[X] My Assistant

[Guest_Sunspot_*]

We haven't had a press briefing or conference in months... anyone else think Opportunities eventual (hopefully) arrival and exporation at Victoria Crater deserves one? If oppy makes it ok, it would, in my opinion at least, make it one of the greatest achievements in the history of planetary exploration and certainly deserves some public/press recognition. Doug, maybe you could ask if the rover team are planning anything?

[ups]

The MER team needs a big splash to ignite the public's interest in this project again -- Victoria has the best shot of doing that, but they need to generate some press.

[BrianL]

The MER team needs a big splash to ignite the public's interest in this project again -- Victoria has the best shot of doing that, but they need to generate some press.

Those who care about such things have never lost interest. They have followed the project from the beginning. As for the rest.... who cares? Their attention will be held for a nanosecond, then they'll find another ball to bounce around their playpen.

Science should not have to resort to being the Flavour of the Month.

Brian

[stevesliva]

Those who care about such things have never lost interest. They have followed the project from the beginning. As for the rest.... who cares? Their attention will be held for a nanosecond, then they'll find another ball to bounce around their playpen.

This isn't really true. There are plenty of folks that may have been visiting the official NASA sites at the beginning of the mission that have just let checking up on Mars slip from their daily routines, and there are those that really only do get their news from traditional sources. Don't assume that everyone who finds this endeavour worthwhile also finds it worth paying close attention to.

[BrianL]

This isn't really true. There are plenty of folks that may have been visiting the official NASA sites at the beginning of the mission that have just let checking up on Mars slip from their daily routines, and there are those that really only do get their news from traditional sources. Don't assume that everyone who finds this endeavour worthwhile also finds it worth paying close attention to.

I didn't say you had to be a Marsaholic. Whether you check on a daily or weekly or monthly basis, whether you get the information on-line or from newsmagazines or science shows on TV, you are still interested and following the mission, and you are finding ways to get the information at the level that interests you from a variety of sources.

The comment was made, we need a big splashy press conference to revive "public interest". The point I wanted to make without being overly verbose, was that trumpeting the pictures from the rim of VC through CNN or the BBC or the front page of the daily papers will have very little effect on generating sustainable interest in the project, or space exploration in general. Most people will view it with a "Well, isn't that neat?" sort of perspective, then not give it another thought. On the downside, it will invariably draw the ire of a handful who feel that money would have been better spent feeding the poor or curing cancer instead of going to stare into a big hole in the ground.

Sure a big public announcement will be a nice thing to do. I'm not saying, don't do it. Just don't have this expectation of a big upside. If the goal is to have the public at large keen on such missions, and being vocal in their support of providing sufficient funding, I just don't see a press conference from VC making much difference. We already have a staggering amount of information available to the public that wants it.

Brian

[diane]

On the downside, it will invariably draw the ire of a handful who feel that money would have been better spent feeding the poor or curing cancer instead of going to stare into a big hole in the ground.

The point needs to be made that all of that money was spent right here on Earth, creating jobs and expanding human knowledge. It's not like this is some sort of interplanetary foreign aid program where we're just pouring money into that (very pretty) hole in the ground.

[dvandorn]

The point needs to be made that all of that money was spent right here on Earth, creating jobs and expanding human knowledge. It's not like this is some sort of interplanetary foreign aid program where we're just pouring money into that (very pretty) hole in the ground.

Couldn't have said it better, myself, Diane -- notwithstanding that I've said the same thing, in innumerable ways, for decades, now.

-the other Doug