Posted by tourdemars to General News at January 12, 2004 12:00 PM

On Saturday, January 3, a journey of over 300 million miles ended, while a jaunt of less than ¾ mile on a new world would soon begin that could provide an answer to a question that has plagued humans for millennia. NASA’s Mars Exploration Rovers touched down on the red planet ending a journey of nearly six months. Shortly thereafter, the probe began to collect data that may indicate whether Mars had/has water and if life has ever existed on our interplanetary neighbor. Once again, this potentially gigantic leap in mankind’s knowledge, as is the case with nearly every major innovation and idea across disciplines, came courtesy of the United States.