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Hot Topic
Solar System
Mars
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| Twin Rovers, Parallel Parking |
| Topic: Mars |
02/03/04 |
| For the Spirit rover on one side of the martian equator, science resumed with preparations to put a diamond drill up against a volcanic rock called Adirondack. For the Opportunity rover on the other side of the planet, the 'mission success', full color panorama shows not only how it got itself into a crater. |
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| Roaming the Rust Belt |
| Topic: Mars |
02/01/04 |
| The Rust Belt states span from Indiana to New Jersey, but on Mars the rusty region known as Meridiani is a scientific prime in a number of ways. Running along the prime meridian (0 degrees longitude) near the equator (0 degrees latitude), this 150 km by 500 km martian strip adds up to a cross. |
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| Tango, Bravo, Echo |
| Topic: Mars |
01/31/04 |
| Mars' Opportunity rover became the second mobile laboratory as it drove through the soil with six wheels and collected science data on soil properties. The science team confirmed that Meridiani indeed is rich in the iron-oxide mineral, hematite, as first observed from orbit. |
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| Greening the Red Planet |
| Topic: Mars |
01/30/04 |
| Greenhouse gases might one day be used to warm the cold surface of Mars, and make the planet habitable for humans. |
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| Mars: Upstairs, Downstairs |
| Topic: Mars |
01/29/04 |
| The science teams planning Spirit and Opportunity rovers get to debate Martian features, while working on different floors at JPL, keeping opposite times of day and night, and looking at different sides of the planet. They have discovered two of the faces of Mars. |
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| Mars, Simply Beautiful |
| Topic: Mars |
01/28/04 |
| Why land in Gusev Crater? What does a planetary geologist dream about, when catching catnaps between exploration sessions on Mars? Gusev scientist Nathalie Cabrol talked about her experiences so far. |
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| Follow the Fire |
| Topic: Mars |
01/28/04 |
| Among those primordial elements critical for life, water has been considered the one in short supply on Mars. But even as scientists adopt the theme to 'follow the water', another element, geothermal heat, may offer interesting exploration opportunities. |
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| Opportunity Finds Martian Layer Cake |
| Topic: Mars |
01/27/04 |
| Geologists on the rover science team are excited by the discovery of fine layering in the rock outcrop that sits directly in front of Opportunity. One possibility is that the layers are sediments deposited billions of years ago by liquid water. |
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| Depth to Bedrock, Zero |
| Topic: Mars |
01/27/04 |
| The Opportunity landscape offers enough geological gems that science teams already have a rough idea of where they want to explore, only hours after the first pictures arrived. The scientists rated the Meridiani site as their first choice prior to launch. |
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| Mars 2053 |
| Topic: Mars |
01/26/04 |
| After 18 martian days of a near-perfect mission, a Spirit rover message came to Earth with corrupted data. When decoded, this tiny clue showed that the mobile laboratory's software considered that it was the year 2053. |
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