mars expressMission Mars! Nothing new about it. Astronomers around the globe are banking on it for years. A new discovery each day is turning the already inquisitive astronomers more curious. And finally to find answers to all peculiar phenomenon occurring on the mars surface, the ESA’s Science Programme Committee have extended the Mars Express mission by one Martian year, or about 23 months, from the beginning of December 2005. This decision permits the spacecraft orbiting the Red Planet to continue casting on the legacy of its own scientific success. Since early 2004, the Mars Express has continuously balanced with Mars science and exploration activities of other agencies, revealing an increasingly composite picture of Mars. The venture has been extended to add on to its findings on Mars’ present-day climate system, and its geological ‘activity’ and diversity, and that its volcanic and glacial processes are much more recent than expected. Mars Express’ mapping of water in its various states deserves assimilation in itself.
Via: Rednova