NASA Plans On Bringing Back Martian Rocks

FortKnox writes: "In this Y! article, NASA is planning on sending a robotic mission to Mars in an attempt to bring back Martian stuff (rocks, soil, etc...). Looks like its a tough mission to plan for; they are calling it 'Apollo without the astronauts.'" I would like to go to Mars in person, but if they're spending my money already, I'd like them to please use robots for a while.

Comments

unmanned mission??

[psych031337]

So it's going to be an unmanned mission.

Just wondering who is going to sign the ever-present forms then. Look at www.slashdot.org/articles/01/03/19/2049249.shtml and tell me the bureaucrats will let them get away with just a single form today.

I doubt it...

Re:Why don't they send battle bots?

[cvd6262]

On a more serious note it would be neat to have hobbyists designing bots for mars on a competitive level to see who can come up with the most efficent/reliable/lightweight etc design. The guys at NASA have great ideas and implementations - but I think that the bazzar vs cathedral idea could help here.

How about a manned mission, but instead if NASA, we can get CBS to do a reality-based series about it, like Survivor III. Tagline: "You thought a desert island and the Aussie Outback were rough, you haven't seen anything until we dump our castaways on Olympus Mons!"