NASA begins building next mars rover for 2020 launch

NASA technicians have officially begun the assembly, test and launch operations (ATLO) phase of development on the agency's next Mars rover, keeping the project on track for an expected 2020 launch. 

The Mars 2020 rover is coming together at the Spacecraft Assembly Facility High Bay 1 at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California. There, technicians are working on the rover's descent stage, "a rocket-powered 'sky crane' that will lower the rover to the planet's surface," Space.com reports, citing a statement from NASA.

This sky-crane system also dropped the agency's Curiosity rover onto the Martian surface in August 2012.