Has Curiosity killed James Cameron's Mars movie-making plans?
The Avatar honcho had been working with San Diego-based Malin Space Science Systems to create a 3D mast camera for the Mars rover Curiosity, but on Friday the space agency announced the plan has been scrapped!
What happened?
NASA said Friday that there's just no time to thoroughly test the zoom camera before launch.
Reports say that Pasadena's Jet Propulsion Laboratory originally backed off the idea of a 3-D camera mounted on the Mars rover in 2007, citing time and budget. But Cameron was able to lobby for its inclusion to NASA administrator Charles Bolden last year, saying a Curiousity rover with a better set of eyes would help the public connect with the mission.
So close!
No worries, though, being the optimistic guy he is, Cameron said in a statement released by NASA that he's confident future missions will benefit from the work he and others invested even if Curiosity won't.
Hmm...do we smell a Mars rover sequel brewing?