Posthuman Blues

I'm looking forward to the Cassini-Saturn rendezvous. I'm still interested in the Mars rover missions, but it's become rather clear what we can expect of them: more and more predictable (if exquisite) images of Martian soil -- the vast majority in black-and-white.





If only Beagle 2 had landed successfully I strongly suspect we'd have, if not confirmation of life on Mars, the closest thing to a smoking gun possible before we make it there in person. (Assuming, of course, that we ever do. And the more I monitor the news here on Earth the more I'm inclined to think we never will.)