Word: planet
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...dirt with helium nuclei and analyzing the resulting patterns of radiation, the spectrometer revealed that the soil was rich in iron and virtually identical to that examined at other sites 21 years earlier by the Viking landers. This suggested to scientists that Martian topsoil is widely distributed by the planet's frequent global dust storms. Why the reddish hue? "The surface of Mars is rusting," explains Jim Bell, a Cornell University scientist...
...explosive volcanism. Andesites are typically formed by the repeated melting, solidifying and remelting that occurs during the tectonic-plate processes that shape and reshape terrestrial continents. Yet Mars seems to have very few volcanoes and shows no signs of tectonic plates, which suggested to some scientists that the planet wasn't internally active long enough to form andesites. Then what process could have created Barnacle Bill...
Naming features on the red planet is hardly an exact science. After putting in 16-hour days, says Bob Reid of the Mars Pathfinder science team, "we choose names that keep us happy." Match each Martian formation below with its terrestrial namesake...
CONVERTING THE RED PLANET INTO GREEN While the most successful Mars-related product has so far proved to be Mattel's Hot Wheels Mars Rover Action Pack (for a mere $5 you get mini versions of Sojourner, Pathfinder and the lander), those who would rather own something more real than realistic may contact Dennis Hope of Rio Vista, Calif. He will sell you 2,000 acres of prime Mars real estate for $19.99 plus shipping and handling and $1.51 for Martian tax. In 1980 Hope informed various Earth governments that he was claiming ownership of all the land...
Anthropologists have long known that modern man and the brawny, heavier-browed creatures known as Neanderthals coexisted on the planet for tens of thousands of years. What they don't know is how the two species got along. Did they interbreed, as some scientists contend, producing among their descendants the people who now populate Europe? Or did they compete for food and shelter, with Neanderthals eventually losing the struggle and disappearing for good 30,000 years...