Scientists have long sought a sample directly from a known comet because of the unique chemical and physical information these bodies contain about the earliest history of the solar system.

Before the election, that information (that scientists were making public) could have been the straw that broke the camel?s back.

Bunch of rocks, couple hills in the background. Now we're landing near a pole. I mean, I don't know what we're going to see.

It was kind of a neat idea. We don't know what we are going to hear, except I don't think we are going to hear Elvis.

Biology has taught us that if you have water and energy and some organic compounds you can produce life even in the most extreme environments. Basically, life can get a foothold almost anywhere. This forebodes well for the possibility that life existed on Mars sometime in the past or even perhaps today.

NEAR Shoemaker has set a high standard for low-cost planetary exploration.