When the U.S. puts as much money into something as the mars rover (that isn't for killing or spying), red-blooded 'mericans want to know they're getting their m

When the U.S. puts as much money into something as the mars rover (that isn't for killing or spying), red-blooded 'mericans want to know they're getting their money's worth. If you design a rover that's supposed to work for 10 years and it dies in 10 months, you F'd up. However, if you publish a Scotty estimate of just 6 months and it lasts 10 years... I don't buy, even for a moment, that the mars rover wasn't designed to last. It was indeed well designed and built. The estimate for it's expected lifetime, however, was more a function of politics than engineering.