Posted by
michael
on from the look-both-ways-before-crossing-the-street dept.
Irishman writes "It looks like the Spirit rover has finally left the womb and is rolling free on the Martian surface. Space.com has the full story and some great pictures." NASA also has photos, straight from their fake set in Hollywood where they produce all the "space" footage.
Re:Revisit Sojourner!
by
GlassHeart
·
· Score: 0, Redundant
Stupid environmentalism...
What if the launch did fail, and scattered radioactive material all over your house? Then it wouldn't really be so stupid now, would it?
Point is, environmentalism, as with any other human endeavor, should be a matter of risk versus benefit, not a matter of fundamentalism. In this particular case, equipping a small rover with a long life is certainly far less important than equipping a large capable rover with a long life.
NASA's failure rates are well known and undeniable. Using dangerous fuel in only the most necessary projects decreases the risk to humans on earth without adversely affecting scientific study.
Now, I'm not denying that environmentalists can be stupid. I'm saying that they're not always wrong, either. The little rover had very little capabilities, so keeping it alive for years is probably not worth the risks.
Slashdot Mirror
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What if the launch did fail, and scattered radioactive material all over your house? Then it wouldn't really be so stupid now, would it?
Point is, environmentalism, as with any other human endeavor, should be a matter of risk versus benefit, not a matter of fundamentalism. In this particular case, equipping a small rover with a long life is certainly far less important than equipping a large capable rover with a long life.
NASA's failure rates are well known and undeniable. Using dangerous fuel in only the most necessary projects decreases the risk to humans on earth without adversely affecting scientific study.
Now, I'm not denying that environmentalists can be stupid. I'm saying that they're not always wrong, either. The little rover had very little capabilities, so keeping it alive for years is probably not worth the risks.