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- LONDON (Reuters) - High resolution
images from the Mars Global Surveyor satellite have shown that the Red
Planet is much more varied and complex than scientists had expected.
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- The pictures from the NASA satellite, which has been
circling Mars since 1997, show significant differences in the polar regions
of the planet.
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- The north polar cap, with its pitted icy surfaces, looks
like cottage cheese while the southern cap has more elaborate shapes and
holes that resemble Swiss cheese.
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- "The differences tell us that there is a real different
geology which may mean there has been a long-term climate difference between
the poles," Dr. Peter Thomas said in a telephone interview.
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- The regions may have had different climates for thousands
or even millions of years.
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- "It was an interesting surprise that there was so
much difference between the poles, what was deposited there and the shape
of the landscape," he said.
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- Thomas, of Cornell University in New York, led a team
of researchers who examined the images for clues about the mysterious planet.
Their research is reported in the science journal Nature.
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- He described the finding as one step necessary to connect
the present day climate of Mars with the geological features seen on the
surface.
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- "We know the climate has been doing something --
regularly changing -- but we don't known how fast," said Thomas.
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- By connecting the geology to the climate scientists may
be able to determine what is controlling climate change on Mars, if the
planet ever had a climate that could have sustained life and if it did
not, why not.
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- "It (the finding) is an important clue. It doesn't
answer all the questions all at once but it gives another piece to the
puzzle of what the atmosphere does, how warm it is, how much water it has,
what the winds are," Thomas said.
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- NASA's Mars exploration program has suffered a series
of setbacks in recent months.
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- In January, scientists gave up their efforts to locate
the ill-fated Mars Polar Lander, a $165 million spacecraft that disappeared
on Dec. 3 as it started its descent to the surface.
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- Last September, the Mars Climate Observer satellite was
lost due to human error as it approached the planet.
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- A review board is looking at budget, management structure
and schedules of the NASA Mars program and is to present its findings in
mid-March.
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