After recent failures (and apparent failures - Beagle), NASA seemed to be preparing the world for the worst; just in case. But last night, after a series of complex maneuvers and a bouncy landing, Spirit signaled that all was well and that it was ready to begin its search for signs of life.
Since our ancestors first looked to the sky, Mars' red hue has caught our interest. The color of blood, it has long stood as the god of war, the bringer of doom. Until the late 19th century when H.G. Wells put some of the first aliens on Mars. Ever since it's been the home of little green men, flying saucers and other, assorted boojums.
Since the Viking landings of the early 1970's Mars has seemed our best hope of finding life - or signs of past life - in the Solar System outside of Earth. The more photographs we saw of the surface, the more convinced scientists became that there was once liquid water on the surface; the most necessary ingredient for life. Follow-on missions were inconclusive at best on whether there was life there, so now Spirit, a larger, more capable rover is there. It offers our best chance so far to begin putting an answer to that ancient question; "Are we alone?"
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