Destination Mars: Paving the Road to the Red Planet

摘要

Not too Long ago, I slewed my telescope from a lunar eyeful to that pale red dot of a world, Mars. You don't have to be an astronomer-or an astronaut for that matter-to realize that the Red Planet is way far away. Still, nearly every morning, I am one with that reddish globe of distant mystery. I stand there, among the rocks, blueberries, craters, hills, valleys and underneath that pinkish, dust-sprinkled sky-all courtesy of images relayed by two never-say-die robots: NASA's Spirit and Opportunity. They are significantly beyond their expected lifetime. Not only are they so well behaved in light of their sojourning on and on and on; they get no coffee breaks either.