I remain convinced, based on my reading and conversations with people who seem to know what they're talking about, that the biggest single danger we face from Y2K is panic. If I'm wrong I'll say so. But I won't hold my breath waiting for the panic mongers to apologize when and if they're proved wrong. OK, so the latest Mars mission has failed. Before we join the latest round of hand-wringing, however, let's remember that space exploration is inherently dangerous.
Failure is part of the process.
There's no evidence that this mishap was caused by human error, as was the case in another recent Mars probe. It appears to have simply been the luck of the draw. The need for space exploration is so vast that we cannot stop. Not only is such questing in our very nature, but we are an expansionist species. Curiosity is an admirable trait, even if imperialism is not.