Did you find any water yet?  Are they testing your wheels right now?  We saw those pictures that you sent.  They were really cool.  I saw your airbags and the big round hole.  Be careful of the big rocks so you won't crash.  Make sure you find some water on Mars.  I like you a lot.  I hope you landed safely.

SAM

Dear Mike,

My three-year-old son, Sam, dictated the following letter to Spirit last week.  We were in the midst of writing thank you notes for Christmas presents and he told me that he wanted to write a letter to Spirit.  So we dashed one off.

Sam has been keeping a close eye on Spirit and his friend, Opportunity, for the past few weeks.  He can’t stop talking about Mars and the rovers.  He loves to go through all of the videos and pictures on the website.  In particular, he delights in watching the animation “where Spirit and Opportunity learn how to drive” that detailed their autonomous navigation abilities.  Sam was particularly concerned about Spirit’s communication problems this past week.  He was pretty sure that Opportunity would help Spirit fix everything when he arrived.  Coincidentally, this is about how the timing of events seemed to work, so he is even more convinced about the friendship between the two rovers.

I wasn’t sure where to send this letter, but I thought that you and some of your colleagues might appreciate Sam’s good wishes.  As a fellow scientist, I know that I rarely get any fan mail, so I hoped that this might bring a smile.  Sam is a great little kid and hopes to go to Mars someday.  Thanks for bringing Mars to him.

All the best to you and the rovers,

Thank you for your letter.  My colleagues and I really enjoyed reading it and we are thrilled that you are following our mission.  My team and I worked hard to design and build the best rovers that we could and we are very pleased that they are working so well on the surface of Mars.  As you must know by now, Spirit is healthy and operating normally again.  This made us very happy and we are looking forward to all of the discoveries that Spirit and Opportunity will make during their time on Mars.

Because you are so interested in the rovers, my colleagues and I decided that you should have a rover of your own.  We pitched in and got this Lego version of Spirit just for you.  Once your Dad helps you build it, you can drive it along with Sprit and Opportunity as they explore Mars.  We also enclosed a photograph of our team of engineers that designed and built Spirit and Opportunity (that's me all the way on the right).

Tell your Dad that if you ever visit Southern California, I'll be glad to show you around JPL.  You might even get a chance to meet Spirit and Opportunity's cousin.  He likes to play in our sand box, does all the things that Spirit and Opportunity do, but he didn't have to travel so far away.  Take care and keep in touch!