Word: venusized
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...revolution almost didn't happen. When Magellan first took up its elliptical orbit around Venus on Aug. 10, its communications system inexplicably stopped working. Then the equipment started up, letting the space probe send back a few tantalizing images -- and stopped once more. Fearful that the spacecraft would lose contact with Earth permanently, engineers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which is responsible for Magellan, put the imaging on hold while they tracked down the problem. It was apparently a faulty computer chip. Electronic signals have been rerouted to bypass the flaw, and meanwhile Magellan's control software is being...
...Magellan's radar detectors can pick up features as small as 120 meters (394 ft.) across, 10 times smaller than anything ever seen before. That should be enough to begin answering some important questions about the geology and atmosphere of the planet. Although nearly the same size as Earth, Venus has an atmosphere thick with carbon dioxide and sulfuric acid. These gases have created an atmospheric pressure at the surface 90 times that of Earth and led to a greenhouse effect that keeps the temperature at 470 degrees C (900 degrees F), hot enough to melt lead and ensure that...
That is a plus for scientists. Without flowing liquids to cause erosion, the geological history of Venus has been preserved and can now be observed as if by time-lapse photography. For example, the outline of one mountain peak clearly shows how it was formed over time by three separate upward thrusts of the planet's surface. The atmosphere preserves the land in another way as well: the clouds are so dense that all but the largest incoming meteorites burn up before striking the surface. Earth has absorbed far more hits from meteorites, although much of the evidence has eroded...
...they may be caught in the act. After finishing a 243-day mapping mission, Magellan will start all over and do it again. Any change in the landscape that shows up in the second version -- new lava or other debris, for example -- would be strong evidence of volcanism, making Venus only the fourth body in the solar system, after Earth, Jupiter's moon Io and Neptune's moon Triton, where eruptions have been spotted...
SPACE: Surprising views through Venus' murky veil...