NRM: "NASA has announced plans for a robust multi-year Mars program, including a new "robotic science rover" set to launch in 2020, and the launch of two spacecraft to research the atmosphere of the red planet, with a view to commence in 2013."
The asteroid zoomed by Earth at a perfectly safe distance of around 1.8 million miles (2.9 kilometers).
Engineers expect to lose contact with the private US moon lander Odysseus on Tuesday, cutting short the mission after its sideways touchdown last week.
NASA announced Tuesday that a $32.7 million Capstone spacecraft intended to try out a skewed lunar orbit had lost contact, but agency engineers are confident