NASA will continue operation of its twin Mars rovers for another 18 months, the U.S. space agency announced Wednesday. "The rovers have proven their value with major discoveries about ancient watery environments on Mars that might have harboured life," said Ghassem Asrar, deputy associate administrator for NASA's Science Mission Directorate. Asrar added that NASA is taking advantage of the fact that the two Mars rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, are still in good shape "and in excellent position to continue their adventures." Doug McCuistion, director of NASA's Mars Exploration Programme, said the rovers' success "strengthens NASA's commitment to a vision with the ambitious targets of returning samples from Mars and sending human explorers to Mars." Initially, the rovers' prime mission was scheduled for three months, and since then they have operated for an additional 11 months. NASA will now extend the mission through September 2006. "We now have to make long-term plans for the vehicles because they may be around for quite a while," said rover project manager Jim Erickson. Opportunity has moved more than three miles on Mars' surface, eight times further than originally planned. It is now close to a region called "Etched Terrain," and NASA hopes it will find rocks there from a different time in Mars' history. --SP 2248 Local Time 1948 GMT
