In a rational universe, there is no room for the kind of misguided hatred that led to the events of September 11, 2001. But, irrational people decided to take actions that, in retrospect, seem inhuman and insane. That’s the nature of fanaticism, and unfortunately, it isn’t limited to one religion or one country.
Today is a day to remember those events and take some meaning from them. Please do.
Interplanetary Memorial to Victims of Sept. 11, 2001. The piece of metal with the American flag on it in this image of a NASA rover on Mars is made of aluminum recovered from the site of the World Trade Center towers in the weeks after their destruction. The piece serves as a cable guard for the rock abrasion tool on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit as well as a memorial to the victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. An identical piece is on the twin rover, Opportunity. The rock abrasion tools were built by Honeybee Robotics in lower Manhattan, less than a mile from the site. This image comes from the panoramic camera on Spirit and was taken on Feb. 2, 2004, the 30th Martian day, or sol, of Spirit's work on Mars. Both Spirit and Opportunity completed their prime missions in April 2004 and began years of additional work in extended missions. Both rovers have made important discoveries about wet environments on ancient Mars that may have been favorable for supporting microbial life. Spirit ended communications in March 2010. Opportunity is still active, and researchers plan to use its rock abrasion tool on selected targets around a large crater that the rover reached last month. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Cornell University
