NASA salvages Mars mission that should have launched by now

Instead of scrapping the grounded Mars InSight spacecraft, the space agency announced Wednesday it's shooting for a 2018 launch.

The Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, will take over the redesign, building and testing of the vacuum chamber, while the French space agency focuses on the science instrument itself.

"The quest to understand the interior of Mars has been a long-standing goal of planetary scientists for decades," Grunsfeld said in a statement.

Just last week, astronaut Scott Kelly completed a 340-day mission at the International Space Station that's considered a scientific steppingstone for sending humans to the red planet in the 2030s.

The red planet already is teeming with active spacecraft, including NASA's Opportunity and Curiosity rovers on the surface, and Odyssey, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and Maven orbiter from high above.