Opportunity, Spirit, and Enthusiasm

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Enthusiasm is contagious, and there's nothing quite like the enthusiasm of a science geek. So here's an opportunity to get excited about Mars and its rovers. JPL engineer Kobie Boykins takes us practically step by amazing step from the liftoff of the Delta II rocket to the rover's bouncing, balloon-insulated landing to its unfolding of its solar arrays. "Well done!" he marvels as he watches the video along with his audience. "I must have seen this a thousand times. It doesn't matter how many times I see it, I get very excited when it works. My team and I were the team that designed that." Next, he takes us on a voyage of discovery with the rover, by which point you'll probably be considering a second career as a mechanical engineer at NASA (video): http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/ng-live/boykins-mars-rovers-nglive?utm_source=NatGeocom&utm_medium=Email&utm_content=inside_20150205&utm_campaign=Content
   Opportunity, despite its somewhat arthritic robotic arm, has found some interesting rocks. "We checked one and found its composition is different from any ever measured before on Mars. So, whoa!" says Opportunity Project Scientist Matt Golombek (which means "little dove" in Polish, btw!): http://news.yahoo.com/mars-opportunity-rover-spots-weird-rocks-near-marathon-220853694.html;_ylt=AwrT6V6MhP9U8o8A7V4nnIlQ