Posted on 03/01/2004 8:31:01 PM PST by traumer
"Significant findings" about water on Mars will be announced by the US space agency on Tuesday in Washington DC.
Nasa has called a press conference at which the lead scientist on its Red Planet rovers will reveal the mission's most important discovery to date.
The statement will centre on the rover Opportunity and its work on Meridiani Planum, a flat plain containing the iron-rich mineral grey haematite.
The rovers were sent to Mars to find evidence of past water environments.
Scientists hope that by confirming the planet was a wet world like Earth some time in its geologic history, they will establish that conditions were also suitable for life as well.
Most researchers now accept Mars retains significant amounts of water. Orbital observations show water-ice is locked up in the polar regions.
Round grains litter the floor of Opportunity's landing site The two rovers, on the other hand, are operating nearer the equator on opposite sides of the Red Planet.
Spirit, which landed on 4 January, is in Gusev Crater, which may once have contained a large lake.
Opportunity touched down on 25 January in a small impact crater which immediately excited researchers because of the presence of a layered rock outcrop that could have been laid down in water.
Both rovers are equipped with cameras, spectrometers and tools to analyse rocks and soil.
The press briefing in Washington will be attended by Professor Steve Squyres, the Mars Exploration Rover Principal Investigator, from Cornell University, New York.
He will be joined on the panel by mission scientists Professor John Grotzinger, Dr Benton Clark and Dr Joy Crisp.
The regular rover briefings have been held at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California. It is an indication of the importance of the forthcoming statement that the conference has been moved to Nasa's headquarters on the East Coast.
What a stupid thing to say.
I guess they need running water and indoor toilets for major announcments, so they had to take the event back east to civilization.
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