After two years the Mars Rovers are still roving the Martian landscape. It’s simply amazing.
The original expectation was for the Mars Rovers to last 60 or possibly 90 days. So much for predictions. Two years later the Rovers are still chugging along. And there are some new predictions that the Rovers could last another year or possibly two. Who knows.
What this all points to though is a slow transition both in space exploration and even here on Earth to remotely guided machines in more and more cases. I recall awhile back that there was great concern whether mechanized explorers were the right way to go. Shouldn’t we send people instead? The answer is “Yes,” to both. There will be times when mechanized, teleoperated, or semi-autonomous vehicles will be ideal and there will be times when people will do better. A world with one or the other is not the solution. Predictions of such are more and more looking like poor bets. I’m guessing the odds will continue to grow against them.