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ZL2VAL > ROVERS 06.03.04 18:44l 79 Lines 2847 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
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Subj: Water evidence found by Spirit
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Sent: 040306/1015Z @:ZL2AB.#46.NZL.OC #:37158 [New Plymouth] FBB7.00g $:5199-ZL
From: ZL2VAL@ZL2AB.#46.NZL.OC
To : ROVERS@WW
Mar 6, 2004
Spirit rover finds clues of water on other side of Mars
BY CHRIS KRIDLER
FLORIDA TODAY
Not to be left out, the Spirit Mars rover is seeing clues of water,
too -- tiny amounts of water.
Following Tuesday's announcement that Opportunity discovered the
Meridiani Planum region of Mars was once "drenched," scientists
Friday said Spirit, on the opposite side of the planet, saw the
influence of water in a volcanic rock.
"This is by no means the gobs of water in Meridiani, but it again
demonstrates that when rocks are made on Mars, that fluids are
involved," said Ray Arvidson, deputy principal investigator for the
rovers.
Spirit used its Rock Abrasion Tool to grind into a two-foot-tall
rock called "Humphrey."
A microscopic image showed it was an igneous rock with minerals
formed with the help of a small amount of fluid.
"We're looking at a surface in the interior that makes geologists
just totally happy," said Arvidson, of Washington University in St.
Louis.
The team at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory outside Pasadena,
Calif., hopes to find more interesting rocks as Spirit gets closer
to the rim of Bonneville Crater.
The crater is one of many in the rover's landing site in
100-mile-wide Gusev Crater.
Opportunity, meanwhile, is trying to refine the story of water in
its own small crater in Meridiani.
As the rover continues to examine the outcrop there, scientists hope
to learn more about the composition of the round "blueberries"
embedded in the layers.
Opportunity will examine the spherules in a natural depression, a
collecting point scientists have dubbed the Blueberry Bowl.
The rover also is looking at whether there is truly crossbedding, or
rock layers at an angle to the main layers.
Crossbedding could suggest there was open water at the Opportunity
site.
In addition, Opportunity took pictures of the moon Deimos moving in
front of the sun and is trying to get pictures of Mars' other moon,
Phobos, eclipsing part of the sun. Those photos may be released next
week.
The $820 million rovers landed in January.
Mission managers are optimistic they will operate longer than their
90-day expected lifetime.
73 de Alan
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