Curiosity Has Landed
I have a question:
NASA's newest rover, Curiosity, landed on Mars this past week! This 2.5 billion dollar machine the size of a Mini Cooper, but weighing considerably more, will send images to earth, collect data and tell us more about the red planet. What will be revealed during the course of Curiosity's mission will, no doubt, be fascinating.
Space exploration has always been a favorite subject of mine. If you've read my blogs over the years, you may have noticed that I'm a Trekkie. My favorite genre to read is sci-fi. I even wrote a sci-fi novel many years ago (but you won't find it on my website or in any book store. It lies in a cardboard box on the top shelf of my closet. I showed it to my agent and he politely suggested that I should stick with historical fiction!) I did manage to sneak a little sci-fi into one of my novels - THE BLESSING STONE, about a mystical blue stone that drops into earth via an asteroid about 30 million years ago.
Back to Curiosity and my question: what intrigues me is that this marvelous machine is referred to as a “she.” I'm guessing this is in the age-old tradition of captains and pilots who preferred to think of their naval vessels and planes as “women.” Maybe this came from a man's need to control and command? I prefer to think of it as a man's desire to protect and guide his mighty vessel through perilous waters and skies and perhaps this is made easier if the vessel is a “she.”
Interestingly, "Curiosity" was named by a 12-year-old girl :) I wonder if she thought Curiosity was a girl or a boy?
