It’s charging up it’s little robot batteries so it can go exploring.
Rock hunting to be more specific.
Sedimentary rocks to be exact.
I gazed at the black and white photos on the www.Space.com web site, checking out the horizon on Mars. (There are a couple of hills in the distance, let’s go check those out!) But dang if the place they have landed doesn’t look just like a volcanic ash field. They want to find sedimentary rocks that would indicate that Mars has or had water on it. Why this is such a big deal is still a mystery to me. I will have to do more reading.
But it boggles the mind that we sent that little thing all the way to the Red Planet, tossed it out of the window and bounced it like a big basketball onto the surface. It’s just so darned cute!
I remember watching every move of the last successful Mars Rover mission. We sat on the edge of our seats watching it grind it’s way through the dust and rocks, just like a remote control toy. I wonder what they will learn this time.
We watched last night as they were waiting for a signal from the Rover in the control room at NASA. It was a geeks paradise in that room. If math is your thing, this would be the Holy Grail of gigs. I remember when I was in the 6th grade, our teacher gave us an assignment to write a page about what we wanted to be when we grew up. I wrote that I wanted to be an astronomer. I held onto that idea for quite a while until someone told me you have to be REALLY good at math to be an astronomer.
And there I was getting A’s in English class, and C’s in Math….. and C’s that I was working my fanny off to get too. I gave it my best shot, but I just didn’t have the knack for it. Words chose me, and I chose them.
Anyway, congratulations to the team at NASA. Captain Kirk is beaming down on you with benevolence. Baby Steps, baby steps.