September 2003 Top Stories
»» NMSU astronomer analyzes Mars rover landing sites
[Tuesday, September 02, 2003] New Mexico State University planetary scientist Jim Murphy is among the
scientists working to ascertain the safety of the landing sites for the two
Mars Exploration Rovers that are scheduled to land in January 2004.
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»» Surface Water Possible Under Marslike Conditions
[Thursday, September 04, 2003] A team of researchers from the University of Arkansas has
measured water evaporation rates under Mars-like conditions, and their findings
favor the presence of surface water on the planet.
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»» Marine Picks First Public NASA Mars Global Surveyor Image
[Friday, September 12, 2003] If you were given a chance to aim the camera on NASA's
Mars Global Surveyor Mars Orbiter and take a picture of
something on the red planet, what would you shoot?
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»» Boulders on Phobos
[Tuesday, September 16, 2003] In 1998,Mars Global Surveyor made four passes by Phobos.Several large boulders can be seen in this image including a very large one near the center that is about 85 meters (~280 feet) in diameter.
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»» NASA Seeks Mars Drilling Prototypes
[Monday, September 22, 2003] NASA is soliciting information to determine the existence of sources to develop a working prototype of a drilling system for a Mars mission that would be ready for field testing at a field site in Oklahoma in March 2005, and in Spain in June of 2005.
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»» Practicing Mars Drilling Near An Acidic Spanish River
[Monday, September 22, 2003] To develop techniques to drill into the surface of Mars to look for signs of life, Astrobiologists recently began drilling near the source of the waters of the Rio Tinto, a river in southwestern Spain to search for underground life forms.
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»» Early Mars Was Frozen - But Habitable: Part II
[Wednesday, September 24, 2003] Early Mars was cold - very cold - but that doesn't mean it was incapable of supporting life.
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»» Early Mars Was Frozen - But Habitable: Part I
[Wednesday, September 24, 2003] At a meeting of the American Astronomical Society's Division of Planetary Sciences, held in September 2003 in Monterey, CA, McKay gave a plenary talk in which he discussed the evidence for a cold, but wet, early Mars.
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»» ESA awards the first Aurora mission design contracts
[Tuesday, September 30, 2003] A major milestone in ESA's long-term Aurora programme of Solar System exploration has been passed with the announcement of the winners of competitive contracts for two of the programme's key robotic missions.
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»» NASA Mars Picture of the Day: 10,232 New MOC Images Released
[Tuesday, September 30, 2003] "The Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) team is pleased to announce the release of 10,232 newly-validated, archived images acquired between August 2002 and February 2003."
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