[WalterBright]

> This kind of budget is within reach only of a wealthy nation with stable finances and a stable political system.

The LHC, yes, various probes, no. I read that the beachball Mars lander was $250m. Another Hubble could be built for far less than the original, because it is a known design.

These are well within the abilities of many billionaires and their corporations.

[HarryHirsch]

The beachball lander? That must be Mars Pathfinder. Pathfinder was just a technology demonstrator for the Spirit and Opportunity rovers, and the science return was rather thin - about a dozen spectrographic analyses of rocks, half a year's worth of weather data, and a few hundred pretty pictures.

The real mission was Spirit and Opportunity, and those two are a giant success. With USD 900 million the price tag is four times higher, and this is getting out of reach of even the ultrawealthy.

[WalterBright]

900m is well within the reach of even a decabillionaire. Especially one who wants to be famous.

Consider also the billions thrown around for acquisitions.

And consider that the rovers were on the national news for months. What's that kind of PR worth?