XKCD on the Spirit martian rover

[krispos42]

http://xkcd.com/695/


Very touching.

[beam me up scottie]

1. k&r

I know I shouldn't get emotional about the fate of a robot but I'd wager its creators are grieving too.

[Fumesucker]

3. They're going to do science they couldn't do while the rover was mobile..

Finding out if Mars has a liquid core or not is one of the things I read they're going to research.

I think that's a fairly important question to answer.

[beam me up scottie]

5. Indeed.

I just hope they tell Spirit how important it is. :)

[Fumesucker]

6. I'm sure they will..

The builders care for Spirit at least as much as we do.

[krispos42]

8. Yeah, it kinda give your heart a twinge, doesn't it? n/t

[FiveGoodMen]

2. Thank goodness the poor thing doesn't really have feelings like that!

Heartbreaking.

Although there's really no reason that it should be. It IS just a machine. It DOESN'T have thoughts like that.

[HeresyLives]

4. Of course not.

Machines can't become sentient.

They just can't.

[Fumesucker]

7. Not at the moment, true..

It took bags of contaminated water quite a while to become sentient, who's to say how long it will take the next stage of sentience to manifest itself though?

[jonmiller74]

9. But but the panel is less about Rover and really more about us.

Perhaps the anthropomorphism is more related to human compassion for the hard work of others whether people, animals or things. For Example, while we might never know if the horse pulling the carriage around the park is tired, we can empathize with it. And that empathy makes us better people. Rover has served us well and it's a little sad to think it can't be back with us in the Smithsonian. Resting after it's wearying toils.

[beam me up scottie]

10. Yes.

"Rover has served us well and it's a little sad to think it can't be back with us"

Yes, thank you, that's it exactly, and I will mourn the Hubble Telescope even more when its time comes.

How does one qualify endless inspiration?

[Iggo]

11. They'll bring it back some day...

...maybe a few or a few hundred years from now.