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?
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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?
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