Great summary! (Score: 1) by kwerle@pipedot.org on 2014-10-23 16:02 (#2TMK) Fascinating stuff - I had no idea. Thanks for the great article. Re: Great summary! (Score: 1) by zafiro17@pipedot.org on 2014-10-23 16:38 (#2TMM) Yes, agree - this was very interesting, and I didn't know about any of it. I wonder if this doesn't strengthen the case for increased/additional/future robotic exploration of the type already happening and with some considerable success.I fear politicians choose projects of this type more for their "splash" and "cool" factor than for their scientific merit, whereas the technical folk might argue for different projects or types of projects. In fact, there might be no obvious need to do manned exploration of Mars at the moment, since our little wheeled machines are exploring them so admirably. This keeps the politicians on their leashes, where they belong, and might help encourage funding of missions like the ones already under way.
Re: Great summary! (Score: 1) by zafiro17@pipedot.org on 2014-10-23 16:38 (#2TMM) Yes, agree - this was very interesting, and I didn't know about any of it. I wonder if this doesn't strengthen the case for increased/additional/future robotic exploration of the type already happening and with some considerable success.I fear politicians choose projects of this type more for their "splash" and "cool" factor than for their scientific merit, whereas the technical folk might argue for different projects or types of projects. In fact, there might be no obvious need to do manned exploration of Mars at the moment, since our little wheeled machines are exploring them so admirably. This keeps the politicians on their leashes, where they belong, and might help encourage funding of missions like the ones already under way.