The US space agency (NASA) says it will launch a new rover to Mars in 2020, BBC News reported.

The vehicle will be based on its Curiosity robot, which landed on the Red Planet in August.

NASA expects to re-use many of the technologies that worked so successfully in getting the one-tonne spacecraft down into the huge equatorial bowl known as Gale Crater. This included a rocket-powered crane that lowered Curiosity to the surface on nylon cords.

The budget for the 2020 vehicle will be about $1.5bn (at 2015 prices) compared with the $2.5bn quoted for the cost of Curiosity at launch last year.

The announcement of a follow-up robot was made at the American Geophysical Union (AGU) Fall Meeting, the world's largest annual gathering for Earth and planetary scientists, and a major showcase for NASA-led research.