ASU Mars research is front and center for the American public,
as the cover article of the January 2004 issue of National
Geographic Magazine features images and findings from the
THEMIS instrument on NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft, currently
orbiting Mars. THEMIS is directed by Dr. Philip Christensen, ASU
Regents Professor and Korrick Professor of Geological Sciences,
whose research team is featured in a three-page fold-out in the
issue. The 20+ page article talks about the geology and climate
of the Red Planet, as uncovered by THEMIS, including an important
theory, originally proposed by Dr. Christensen and now becoming
widely accepted, that describes how current martian snow and ice
deposits may be melting underneath and creating flowing streams
of liquid water.
This issue of National Geographic is timed to coincide
with the landings in January of the dual Mars Exploration Rovers, “Spirit” and “Opportunity.” The
MER rovers are the most important and ambitious pieces of Mars
exploration undertaken to date, and ASU is heavily involved in
the missions with four scientists playing major roles – Christensen,
and fellow geologists Ronald Greeley, Jack Farmer and James Rice
– more than from any other university. ASU is also highly involved
in the three orbiting spacecraft that will be working with rovers,
contributing data to the exploration and relaying the rovers signals
back to earth. All-in-all, ASU is playing a pivotal role in this
exciting and ambitious piece of planetary exploration.
Read more: http://magma.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0401/feature1/
For more information, contact James Hathaway, 480-965-6375 or
Hathaway@asu.edu |
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