> <i><font color="yellow">Well I'm assuming that they will start with the MER designs</font>/i><br /><br />The description is pretty vague. The goals include "<i>precision landings</i>" which sounds like like maybe just a lander.<br /><br />Another interesting aspect: "<i>determine whether there is water-ice in the permanently dark areas within craters</i>". If the lander descends into these dark areas, solar panels will not do much good.<br /><br />I hope the landers are inexpensive enough that they can send them to numerous locations -- including locations that may not be scientifically interesting but visually interesting. For example, with the information from LRO, NASA should be able to identify a location that would show an image of the Earth rising over a mountain range. If the Lunar mountains are sufficiently far away, the Earth will look relatively large. Then the lander could use a telephoto lens with a hi-def camera to create a stunning image of a large multi-colored Earth rising from behind stark Lunar mountains.</i>