House on geek street

Okay, after all that I needed a little cheering up.

(CNN, January 15) - The "Spirit" rover has successfully rolled onto the surface of Mars for the first time since NASA's unmanned robot bounced down on the red planet nearly two weeks ago.

Pictures confirming the "egress" came back to NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California at about 5 a.m. ET Thursday. Engineers cheered loudly and celebrated the landing by playing the hip-hop tune, "Who Let the Dogs Out?"

An informal poll on Netscape.com had about 60% saying the $800 million that went for the mission would have been "better spent elsewhere" with the rest saying "it will help mankind." (Mankind? I thought we dumped that form years ago.) Well, certainly the space program has generated technologies that have been very useful on Earth, but even if it didn't, I would still say "yes, do it." For all that has been shown about bureaucratic insularity, for all that has been shown about the militarization of the space program, still the idea that drives most of the people working at NASA, still the idea that generates the fascination, is to know. To understand. To see more than we've seen before, to reach further than we've reached before.

It used to be that such expansion of our vision cost lives. Now it just costs money. And considering how much of our national treasure is expended on death, paranoia, and fear; treasure, that is, that not only could but should be redirected; I think - I know - we can afford the (by comparison) pittance we spend on looking ever-further outward. It's an investment in our humanity and well worth it.