R.I.P. Spirit

Snoopy has the scoopy. Spirit, intrepid rover on Mars,  has officially kicked the bucket.

This, along with the news that NASA is wrapping up their space shuttle program, saddens me immensely.

It looks likely that private industry will now be responsible for further flights into space. Its not as if NASA did a good job till now but still.

I'm a huge fan of science fiction and the way things are going, looks like Ben Bova had the right idea. He posited that the major advaces into space will be from private industry. The problem with that is it becomes a 100% profit driven venture and safety can take a backseat at times.

I dont know about you but I sometimes wish I can hop on a shuttle and leave this crowded (6,775,235,700 people plus ) planet behind.

If I had $200,000 lying around, I would put a deposit on the Virgin shuttle and reserve a seat into outer space.

Until then...my local library, a solid scifi book and a comfy sofa will have to suffice.