Mars, here we come again
Perseverance has landed safely on Mars.
This is what $3 billions will get you. An SUV size rover riding on Mars, looking for life. You can experience a similar thing when you drive your SUV through Death Valley looking for a hitchhiker. Mars is just colder or cooler. You can compare the temperatures (and many other things) between Earth and Mars at NASA's Mars website.
Meanwhile, what are the headlines in newspapers talking about?
Rubbish bins set on fire, banks attacked in riots over jailed Spanish rapper
Undeterred by Facebook news blackout, Australia commits to content law
U.S. defense secretary calls for immediate reduction in violence in Afghanistan
The news about landing on Mars has already disappeared.
True, not all missions were that successful. Especially the one where the engineers mixed up inches and centimeters (That’s a big “oops” that caused the spacecraft to go into orbit at the wrong angle). But with every mission humanity is learning more. Each piece of new knowledge has an indirect impact on our lives.
Few examples:
Faster, cheaper air transportation
Batteries, power, and portable consumer electronics from phones to hybrid vehicles
Advanced prosthetics for limb replacement
Sustainable, energy-efficient buildings
While many get excited about Kim Kardashian getting divorced from Kanye West, the Perseverance is getting ready to roam on Mars. It’s looking for signs of life, 207.15 million km away accompanied by the Ingenuity helicopter.
Texans recovering from the deep freeze - more bad news that are monopolizing the front pages of newspapers - can be comforted that they didn't experience Mars'weather, where temperature is plummeting to minus -80°C.
You hear that we are living in challenging times. Perhaps. But from time to time we should stop and see how far we've got and what amazing things we have accomplished.
And that's the recurrent pattern.
PS. I am still curious how much money Kim will get from the divorce.