In early December 2008, haze neatly filled the Vale of Kashmir, leaving skies clear over the surrounding snowcapped peaks.

NASA's Mars Science Laboratory has been delayed for two years and will now launch in the fall of 2011. The decision to delay is based on various technical problems the MSL team has encountered and having enough time to work through the problems, as well as provide adequate time for testing all the systems on the car-sized rover. The main problems are the actuators, the gear boxes for all the moving parts. Mars program manager Doug McCuistion said the team is actually only a few months behind...