The decades-long association of Washington University with the space exploration programs of the nation is all set to strengthen and stretch once again as one of the professors from the Washington University has opted for getting involved in yet another Mars landing project.

Recently, the professor of earth and planetary sciences, Raymond Arvidson, was selected as participating scientist by the Mars Science Laboratory, the space exploration program aimed at sending a novel rover, dubbed Curiosity, to the surface of the Mars. Earlier in November last year, the rover took off and it is expected to come home in August.

Arvidson recommended the use of sending a rover for the purpose of studying the characteristics and attributes of the soil on Mars. The suggestion was of the 29 proposals selected from recommendations submitted by around 150 applicants. Karl Iagnemma, a principal research scientist from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), will be playing the role of Arvidson's co-investigator during their stay on Mars.

The proposal was apparently inspired by observations gained during the course of Mars exploration as part of a space mission carried out earlier in January 2004. The space mission which used Mars rover, dubbed Spirit, was intended for three months. But, due to various pros and cons encountered by the scientists during their stay at Mars, the mission was stretched up to several years.

Later in April 2009, Spirit was running through all sorts of troubles as one of its wheels was damaged due to heavy impact of a portion of crusted soil, which ended up capturing the 400-pound machine. Scientists had to labor there for more than a year with the intent of fixing the rover, but they called off the mission in May 2010 following an incident in which the solar-powered rover stopped responding and lost its power.