A robot may be able to work 24/7 but it can't look at a rock and go "hey that looks odd, lets get a closer look" Mans greatest gift is the ability to reason from the abstract and see what is there beyond the obvious. no robot no matter how well it is programed will be able to do that in our lifetime. maybe in 80-100 years but even then a human will always be the better observer.

"They've been saying that for 30 years concerning all surface probes…
Does anyone know what are the specifics of this mission compared to the previous rovers?"

The mission is all about more quality and quantity of scientific data. It will be able to travel much farther and faster than current rovers, collect a lot more data and a lot more diverse data etc. Using an analogy to get a fell for the increase in capability – if Sojourner could be compared to the 41 inch Yerkes Refractor, the current rovers would be like the 200 inch Hale reflector and the MSL would be the ESO Very Large Telescope.

Here is a brief rundown of the broad goals:

http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/science/objectives.html

…and here is a description of the advanced instrumentation of the rover:

http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/technology/si_is_instrumentation.html

Basically the capabilities of this vehicle will dwarf those of the past and current mars rovers in every way.

Kevin Says:
April 8th, 2008 at 9:28 am

"personaly i don't care if they find anything or not, the real age of Mars discovery begens with a human footprint."

I guarantee you that, even when humans eventually do go to Mars, it'll still be the bots that are contributing 95% of the scientific discoveries. Human space exploration may have been cutting edge in the 60's, but by the time we go to Mars there won't be be much, if anything, left that a human could do more efficiently or better than a robot.

That's not to say that it is not worthwhile to send Humans to Mars, just that it is worthwhile for reasons other than pure scientific discovery…

I hope all goes well though.

"MSL, a roving analytical laboratory, will collect Martian soil and rock samples and analyze them for organic compounds and environmental conditions that could have supported microbial life now or in the past."

They've been saying that for 30 years concerning all surface probes…
Does anyone know what are the specifics of this mission compared to the previous rovers?