat of thunderstorms over the launch site at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida could force a delay.
The Mars rover, named Opportunity, is set to join an identical rover, called Spirit, which was launched by NASA earlier this month. Both spacecraft are expected to reach Mars by January, when they will land on opposite sides of the red planet and begin recording their observations.
The goal of the mission is to determine whether water remained long enough on Mars to sustain life. Earlier probes have shown water was once present on the planet. The wheeled rovers have tools to drill into rocks and scoop up soil.
Only three of the nine previous attempts to land a spacecraft on Mars have been successful. The combined cost of the two missions is $800 million.
Europe and Japan also launched satellites bound for Mars earlier this month. Scientists are taking advantage of a rare proximity between the planets that shortens the normal travel time to Mars from about nine months to seven.
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