BBC Science -- The European Space Agency has released the early results from its Mars Express probe now orbiting the Red Planet. The data include a batch of remarkable pictures taken at very high resolution. The images show what appear to be sediments left in the bottoms of river-cut valleys, and details as fine as dust blowing over the rims of craters. "This is no ordinary spacecraft," said David Southwood, Esa's head of science. "This is only the beginning. There is more to come in the next two years." The science results were released at a news conference at Esa's Space Operations Centre in Darmstadt, Germany. ... The spacecraft's instruments have also revealed new information about the stores of water-ice at the planet's south pole and the way it is mixed in with frozen carbon dioxide. In addition, Esa scientists say they can see, for the very first time, water being lost from Mars' atmosphere. But it is the images taken with the probe's High Resolution Stereo Camera that have generated the greatest excitement. The camera can see details down to two metres and German researchers working on the mission have even constructed computer-generated movies from the pictures to show what it would be like to fly over the Red Planet in an aircraft. The camera's lead scientist, Professor Gerhard Neukum, from the Free University in Berlin, said Mars Express had already imaged nearly two million square kilometres of the Martian surface. The area, covered at a resolution of 10 to 15 metres per pixel, was equivalent to the area of France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal and Austria combined, he said. His team has already received more than 100 gigabytes of processed data - most of which has not even been looked at yet. (01/23/04)
Friday, January 23, 2004
BBC Science -- The European Space Agency has released the early results from its Mars Express probe now orbiting the Red Planet. The data include a batch of remarkable pictures taken at very high resolution. The images show what appear to be sediments left in the bottoms of river-cut valleys, and details as fine as dust blowing over the rims of craters. "This is no ordinary spacecraft," said David Southwood, Esa's head of science. "This is only the beginning. There is more to come in the next two years." The science results were released at a news conference at Esa's Space Operations Centre in Darmstadt, Germany. ... The spacecraft's instruments have also revealed new information about the stores of water-ice at the planet's south pole and the way it is mixed in with frozen carbon dioxide. In addition, Esa scientists say they can see, for the very first time, water being lost from Mars' atmosphere. But it is the images taken with the probe's High Resolution Stereo Camera that have generated the greatest excitement. The camera can see details down to two metres and German researchers working on the mission have even constructed computer-generated movies from the pictures to show what it would be like to fly over the Red Planet in an aircraft. The camera's lead scientist, Professor Gerhard Neukum, from the Free University in Berlin, said Mars Express had already imaged nearly two million square kilometres of the Martian surface. The area, covered at a resolution of 10 to 15 metres per pixel, was equivalent to the area of France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal and Austria combined, he said. His team has already received more than 100 gigabytes of processed data - most of which has not even been looked at yet. (01/23/04) 
