Shooting for the stars here on Earth

I was grateful for the linkurl:invitation;http://www.amnh.org/rose/specials/?src=p_h to witness the return to Earth of NASA?s Stardust mission broadcast live from the American Museum of Natural History this Sunday. While the notion of roaming the halls of a favorite childhood retreat at 5am is appealing, I?m even more enthralled by the possibilities of Stardust, an unmanned spacecraft which captured particles from the comet Wild 2 offering the possibility of a glimpse into the very birth of the solar system. I?m no space addict, although I will admit a certain level of giddiness any time I get to talk to a real astronaut. Jay Buckey who linkurl:wrote for us;http://www.the-scientist.com/article/display/15336/ on potential hurdles in a manned mission to Mars was no exception. Nevertheless, while I agree we have the potential to send people to Mars and that the quest to do so would result in some interesting technological advancements, I doubt that the discoveries...