Venera 5 from the Soviet Union was the first of any mission to land on another planet when it landed on Venus in 1969.

Then NASA’s Viking missions landed on Mars in 1975.

But when Sojourner’s rover actually began moving on the surface of Mars last Saturday, it became the first vehicle to travel on another planet.

While MIR fell apart and public interest in space exploration declined, NASA needed a feat of extraordinary significance to sustain credibility. The Sojourner mission has done this and more.

Not only is this mission achieving most of its goals, but it is doing so with a budget of only $93 million (about the price of filming a hit movie.)

To some, the Sojourner mission means more information about Mars, such as the possibility that water or even life once existed (or still does) on the planet.

To others, the success of Sojourner spells the possibility of a new era of space travel — sending manned missions to other planets.

Twice now, we have sent spacecraft to Mars, and both missions were successful.

We have also sent successful missions to Venus and Jupiter in recent times, and yet still, a mission is underway to Saturn and its moon, Titan.

The success of all these missions gives hope that a manned flight to Mars is not only possible, but feasible in the near future.

In fact, the technology is already available for such a mission. The only obstacle blocking NASA has been the price tag.

Sojourner has proven that spacecraft can be sent on high-priority mission on a low-cost basis.

All that is needed now is for a ship to be built and men and women to be chosen for the first human journey beyond the Earth, beyond the moon and into history.