P2K: Why are you back here in the business of launching an even more complex rover to Mars, when you could be golfing as a result of being a part of the aerospace industry on the East Coast? Why did you come back to do this kind of incredibly challenging stuff?

"I think everybody is challenged by different things. Everybody enjoys different things in their jobs. I love having somebody telling me, "you can't do it, it can't be done, that's almost impossible, nobody's ever tried that before," which is kind of the situation we were in with this particular (mission.) I mean, a lot of folks will tell you that trying to build two landers which are on the high end of the complexity scale when it comes to interplanetary missions in the timeframe that we have, y'know, is crazy. And I think that's probably why I'm here. I'm a glutton for punishment. I love being challenged like that, and that's to a large degree why I'm here. And part of it is just knowing that there's going to be something up there on Mars that has your name and your imprint on it. It's somehow a kind of tie into the future, I guess. That's the kind of stuff I enjoy doing and you can't work with a better group of people than the folks right here at JPL. The pros far outweigh the cons and that's why I'm here." (Interview at JPL March 1, 2002.)