SPIRIT IN THE SKY?
The first of the two NASA Mars rovers, named Spirit, was set to make its third launch attempt as Â鶹´«Ã½ went to press. Its twin, Opportunity, is poised for launch later this month, while Europe’s Beagle 2 mission set off for Mars last week. This flurry of missions, taking advantage of the close alignment of Earth and Mars this year, should dramatically increase our knowledge of the Red Planet and its apparent watery past. But getting off the ground is usually the easy part; the suspense comes later. So far, only three out of nine…
