Comment 16 by caseyg5 :

There is currently a poll in the US on the Yahoo home page asking if one thinks with regards to the Mars landing that 1) "Signs of Life, scientific breakthroughs" would come of the event, or 2) "Nothing much." So far "Nothing much" leads by 65% to 35%. It shows you what supporters of science and exploration are up against in what has become a peculiar nation.

Even if the brilliance of NASA and the Curiosity mission failed to inspire Americans, the number of people around the world celebrating this human achievement is many times greater than the whole population of the US. So even if some of the Americans don't care themselves, the rest of the world loves NASA and the feats of American space program. Too bad the Olympics had to coincide with the landing.