Word: martian
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True, you have seen a Mars landing before. Pathfinder's spectacular little rover, Sojourner--a remote-controlled vehicle about the size of a microwave oven--toddled across the Martian terrain in the summer of 1997. But you won't want to miss the show the two new ones promise...
Even before the spacecraft were launched, it was clear their designers had done an extraordinary job. The rovers will reach the Martian surface much the way Pathfinder did, descending with the aid of rocket engines and parachutes and bouncing to a landing swaddled in air bags. After shaking off its inflatable cocoon, each 384-lb. vehicle will unfold itself into its full standing physique, measuring 5.2 ft. long, 7.5 ft. wide and 4.9 ft. tall...
...Mars revived over the past decade, when detailed photos revealed that the surface appears to have been carved by flowing water; liquid water is necessary for life as we know it. And while few scientists now support the 1996 claim that fossil microbes had been found in a Martian meteorite, most remain convinced that Mars might have harbored life in the distant past--and that some micro-organisms could still be hanging on beneath the frozen surface. The search for subsurface water and for those microscopic holdouts is the focus of several probes on the way to Mars and others...
MARS EXPLORATION SOC 202 University of Puget Sound The Red Planet's closest encounter with Earth in 60,000 years--on Aug. 27--is the reference point for this survey of everything Martian, from science to film...
Pathfinder's rover was a toy-size machine. Barely 1 ft. high and 2 ft. long and weighing 24 lbs., it operated for three months and in all that time toddled across a stretch of Martian terrain little bigger than a football field. The new rovers are much closer to true space cars. Measuring 5 ft. tall from their wheels to the top of their camera masts, the 2003 models weigh about 400 lbs. each and should be able to cover up to 3,000 ft. in their 90 days of life--including many days they will spend standing around...