Fingers Crossed for Beagle

Adam_Trask writes "Never has a spacecraft been built so quickly, on so little money, and been sent on such a long journey fraught with so many dangers. Beagle 2 has been carried to the vicinity of Mars by the Mars Express mothership, and released successfully to go its own way for the final leg of the journey."

Comments

Way to Go Brits!!

[BionicTowed]

It's about time you guys jumped in to the fray. Good Luck!!

American pros on top

[Doc Ruby]

Fast, cheap, and it works: these are the fruits of the vast American investment in space exploration. Everyone else in the world, from China to corporations, is trying to catch up on our expertise. We need a visionary in the White House who will capitalize on our investment, backing American startups which will build American energy and industrial production in Space. The current President thinks the Moon is made of green cheese, and Mars is a candy bar. Who is running for the office next year that knows any better?

Re:Science vs the current American administration

[Doc Ruby]

When Bush Senior was President, his moronic lapdog Vice President Dan Quayle was in charge of science, and they got Congress to drop their science advisor and his staff. Bush Junior believes whatever his monogrammed wranglers tell him to believe, however it might change from hour to hour. The bookburning "gene" is the impulse to violently attack the minds of any who might oppose you, even if they merely unite others together. This bullshit "faith" wave sweeping the world is a cynical tool of tyrants, corporate and jihadi, to divide sensible people from our liberty, property, and compassion.

When I feel the fear, I strive to learn, breaking the chain of ignorance->fear->anger->violence. It's easy, too - I just spend some time with other people, friends or strangers, which banishes the alienation with physical presence. I go dance at a concert, or have dinner with friends. Sometimes we even learn something from each other about the fascists who build chains of fear.