Space exploration for the rest of us

Today, the first photographs of the Opportunity
robot from Mars at the edge of the Victoria crater
arrived to

http://qt.exploratorium.edu/mars/opportunity/navcam/2006-09-27/

and in the NASA sites.

At home, I have been following the slow progress of that robot
since more than a year, when it left the Endurance crater.

Through the internet, millions of people like me have been
following the exploration of Mars for the first time,
in land.

No, it is not some human, it is two cyborgs, half
humans, half machines, that walk slowly through the
sands of mars. Led by the scientist Steve Squyres,
and the wizards of JPL, this two machines in a
ridiculous budget of only 800 million have been
sending to all of mankind this news, letting us
feel the colors, the sand, the textures, sunsets and nights
of the first planet we start in earnest to explore.

Those that advocate "human" exploration miss this:

Cyborgs give us NOW space exploration for ALL.
Not for just a few selected people, but for all
of us.

More than two and half years after landing those
machines are in perfect working order, with some
obvious wear and tear, but still perfectly able to
fulfill their mission.

They have been able to make it through the winter,
and kept clean by the winds, their solar powered
engines keep on returning scientific data. Now
with the arrival of the MRO craft, humans will be
able to study both from orbit and from the ground
a given scientifc target.

All this for the same price of an ISS/Shuttle mission.

And this is no boring stuff that nobody cares about.
It is the *real* exploration of an hitherto unknown
world, the realization of an old dream.

The sands of Mars are there.

http://qt.exploratorium.edu/mars/opportunity/navcam/2006-09-27/

jacob
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Space exploration for the rest of us
    ... robot from Mars at the edge of the Victoria crater ... I have been following the slow progress of that robot ... following the exploration of Mars for the first time, ... humans, half machines, ...
    (sci.space.policy)
  • Re: Space exploration for the rest of us
    ... robot from Mars at the edge of the Victoria crater ... following the exploration of Mars for the first time, ... Those that advocate "human" exploration miss this: ... Over the long term it costs infinitely less to free men from a prison ...
    (sci.space.policy)
  • Re: Space travel by humans is not possible now
    ... OPERATOR of the robot, safe on earth. ... I want to be cable of moving at Las Vegas type speeds on Mars. ... Mars life is probably underground, where conditions are much better than ...
    (sci.space.policy)
  • Re: Space exploration for the rest of us
    ... jacob navia wrote: ... So is Mars. ... Depends on just what humans you ask, and just what hardware they're flying. ... Human space exploration is more profitable for big hardware ...
    (sci.space.policy)
  • Re: The Phoenix has landed!
    ... Exploring Mars is a public good. ... you want to stop paying taxes for such public goods, ... you know the reasons we go to Mars and the other planets. ... This is exploration at the edge of our territory. ...
    (talk.origins)
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