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ZL2VAL > ROVERS 09.06.04 14:51l 58 Lines 1857 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : 6D0014ZL2VAL
Read: OE5AKM GUEST
Subj: Evidence found of salty water
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Sent: 040609/0856Z @:ZL2AB.#46.NZL.OC #:41675 [New Plymouth] FBB7.00g
From: ZL2VAL@ZL2AB.#46.NZL.OC
To : ROVERS@WW
Jun 9, 2004
Spirit stumbles upon remnants of salty sea
BY CHRIS KRIDLER
FLORIDA TODAY
While the Opportunity rover makes what could be a one-way journey into a
crater on Mars, Spirit has found salty clues to a history of water on
the other side of the planet.
Opportunity, which is roaming in Meridiani Planum, found evidence of a
salty sea. Mineral evidence in Spirit's home, 100-mile-wide Gusev
Crater, suggests that water once percolated through the soil, leaving
salts behind.
"This is clear evidence that water has played a role, but not evidence
for a big lake or anything like that," principal investigator Steve
Squyres of Cornell University said Tuesday.
A lake might have come earlier in Gusev's history. The Columbia Hills,
which Spirit is about to explore, could hold more clues.
Engineers still are figuring out how to attack the hills, with their
craggy boulders. "There's no textbook to go to, to tell you how to
explore a mountain range with a robot," Squyres said.
To answer questions about the history of Opportunity's landing site,
scientists have resolved to drive the rover into Endurance Crater.
It may not get out, but the rover team at NASA's Jet Propulsion
Laboratory has tested the rover's agility and is choosing a relatively
safe path, mission managers said.
"The science is very compelling," said Mars exploration manager Firouz
Naderi, and the potential for discovery was deemed worth the risk.
=========================
73 de Alan, (Sysop ZL2AB).
AX25:ZL2VAL@ZL2AB.#46.NZL.OC
IP :zl2val@qsl.net
APRS:!3903.34S/17406.45E]
Message timed: 20:50 on 2004-Jun-09
Quotable quotes
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Home computers are the perfect thing for women who don't feel that men
provide them with enough frustration. -- Bill Gates (1955- )
And, vice versa -Alan, ZL2VAL
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