An Eager NASA Is Bringing Mars Down to Earth.

Observes the unusual sense of personal ownership in the current Mars mission by NASA. 32 million people who have visited the NASA web site; Recording of 4 billion hits as visitors browsed through hundreds of pictures; Gathering of tens of thousands of Mars fans at planetariums, around TV sets and in Internet chat rooms to monitor the action; Theory on why the interest is so high; Features available on the web site; How NASA hopes the public interest will help it gain funding; How technology may make it not as compelling to send a man to Mars.