Editing Mars Pathfinder (section)

==Mission objectives==
* To prove that the development of "faster, better and cheaper" spacecraft was possible (with three years for development and a cost under $150&nbsp;million for the lander, and $25 million for the rover<ref>{{cite web |url=https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=MESURPR |title=Mars Pathfinder Rover |publisher=National Aeronautics and Space Administration |access-date=2020-09-30 }}</ref>).
* To show that it was possible to send a load of scientific instruments to another planet with a simple system and at one-fifteenth the cost of a [[Viking program|Viking]] mission. (For comparison, the Viking missions cost $935&nbsp;million in 1974<ref>{{cite book |chapter-url=http://solarviews.com/history/SP-4212/ch8-6.html |chapter=Viking Lander: Building A Complex Spacecraft - Reorganizations and Additional Cutbacks |url=http://solarviews.com/history/SP-4212/contents.html |title=On Mars: Exploration of the Red Planet 1958-1978 |first1=Edward Clinton |last1=Ezell |first2=Linda Neuman |last2=Ezell |pages=268–270 |publisher=National Aeronautics and Space Administration |location=Washington, D.C. |year=1984 |access-date=June 10, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160408053821/http://solarviews.com/history/SP-4212/contents.html |archive-date=April 8, 2016 |url-status=live }}</ref> or $3.5&nbsp;billion in 1997 dollars.)
* To demonstrate NASA's commitment to low-cost planetary exploration by finishing the mission with a total expenditure of $280&nbsp;million, including the launch vehicle and mission operations.