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Editorial: Spirit of exploration
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More from OpinionA dust storm nearly killed them. They hunkered down, conserved energy and didn't phone home.
The tactic saved them and NASA has put its Mars rovers, Opportunity and Spirit, back to work.
Last week, Spirit climbed onto Home Plate, a plateau of layered bedrock where the rover will survey an explosive mixture of lava and water.
Sept. 11, Opportunity toe-dipped into Victoria Crater, a depression made eons ago by a meteor. Opportunity rode 13 feet to test its footing. Thursday, NASA sent Opportunity 40 feet straight down from the rim to a bright band of rocks scientist hope could represent the surface of Mars millions of years ago.
These missions continue an exploration saga begun three years ago. Not bad for a pair of robotic devices that had been expected to last only three months. Even more extraordinary, last week, Spirit overtook the Viking 2 Lander's spot as the second-longest-lasting spacecraft on Mars' surface — 1,290 Martian days. Opportunity will soon pass that mark also.
The rovers help fulfill mankind's need to explore space. There have been no manned missions to another body's surface since Dec. 11, 1972, when Apollo 17 landed on the moon. Manned space flight since has been confined to space-shuttle orbits and stays aboard space stations — Russia's Mir and now the International Space Station.
While robots offer a safe means to explore extraterrestrial surfaces, the human spirit does not like to live vicariously. Astronauts will walk on other planets again. And when they arrive on Mars, chances are they will be welcomed by the hard-working Martian rovers.
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