Is NASA's $2.5 billion Mars rover doomed?

Ten years of work by 1,000 people, and the thing might not even launch. Inside the technical and financial problems plaguing the nuclear-powered Curiosity rover

Curiosity, NASA's supped-up Mars rover, pictured in an artist concept, was supposed to launch fall 2011, but it's getting a red light from the inspector general.
(Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech)

NASA's next Mars rover, a nuclear-powered marvel nicknamed Curiosity, is supposed to blast off for the Red Planet later this year. But an audit issued this week by the space agency's inspector general finds a host of unresolved issues that could put the mission in jeopardy. Here, a brief guide to the mess:

What makes this rover so special?

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