But Have They Found Ray Walston's Pad Yet?
I think one of my favorite on-going news stories of 2004 has been the Mars rovers. I know that $875 million is a lot of money, and I realize that money could be well spent on many things down here, but I do think that sometimes it IS important that we acquire knowledge for knowledge's sake. (Maybe it's because I grew up reading science fiction, nothing like a little Heinlein or Asimov "hero of the galaxy" to get a nerd kid like me revved up to think of what's out there.) And the stuff these rovers are coming back with...amazing really, the photos alone are worth it, even beyond the science data they're coming back with. How many opportunities have we had to see views that have never been seen before? In this era? Nothing like these pictures has ever existed before. That's pretty damn cool. And then, plus, the science. Real evidence of liquid water on Mars. Mineral analysis. Atmospheric measurements. Neat-o. With a capital o. Neat-O! Check out NASA's webpage for the rovers at: http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.html
- posted by dearsirsam @ 1:43 PM