NASA PAVES PATHS INTO SPACE, NOT COUNTY ROADS

Mars Odyssey is on its way to Mars in NASA's continued quest to determine whether life exists on the Red Planet.

The mission follows two failed ones. In 1999, the Mars Climate Orbiter ended up in pieces around Mars or smashed on the planet. Ten weeks later, the Mars Polar Lander crash-landed on Mars.

NASA will spend $297 million on its latest Mars mission, an amount that undoubtedly raises the eyebrows of some Americans. It is particularly disconcerting to one reader, who called Speak Out to complain that $297 million can be spent to go to Mars while the county won't pave the road the caller lives on. Something is out of whack, the caller said.

Surely the caller realizes that NASA doesn't pave county roads, just as the county doesn't finance missions to Mars. Space exploration is costly, but it is the only way to increase our understanding of the universe.