This is a great day for space exploration. Not only is this the beginning of the most powerful Mars exploration mission ever flown, it is a demonstration of a landing system that can deliver a ton to the Martian surface, thereby enabling all kinds of great future missions, including sample return. More than that, it is a demonstration of excellence that not only justifies the pursuit of the robotic exploration program, but shows that we have the skills needed to succeed were we to rise to the challenge of sending humans to Mars. Give our space program the stuff it needs, and there is no limit to what we can do.

[Image: NASA]