Phoenix Launching

[Roger]

Well it didn't sink in the first time about the rovers. I was just thinking that if you wanted it at a certain small target, dropping a big bouncy ball wasn't the ideal method if your payload didn't have wheels to move around. Or maybe the terrain was a little too pointy rocks to bounce an airbag on. But then again, you guys have had many years and many projects to figure out details like this. I just wonder (not in a criticizing way) about the reasoning behind some of the decisions. And as dave explained, sometimes the reason comes from a place or time far away and not obvious.

NASA must have this eclectic collection of leftovers and never-finisheds. I have this image of this old grizzly guy with a huge garage/junkyard in the back lot of NASA, saying, "Rocket to Mars, eh? Let's see, I think I got something you'd like back here. Almost rode it back in the last century. You need some arms probes, too? I got one over here -- still in the box...."