Well, yeah, we're going.

That doesn't mean we're ready yet.

If robots can tell us what we need to prepare for, then I vote we use them first. The way we have all along. Fortunately, the manned space effort will not be propelled forward recklessly by a need to thumb our noses at Fate.

Mr. Lileks will have to come up with some better reason to send people to Mars than a poetic image; otherwise he begs the question, "OK, there's the flag. Now what?" Mars is, after all, not Mount Everest, to be visited because it's there. For starters, a trip to the Himalayas can be outfitted out of a wealthy man's pocket.

Might I suggest... an imagination package that includes something bigger than a floor show for the rubes on Earth? How about prospecting? Industry? Settlement? What will we do once we're there? This is the real answer to the question of whether manned space travel is worth the risk.

Pardon me if I seem somewhat remote from the emotional mood of his piece. He sees an insult; I see us fighting for our lives here. Rants are theraputic, but not helpful.

Regards--
Mary Anne