The Hindu : Odyssey beams back images

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Jun 07, 2003

International

International

Odyssey beams back images

Washington: Signs of erosion and significant environmental changes are present on Mars, according to infrared data collected over a year by one of the instruments on the U.S. probe Mars Odyssey orbiting the red planet. The data gathered by the Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) on NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft ``is going to revolutionise our mapping of the planet and our idea of the planet's geology,'' said Philip Christensen, lead author and THEMIS principal investigator who teaches at Arizona State University. ``It will keep Mars scientists busy for the next 20 years trying to understand the processes that have produced this landscape,'' Mr. Christensen added. THEMIS supplies images of temperatures and infrared radiation on Mars' surface offering greater information on geological details than any other equipment studying the planet's surface, researchers said. Among the new information getting attention is the presence of different atmospheric layers on Mars' surface, which indicate major environmental changes on the planet. ``It's very difficult to say exactly what happened in any particular place, but what we've found is that in many places on Mars it hasn't just been the same old thing happening for year after year for billions of years,'' the researcher added, explaining his work in the edition of Science dated June 6.

— AFP

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

International

Stories in this Section

Hamas breaks off talks

U.N. envoy to seek Suu Kyi's release

U.S. paper to look for new editors

Negotiations should continue, PA tells Govt.

Ashcroft seeks tougher laws

Now, Punjab is their target

Conducive for inspections: Blix

Tsvangirai to be grilled

Groundwater: UNEP thirsts for better management

Whole of J&K is disputed territory: Kasuri

Amnesty for Chechen rebels

World Hindi meet begins

Fighting rages in Liberia

Odyssey beams back images

A 'scoop' that never was