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NASA Plans On Bringing Back Martian Rocks

Posted by timothy on from the what's-a-couple-of-billion-for-some-rocks dept.

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.

2 of 184 comments (clear)

  1. Smaller, Cheaper, Better by pgrote · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I like NASA's new approach to things. My primary concerns about the mission though are the following:

    1) What can we do by inspecting the rocks in person we can't do remotely? We should be able to do everything except touch it.

    2) What other benefits do we get out of the mission?

    3) Will there be additional scientific study accomplished on the ground? I mean NASA's track record on landing things on Mars hasn't been great ... this doesn't even include shooting things back.

  2. Misleading Article Title by PingXao · · Score: 5, Interesting
    This should be "NASA Would Like to Bring Back Martian Rocks". NASA would like to do a lot of things. Draconian budget cuts in recent years have put a major crimp in their style, however. They are currently not "planning" to do anything of the sort. They are simply groping about for a project that will let some of them keep their jobs by hitting on something that will engender public and Congressional support (and dollars). That's about as far in advance as their "planning" allows these days.

    It seems like every 6 months now they some out with some new "discovery" that turns out to be just a rehash of old science with a new twist. Truth is, if you think along the lines of timothy here, you could also say that:
    • NASA Plans on Sending Astronauts Back to the Moon
    • NASA Plans on Sending Satellite Fleet to Jupiter
    • NASA Plans on Searching For Life on Titan's Oceans
    • NASA Plans on Tripling Space Station Size
    • NASA Plans on New Hubble Replacement
    The list goes on and on. I love NASA, don't get me wrong, but the only serious stories worth looking at are the ones that start with NASA Receives Budgetary Committment From Congress For [insert project here]. That's the point where any serious planning really starts.