I admit I am entertained by exploration, and I certainly find your list of favorite targets just as sexy as you do. But entertaining me, I know full well, is not the goal of the space program. And anyhow, I think you unfairly discount Mars' entertainment value.

And good lord! we certainly did not send Phoenix to find out if there was water on Mars.

When I was 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 years old, my goal was to be a colonist on Mars (late 50s early 60s). My dreams did not work out for 2 reasons: 1) The space program did not keep pace with my dreams, 2) My early goals for preparation (degrees in chemistry and geology) went unfulfilled, as my priorities changed. I don't expect to get to Mars, and I don't expect my daughter to either. Still I'd like to see a human there before I die. And I want to believe that humanity won't stew here on earth forever.