What about our own planet?

BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Probe returns first Mars pictures

The amount of information coming back from Mars is stunning. First of all, there are the little rovers that could that just keep on going and going. Then there's the European Space Agency's Mars Express that also keeps on sending back breathtaking images of the red planet. Mars Global Surveyor and Mars Odyssey are also still hanging out around Mars. Now finally, Mars Orbiter is also on the case sending back its first images. This is a heck of a lot of information coming from one planet. Why? Mars is the most similar planet in size and scope to Earth in our solar system. The main objective of most of these missions is to learn more because of the possibility of there being a water source on that planet. Where there is a water source, there is possibly life. That's of interest to almost everybody especially if we're going to send manned missions to Mars like President George Bush mandated back in 2004. Of course, not everyone is happy with Bush' plan to put so much effort into going to the moon and Mars. Bush says he's doing this because it's in our nature to explore, yet many other further reaching scientific missions are now on the chopping board because of the sheer amount of money it'll cost to get man back on the moon and then to Mars. Let's face it. It's not just exploration that's driving these manned missions, it's colonization. The U.S. administration wants to establish a permanent base on the moon and most likely Mars in the future. So while we're down here on Earth on the verge of bringing our own planet to destruction by not curbing greenhouse gases, we're looking for an escape route. Maybe we should start looking for a way to get to one of the parallel universes that theoretically exist alongside of our own? Or maybe it's time to face what we've been doing to our own planet and start getting to work to clean it up. Let's all start emailing President George Bush and Prime Minister Steven Harper. Maybe if these two guys wake up, the rest of the world will act a little quicker too.