As soon as NASA’s newest six-wheeled rover touched down on the
Martian surface, the world was hooked. Those JPL geniuses not
only managed to land a robot the size of a small SUV on another
planet, they captured the imagination of millions. But with all
this love and fondness for a rover called ‘Curiosity’ came the
inevitable question: Will she come home? My answer has always
been: Of course not! How the heck could that huge robot be
shipped back to Earth? It didn’t land on Mars with an open
return ticket and it certainly didn’t bring its own return
rocket booster! But it turns out that my “obvious” answer may
have been a little hasty. NASA’s Mars mission chief thinks a
return trip might be an option for future explorers. “It is my
hope that humans will be sent to Mars in the 2030s, or 2040s,
and they will be able to walk up to Curiosity and bring it back,
as I am sure there is a museum out there that would love to have
it,” said Doug McCuistion, Director of NASA’s Mars Exploration
Program. McCuistion was spea