dtb said:

>Power will be a problem so long as we rely on solar cells, but if O'Keefe
>can pull off the politics of using nukes again, then rovers powered by
>RTGs or the like will have power to move at decent speeds.
>
>So by 2024, you probably could have a rover of MER's size and mass
>accomplish the same tasks in a week or two, not 45 days.

This is all true. It is vital that O'Keefe succeed with the RTGs and
Prometheus. There's a glass ceiling somewhere between Mars and Jupiter for unmanned spacecraft and just beyond Earth's orbit for manned spacecraft.
Only with nuclear power can we penetrate that glass ceiling. The future
of space exploration depends upon the success or failure of Prometheus.

The prediction about 2024 is probably true. However unless the human
element is fully introduced into Mars exploration, there will be no unmanned
rover on Mars in 2024. The public will be bored stupid with Mars as soon
as it becomes clear that Martian exobiology was a pipe dream. Basing
Mars exploration upon exobiology was a grevious error. The full
implications of that error will become apparent as MER A and B complete
their explorations. It is vital that unmanned exploration serve as a
precursor to manned exploration and colonization. Only in that context
will the general public continue to support space exploration.

Gary