It cost billions to build...but it's on Mars!
On the other hand, it could discover information of massive importance. Any economists want to take a stab at this one?
2007-07-26 12:25:39 · 8 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
priceless
2007-07-26 12:29:22 · answer #1 · answered by takeemout01 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Of course it's worth it. Even disregarding the side benefits like the jobs it has created, the engineering technology that has resulted from it, demonstration of the ability to conduct a pinpoint automated landing on Mars (vital for any manned missions), etc it's still worth it. It has done quite a bit more than just "poke around and look at garbage". I guess you just haven't been paying much attention to the mission. Probably the "coolest" thing it has done so far is blast off pieces of Martian rocks with its onboard laser so the vaporized gasses could be examined with the spectrometers. Besides, this is at least a 2 year mission and we're only what, 2 months into it? I don't understand why people expect it to land and just immediately run off at 100 mph and start doing things. It's a long way from home with no help in sight. They have to plan everything out. Better to move slow and not be a moron than get a $2 billion rover stuck in the sand on day 2 and call it quits don't you think? The latest rover is a full fledged laboratory. I'm not even going to mention all the amazing cameras the thing has because any fool knows it has cameras, quite a few. It also has 4 different spectrometers, 2 different types of radiation detectors, and atmospheric sensors. It has the first organics compound detector on Mars since the 1970's. It's nuclear powered so unlike all previous rovers it can continue to operate at night and during the Martian winter, so we'll be able to get measurements at times we've never been able to before. And unlike all previous missions it has landed in a place that we know had running water in the past. Yeah, it's worth it to anyone who takes more than a couple of seconds to study what the mission is all about.
2016-05-19 21:03:49 · answer #2 · answered by ? 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Take your speculations of cost and stuff them.
The first rover, "Spirit" cost between $300 million and $450 million to build and get to Mars.
"Opportunity" was cheaper, after the lessons learned refining "Spirit" and cost about $200 million to build and get to Mars.
The information obtained so far is virtually "priceless", since we would have no other practical way to obtain it without risking human life. If we find hard evidence of life ever existing there, then it is a small leap of logic to believe that evidence of life could be found throughout the universe.
2007-07-26 12:36:58 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 1⤋
$625 million dollars exactly.
$800 million total for the mission: $625 million; Rover $100 million; launch $75 million; mission operation
2007-07-26 12:34:49 · answer #4 · answered by Jordan A 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's not worth anything now... It's a big paperweight stuck on Mars.
2007-07-26 12:28:22 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
more than 5 billion
2007-07-26 12:27:36 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Hi. I would wait to see what we learn before figuring their worth. If the find erosion? Quit a bit. If they find a fossil? Quite a bit more. They are both still operating.
2007-07-26 12:35:52 · answer #7 · answered by Cirric 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
more than i can afford
2007-07-26 12:32:43 · answer #8 · answered by Just.Dako. 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋