Marvin the Martian

I don't want to go to Mars. I find that I just have very little interest in going someplace that far away. I do like exploring, but I'll stick around my own planet, thank you very much. However, geek that I am (and I know you are too!) I find myself fascinated by our efforts to get to the red planet. I love the pictures that we've seen and wondered when we'd take the first human selfie from the surface (or even the orbit) of Mars... I loved Matt Damon in The Martian, which was not at all what I was expecting (way better!).

So today I'm worried about the Schiarparelli lander. Like the earlier attempt by the European Space Agency (ESA) at landing on Mars (the Beagle 2), there appears to have been a mishap and they've lost communication with the lander. Here's hoping things are OK and they can repair or restore communications...

Here's an image showing the successes and failures of missions to Mars:

It appears a little incomplete (the Beagle 2 isn't mentioned, for example, although the Mars Express portion - the Mars orbiter - is mentioned as a "success"). What's apparent is that going to Mars is not an easy proposition, and landing on the planet is even more iffy. So I'll watch to see that they were successful. And I will enjoy watching folks grow spuds on Mars.

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