Earlier this week, France's Research Ministry signed a "statement of intent" with NASA to collaborate on small landers.

The 16 small landers would be deployed around Mars from far northern latitudes to the far south.

At the time of cancellation, MSE was meant to be a small (44 kg) lander designed to operate for about one week on the surface of Mercury.

The MELOS mission would consist of an orbiter and up to 4 small landers; all elements would be launched together on the same rocket.

MELOS-1 is planned to be launched in 2018, and will also have up to four small landers.

The scenario included only a single and relatively small spacecraft-a winged lander with a crew of only two experienced pilots who had already circumnavigated the moon on an earlier mission.

It came next, a large, black vehicle, with massive wheels rather than the treads that the smaller landers used.

Julie took them to Mt. Alpha, where they traded in the AV3 for one of the smaller landers.

I know the lander's small, and we've got only one.

The European Rosetta probe is presently en route to Comet Churyumov-Gerasimenko; in 2014 it will go into orbit around the comet and place a small lander on its surface.