NASA lift vehicle. The Space Launch System is intended to launch the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle and other elements towards the Moon, near-Earth asteroids, and one day Mars. The Orion MPCV conducted an unmanned test launch on a Delta IV Heavy rocket in December 2014. The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is currently scheduled to launch in May 2020. On August 6, 2012, NASA landed the rover "Curiosity" on Mars. On August 27, 2012, "Curiosity" transmitted the first pre-recorded message from the surface of Mars back to Earth, made by Administrator Charlie Bolden: NASA's ongoing investigations include in-depth surveys of Mars
Crewed Mars rover called MOLAB. One of the ideas for Molab was for it touch down on its wheels, what was called a "rover first" concept. MOLAB had a pressurized cylinder for crews to operate in a shirt-sleeve environment even on an extraterrestrial surface. For options for keeping track of location as the rover moves around Mars include: Navigation on Mars is noted as important issue for human missions to the planet. Celestial navigation, used for over 500 years on Earth, may provide a way of locating on the Mars surface to within about 100 meters (109 yards). Navigation is especially relevant to