NASA marks Spirit rover's 6th year on Mars

A phenomenal legacy for the folks at NASA / JPL. That thing is amazing. The engineering and perfomance is utterly stellar. We see this sort of thing time and time again. Kudos to the entire team responsible. but it was a total waste of money think, how did that go, oh yea think of how many countries could have become first world nations on it.

but it was a total waste of money think, how did that go, oh yea think of how many countries could have become first world nations on it. Spirit has cost approximately 120 million dollars in toto to operate as it has for the past 6 years. How many countries do you think could've ascended to first world status, where annual budgets are measure in hundreds of billions or even trillions of dollars....on 120 million, which is less than the annual sales volume of a mid-sized company???? Further, since when would it be the United States taxpayer's obligation to convert third world nations into indus... [More]

Spirit has cost approximately 120 million dollars in toto to operate as it has for the past 6 years. How many countries do you think could've ascended to first world status, where annual budgets are measure in hundreds of billions or even trillions of dollars....on 120 million, which is less than the annual sales volume of a mid-sized company???? Further, since when would it be the United States taxpayer's obligation to convert third world nations into industrial powers??? none according to some on here it always has been i was being sarcastic

LOS ANGELES – Spirit has always been the unluckier of NASA's twin Mars rovers.Just weeks after landing in a Martian crater in 2004, it went haywire and transmitted gibberish to Earth. Engineers eventually nursed it back to health. As if the near-death experience wasn't enough, Spirit was upstaged early on by its twin Opportunity, which landed in a geologic gold mine and was the first to determine that the frigid, dusty planet possessed a wetter past. Bad luck has fallen again on Spirit. As the workhorse rover marks its sixth year on the red planet on Sunday, it finds itself stuck in a sand t... [More]

I hope they do not give up on Spirit. 120 Million? Pennies compared to most National projects. Heck, building a bridge costs more then that. Sounds like a fantastic deal to me for 6 years of service.

i was being sarcastic It was a little hard to tell from your statement, daniel...

I hope they do not give up on Spirit. 120 Million? Pennies compared to most National projects. Heck, building a bridge costs more then that. Sounds like a fantastic deal to me for 6 years of service. I'd say a fantastic deal is an understatement...!

Second the motion ! We need more just Like Spirit and the People that make it Happen!

Second the motion ! We need more just Like Spirit and the People that make it Happen! Absolutely, D. All this space-exploration is taking too long. Thinking back, I "knew" we would have bases on the moon, and Mars by 2010. Never the less,... The stuff that they are doing is absolutely incredible. Im thinking of Apollo, Hubble, ISS, Cassini/Huygens, the two Rovers, Deep impact, etc... Just imagine if we trippled the effort!!

WE may be past Just Imagination`s Now Its time for Actions! Write your Congressman and Shout out We Need Exploration At All cost!