It's What We Expect

The NASA Mars rover Opportunity is 9 years old. It was only supposed to last 3 months.

Are we surprised? Maybe a little, but I remember when it outlasted it's expectancy years ago, I had the thought of hoping it would last forever.

9 years in comparison to 3 months= Forever.

We do this a lot.

Remember when 100,000 miles was the death mark for cars? Now, people buy cars at 200,000 hoping it's good for a few (meaning 3-5) more years. A lot of cars are doing it nowadays.

We all have hope to get more than what others expected. We have hope that, for us, the laws of the universe will be ignored. We hope that our luck is better than the average bear.

Sometimes it is. Sometimes it ain't.

I doubt JPL counted on the rover to last beyond the three months but are happy to use it beyond that time barrier.

Likewise, we should expect out of our investments, our efforts, and our endeavors only what we put into them and what logic dictates they should return. But be prepared, sometimes we get extra mileage.

Use it wisely.