- The first results from the American space
probe orbiting Mars reveal what may have been a massive ocean.
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- The findings from the Global Surveyor,
just published in the journal Science, show two very different landscapes.
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- There are highland mountains and valleys
in the southern hemisphere and very flat land in the north.
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- Scientists believe that ancient ocean
waters could possibly have shaped the northern part of the red planet's
surface.
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- According to geophysicist Maria Zuber
of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the northern hemisphere rises
and falls by only 165 feet over hundreds of miles.
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- Ms Zuber said: "We now understand
that a lot of Mars is the smoothest place in the solar system for which
we have measured topography. "The only thing that comes close is the
heavily sedimented floors of Earth's oceans, it's actually flatter than
that.
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- "That does not tell us that Mars
once had an ocean but it certainly gives us a basis for trying to understand
the origin further."
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- The probe has also found evidence that
the red plant once had a very vigorous magnetic field.
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- Over the next two years, Global Surveyor
is expected to provide as much information about the planet as all previous
missions combined.
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- Launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida,
in November last year, the probe reached Mars after a journey of 466m miles
in 308 days.
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- Unlike Mars Pathfinder, which landed
a robotic rover on the planet, Surveyor did not touch down on Mars.
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- Instead it is studying the planet from
235 miles above the surface.
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- It carries a camera, a laser to measure
the height of hills and valleys, and instruments to determine the composition
of the planet surface and measure the planet's magnetic field.
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- It will map the entire surface of Mars
which will help scientists decide suitable areas for landing probes in
the future.
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- By learning more about the red planet
scientists also hope to understand more about Earth and its climate.
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