NASA's new social media effort, mainly the "
7 Minutes of Terror," seemed to work miracles for the general public's interest in space. Based on my own Facebook wall (and my cat's Facebook wall), many, many people who aren't interested in anything that happens outside of about 10ft over their heads, began posting links to information about Mars, links to videos and information, and statuses about how cool space is and Mars is and etc, etc.
I was not surprised, however, (although a bit disappointed) when the excitement died down within 48 hours after the landing. The posts petered out. The likes and comments ceased. A week later, the news posts are even mostly gone (
except for the thing with Obama).
I'm a little sad. I had hoped that combining the Curiosity's epic landing with the upcoming election would make space travel and discovery a major topic for the Presidential candidates.
It didn't.
So we're back to the same old grind, with a few new people who are excited about space, and a large number of people ready to jump on the bandwagon if anything interesting happens.
Something interesting did happen, though. Something that no one is talking about. Do you want to know what they don't tell you? Do you want to know what they really found on Mars (besides dirt)? I'll give you a hint. It was the same thing they found on the moon.
Yep. Daleks. We're all going to die. End of the world. Christmas, 2012.
Let's hope the Doctor is ready and waiting.
