Move Over, Rover

NASA's Martian rover named Spirit is bogged down on the Red Planet, unable to free two of its wheels now stuck in the powdery Martian soil.

Apparently the scientists who've been operating the Martian exploration vehicle are stuck, too. Instead of accepting the situation and abandoning the craft after getting five years of good science from it, they're working hard to free the trapped machine.

As Nell Greenfieldboyce reported on All Things Considered this evening, the scientists have developed what appears to be a deep emotional bond to Spirit.

John Callas, NASA project manager for Spirit and its twin rover, Opportunity told her in an interview:

"You know, we talk to them each day. We interact with them, they're responsive to us, they exhibit personalities." When you discover that one of them is in trouble, then you become very worried, much like, you know, a person would become very worried about a dear relative if they suddenly became ill or were in a difficult situation."

This sort of attachment to a machine may seem strange to some of us outsiders but, then, who are we to judge?