The view from Opportunity, September 16, 2010
The view from Opportunity, September 16, 2010. Near the rover you can see the bedrock periodically exposed under windblown sand. The rock sitting on the sand in the distance is thought to be a meteorite, to which Opportunity is heading for a closer look. In the distance can be seen the rim of Endurance Crater, the rover’s eventual destination.
From the press release: From the moment he is handed a possibility of making the first alien contact, Saunders Maxwell decides he will do it, even if doing so takes him through hell and back.
Unfortunately, that is exactly where that journey takes him.
The vision that Zimmerman paints of vibrant human colonies on the Moon, Mars, the asteroids, and beyond, indomitably fighting the harsh lifeless environment of space to build new societies, captures perfectly the emerging space race we see today.
He also captures in Pioneer the heart of the human spirit, willing to push forward no matter the odds, no matter the cost. It is that spirit that will make the exploration of the heavens possible, forever, into the never-ending future.
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That is not a rock… IT”S A RUBBER DUCKIE!