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ZL2VAL > SPACE 25.01.04 00:41l 51 Lines 1933 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : BE240104
Read: GUEST
Subj: ESA confirms Martian water
Path: DB0FHN<DB0RGB<OK0PPL<DB0RES<ON0AR<ZL2TZE<ZL2AB
Sent: 040124/2133Z @:ZL2AB.#46.NZL.OC #:33986 [New Plymouth] FBB7.00g $:BE24010
From: ZL2VAL@ZL2AB.#46.NZL.OC
To : SPACE@WW
ESA confirmation of martian water at pole
24-Jan-04 13:32 GMT
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Summary
Beagle 2's 'mothership' Mars Express has confirmed the presence of large
amounts of ice water at Mars' south pole, highlighting again the strong
possibility of past life on the planet
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Full story
The high resolution spectrometer on the European spacecraft, OMEGA, has
sent back images showing the unmistakable signature of water at the pole.
This confirmed previous data that suggested that large amounts of ice were
held in the martian polar caps.
Professor Colin Pillinger, the leader of the Beagle 2 project, sent his
congratulations to Jean-Pierre Bibring at the European Space Agency,
whose team was responsible for the find. The ice suggests there was liquid
water on Mars in the past.
Professor Pillinger noted that where there was water, there may have been
life. "This discovery reemphasises the need for surface missions like
Beagle 2, which can search for the signs of life directly through chemical
analysis of subsurface soil and rock," he added.
Mars Express' high resolution camera has continued to return impressive
data. The camera team, led by Gerhard Neukum, has been presenting some
spectacularly detailed views of the martian landscape.
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73 de Alan
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Points to ponder
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The hardness of the butter is proportional to the softness of the bread.
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