Geologists finding a different Mars underneath

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This image shows a ground-range projection of the radargram obtained by the MARSIS sounding radar on board ESAs Mars Express on 6 July 2005 (orbit 1892) when the spacecraft was flying over the Martian lowland plains of Chryse Planitia. Rim walls and  ...
This image shows a ground-range projection of the ‘radargram’ obtained by the MARSIS sounding radar on board ESA’s Mars Express on 6 July 2005 (orbit 1892), when the spacecraft was flying over the Martian lowland plains of Chryse Planitia. Rim walls and interior ring structures of impact basins produce parabolic-shaded echoes. The inset shows that parabolic-shaped echoes in the radargram project to circular arcs, indicating the presence of a buried impact basin. Credits: ESA/ASI/NASA/Univ. of Rome/JPL/Smithsonian

Scientists are finding an older, craggier face of Mars buried beneath the surface, thanks to pioneering sounding radar co-sponsored by NASA aboard the European Space Agency's Mars Express spacecraft.


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All News summaries for December 13, 2006

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