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)