Budget cuts at NASA means that one MAR 26 2008 Budget cuts at
NASA means that one of the two Mars rovers will be shut down,
even though it's still doing useful science. Besides resting
Spirit, scientists also likely will have to reduce exploration
by Opportunity, which is probing a large crater near the
equator. Instead of sending up commands to Opportunity every day
to drive or explore a rock, its activities may be limited to
every other day, said John Callas, the Mars Exploration Rover
project manager at JPL. The rovers were originally deployed for
three-month missions but have operated for more than four years.
Update: NASA decided not to go through with Mars rover budget
cuts. (thx, jeff)