I was glad to
read that the various man-made Martian satellites survived the recent comet flyby (it helps that NASA had plenty of warning and placed the spacecraft at a safe distance to observe the event). With MAVEN having just arrived (
Mars Odyssey and Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter have been orbiting for a while), as well as it's Indian peer, this could have been a problem. Given the numerous national failures to reach Mars, the last thing we need is a monster snow ball sweeping the survivors from the sky. Comet
C/2013 A1 Siding Spring can now go back to rattling around the solar system.
