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Hot Topic
Solar System
Mars
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| Terra Meridiani, Not Terra Firma |
| Topic: Mars |
01/26/04 |
| The three standout features in the initial color postcard from the Opportunity landing site at Meridiani Planum include: the first observed martian bedrock, a talcum-powder-like soil texture, and the iron-rich color reminiscent of red clays from Texas and Oklahoma. But analogs on Earth may be hard to find. |
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| Where on Mars is Opportunity? |
| Topic: Mars |
01/25/04 |
| Using images taken by Opportunity during its descent to the martian surface, mission scientists have begun to pinpoint the rover's location. Nearby, a large crater beckons as a long-range scientific target. |
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| A Bizarre New Mars |
| Topic: Mars |
01/25/04 |
| Initial color images from Meridiani, Opportunity's landing site in a flat, volcanic plain, suggest fine-grain soil and the first bedrock ever seen on Mars. The significance of bedrock to geologists can be compared to a history book of the planet, with its binding still ordering the pages to be read. |
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| Second Opportunity, Safe on Mars |
| Topic: Mars |
01/24/04 |
| Surviving its harrowing entry and landing, the second Mars rover called Opportunity was reported to be 'live' and at rest on the surface of a volcanic plain called Meridiani Planum. As Rob Manning, the development manager for the critical Entry, Descent and Landing. |
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| Spirit Condition Serious |
| Topic: Mars |
01/24/04 |
| An anomaly team has been huddled to determine the current state of the Spirit rover's health. They estimate days to weeks before a final operational diagnosis can be completed. |
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| No Hostage to Earth's Geology |
| Topic: Mars |
01/20/04 |
| Spirit rover geologists might look to drill into their first rock sample, with their cameras trained on whether it shows round or glassy grains inside. The differences may extend their sampling strategy to look for other examples from the four major classes: volcanic, impact debris, aqueous or aeolian (wind-weathered). |
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| Martian Silk and Sandpaper |
| Topic: Mars |
01/17/04 |
| With Mars lander now transformed into roving geologists, mission scientists stretched Spirit rover's robotic arm and took highest resolution image. Their microscopic imager can resolve soil and rock surfaces with sufficient sharpness to photograph features small enough to compare with width of human hair. |
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| Spirit Makes Tracks on Mars |
| Topic: Mars |
01/15/04 |
| The Mars Exploration Rover, Spirit, descended today from its landing base onto red soil. The wheel tracks were confirmed by new images looking back at what is now debris, its petal-like platform. What was a mission that began as a lander is now a rover, and about to transform again into a robotic geologist. |
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| Mars Express: Takeout Service |
| Topic: Mars |
01/14/04 |
| The swarm of ongoing Mars missions offers scientists a chance to combine wits, either using different instruments or unusual perspectives. An experiment dreamed up in a Paris cafe less than a year ago will unfold on Friday, when the European Mars Express orbiter looks down on the Spirit rover. |
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| Spirit Scientists Plot a Course |
| Topic: Mars |
01/13/04 |
| The first thing that the Spirit rover will do later tonight, after getting all six wheels on the ground, is sample the soil in the immediate vicinity of its base petal. Once that task is complete, Spirit will head out toward a nearby crater. |
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