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Science & Technology
2,000 DAYS OF WORK ON MARS
2009-08-19
As NASA's Spirit rover marks its 2,000th workday on Mars, team members back on Earth are conducting the final dress rehearsal for a long-range operation they hope will free the plucky robot from its Red Planet sand trap.

The rover team keeps track of Spirit's timeline in Martian days, or "sols," which are slightly longer than Earth days. The result is that even though the rover passed the 2,000-day milestone a few weeks ago, as measured on Earth, the Sol 2000 mark didn't come around until Tuesday.
Let's hear it for NASA. Our boys still have it. Not bad for a mission originally planned for 60 to 90 days.
Posted by:whitecollar redneck

#3  Skunky, Spirit is an American citizen, and it has always been the responsibility of the US State Department to look out for the interests of American citizens in foreign lands. As Teddy Roosevelt would say, “Spirit alive, or Tars Tarkas dead!”
Posted by: Eric Jablow   2009-08-19 22:19  

#2  Spirit is also an illegal immigrant.

Let MarsCare look after her.
Posted by: Skunky Glins 5***   2009-08-19 22:06  

#1  Consider Spirit's problems now.


  • She has far exceeded her life expectancy.

  • She has a totally paralyzed limb.

  • She has extreme mobility problems.

  • She is nearly deaf; it takes a lot of work and energy to tell her anything.

  • She has had memory problems in the past, requiring that she be put into a temporary coma.

  • It has taken and will take a large mutidisciplinary team of doctors and engineers to find a cure for her current problems.

  • The chance of success is minimal.

  • This will take a lot of time and money, which can go to a more deserving recipient: her healthier younger sister Oppie, for example.



What would the principles of ObamaCare say? I think it suggests that we prescribe palliative care and let her go.
Posted by: Eric Jablow   2009-08-19 18:48  

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