The little rover that could is back on the job exploring Mars.

Opportunity, as the machine is called, had been mired in a pile of sand for more than a month while NASA engineers worked with models to figure out a way to free it. Finally on Saturday, they succeeded. Opportunity sent back photographs and data showing it was on the move.

Opportunity, along with a second rover called Spirit, has exceeded expectations. Originally scheduled to perform a three-month mission on the Mars, the two have been at it for about year and a half.

The longevity of the mission and the ability of NASA scientists to squeeze more information out of the unmanned probe speak to the value of such missions. Relatively cheap and safe, the unmanned missions hold great promise for further exploration of the universe and illustrate the ingenuity and skill of the men and women working on the country’s space mission.

Now, if we could get NASA to work on the computers at the Maine Department of Health and Human Services or on the state’s budget, we might get unstuck from the political and financial sand that has bogged down lawmakers and caused problems with payments to the people who provide Medicaid services.