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Celebrating a new Spirit of exploration
Zhou Liming Updated: 2004-01-05 10:22
Shortly after noon yesterday, Beijing time, about 170 million kilometres from
where we live, something similar to a small golf cart was bouncing around a
rugged terrain of red boulders and soil.
Millions of people across the
globe were mesmerized by the scene, or more accurately, by verbal commentary and
computer simulations on TV.
The touchdown of the Spirit rover on Mars was
truly a moment worth celebrating.
Human beings have always been
fascinated by our closest planetary neighbour. We conjure up living species who
reside there and alternately attack us or befriend us.
We dream of a
future home away from home where one day we'll be able to travel for vacations
or even settle down. We fear Mother Earth will degenerate into a similarly
uninhabitable sphere if we keep ravaging her.
Man's imagination always
runs ahead of his ability to transform it into reality. Previous attempts at
exploring Mars have resulted in frequent failure. The latest casualty might be
Great Britain's Beagle 2 lander, which has been unaccounted for since an
attempted landing on Christmas Eve.
As this edition of China Daily went
to press, the Spirit was functioning normally. And we will keep our fingers
crossed that the Spirit accomplishes its entire 90-day mission.
We
congratulate American scientists for their extraordinary work. The space race of
the Cold War era has given way to a spirit of co-operation.
As
scientific research becomes more globally integrated, any advance in science
usually reflects years of travail by scientists across many nations. And we have
good reason to believe that, eventually, it will benefit all
mankind.
Someday, our favourite Martians may be those who travel to Earth
for a change of scenery.
(China Daily)
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