Further

I went to bed last night after watching Cosmos and woke up this morning to find that the Mars rover Opportunity completed a 21-month long journey to Victoria Crater. With everything going on on our world, it's easy to forget that Spirit and Opportunity are still out there, diligently exploring another for us. In fact, January 2007 will mark the three-year anniversary of the rovers' first view of Mars! Safely landing two mobile robots on a distant planet is an achievement that cannot be overstated. It's a testament to the ingenuity and dedication of the scientists, engineers, and mission specialists that made it happen, and NASA has extended their mission for yet another year. Carl Sagan would be ecstatic. It's unfortunate that he's not here to share his exuberance with us.