Boy Buck, I gotta agree with you on this one. I know they had a geological purpose as well for the extended stay but, once the rover's so far over its expected lifetime, they'd feel awfully foolish if the long time without a real move caused the mobility to cease so close to such a grand target.

It's been my contention that after you've deeply explored the small scale geology, the mission needs to be used as much for public relations as science. You're still doing science but on a macro scale as opposed to the micro scale.

I don't think the guys running it understand what support they might be able to get from the public by releasing the mother of all photos, then going full bore to some other major long distance target and getting another until the thing simply falls apart. Of course if you see something along the way that is so different from anything else you've examined in detail you certainly stop.

Now I understand the hesitation to put the pedal to the metal when they were in danger of getting stuck but they seem to be past that. The drivers have done a fabulous job so far and this isn't criticism of their skills in any way. I'd just like to see the mission director stop by the consoles and say "Ok guys, we've played by the rules up til now and you've been exemplary. Now let's play. The team that puts the most miles on before these things die wins."

Art