Stephen Harding wrote:

: Although it now seems "Spirit" is on the mend, or at least can
: be used in such a way that it can continue to serve its purpose
: (apparently some bad memory areas), there has been speculation
: on why the malfunctions occurred.

IIRC the success rate of Mars landings so far is only
30%... Which indeed makes one wonder whether there is
something about the planet we ought to know. At least
this rate needs to become very much better before
one can even seriosuly consider manned exploration...

: ambled by. Perhaps the rover might interpret Beagle as an
: interesting geologic feature, thus being lured within stabbing
: range?

Wasn't the rover about to attack 'an interesting geological
feature' when it failed? So it would be legitimate self-defence,
or at worst a legitimate pre-emptive strike...

Emmanuel Gustin