From: utzoo!decvax!harpo!seismo!hao!csu-cs!silver
Newsgroups: net.misc
Title: Rushing to the defense of poor old Viking
Article-I.D.: csu-cs.2055
Posted: Fri Feb 25 17:19:37 1983
Received: Sun Feb 27 01:51:09 1983

Yes, but, remember, the Viking lander merely scooped up some dirt and
used that for analysis.  Anything that couldn't move out of the way of
the little sampler arm might as well be fried!

Besides, Somebody's Principle (Heisenberg's Uncertainty?) says you can't
do ANYTHING to a system without disturbing it.  In our local neck of the
System, we exist, ergo we have the right to exist, and probably to 
explore it as well (it's a survival trait).