1) WE are not "Back on Mars", a robotic probe is there, taking pictures and doing pre-planned experiments on our behalf;
2) As Michael has already explained, it will take a lot of effort to terraform a planet. The only aspect he has wrong is the time scale, and the economic scale, not to mention the technological scale. Recall what the current Iraqi "makeover" is doing to the US economy, per the IMF--keep reading tonight's paper;
3) 3He mining of the Moon is absurd. Recall it first requires a small trick called Contained Nuclear Fusion. Once we have that, the radiation concerns that promote 3He for its fuel will practically vanish. I've commented on this before to this list;
4) Spirit and Opportunity are fine craft, but much less scientifically equipped probes than that poor lost Beagle. Too bad the Europeans can't raise it, but I'd argue that the US got lucky on the international prestige front. If the Beagle 2 was doing OK (and/or Nozomi), our probes would look much less impressive. My concern is we're losing our technological edge to other countries, but hey, maybe we get what we deserve (see no. 2);
5) I look at those first pictures and what I see is our new house's backyard before we did the landscaping. A lot of work it was, and we had plenty of water, sunshine, and about 80 times more atmospheric pressure. It must be a genetic response, but I think a more appropriate view is to reconsider how lucky we all are that Earth is still a nice place to live overall, and maybe strive harder to keep it that way for as long as possible.
Mars--a nice place to visit, but I wouldn't want to live there!
Gary
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