Posted: Tue, Jan 9, 2007, 8:31 AM ET (1331 GMT)
NASA has selected two spacecraft as finalists for a 2011 mission to Mars as part of the agency's Mars Scout program. The Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) mission would study the planet's upper atmosphere and ionosphere to seek clues about the planet's climate and habitability. The Great Escape mission would also study the planet's upper atmosphere to understand its dynamics and evolution, as well as look for traces of potentially biogenic compounds like methane in the atmosphere. NASA will select one of the two missions in late 2007 for launch in 2011. The mission will be the second in the Mars Scout program of relatively low-cost Mars missions, with a cost cap of $475 million. The first Mars Scout mission, the Phoenix lander, is scheduled for launch this August.

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