Projects: Space Information
The Planetary Report
Volume XXIV, Number 3, May/June 2004
Credit: JPL / NASA / Space Science Institute |
On the Cover
Cassini-Huygens, too close to image a full view of Saturn, took
this picture on April 16, 2004 from a distance of 38.5 million kilometers
(nearly 24 million miles). Contrast has been enhanced to make features in
the atmosphere easier to see. The bright dot to the left of the south pole
is Saturn’s moon Mimas.
From The Editor
Next year, The Planetary Society will celebrate its 25th anniversary—a
quarter-century of helping to make space exploration happen. The first issue
of The Planetary Report featured Voyager 1’s encounter
with Saturn, and in the time since then, we’ve covered missions from
Venus to Neptune and reported on plans to take us from Mercury to the stars.
Not all those years were rich in discoveries. From 1977 to 1989, NASA launched
no new spacecraft, while Europe, the Soviet Union, and Japan explored the
solar system only as far out as Venus. Sometimes we had to be creative in
filling these pages.
But today, we’re swamped with new discoveries as Spirit and Opportunity investigate
plains and craters of the Red Planet while Mars Express explores from
orbit, along with Mars Global Surveyor and Mars Odyssey.
Cassini has reached Saturn and is now exploring that ringed world.
In January, Huygens penetrates Titan’s atmosphere. Smart-1 is
on its way to the Moon, and Genesis is on its way home with samples
of the solar wind.
This may well be the richest year since the Society’s founding for sheer
volume of discoveries—and now the task is to fit it all into only 24
pages. There’s more than enough to keep us busy for the next 25 years.
— Charlene M. Anderson
Features
The Proof Is In: Ancient Water on Mars
Mike Carr literally wrote the book about Water on Mars, so when the rest
of the media were filled with quotations about water on Mars from exultant
scientists and triumphant NASA officials, we turned to Mike to get some
perspective on why they were so excited. Since Mariner 9 in 1971,
scientists have had evidence that liquid water once flowed across the surface
of Mars. The Mars Exploration Rovers, Spirit and Opportunity,
found what they were expected to find, yet Mike uses the word “breakthrough” to
describe their discoveries. In this article, he explains why he, too, is
excited by the rovers’ findings—and looks forward to someday
seeing robotic and human paleontologists searching among the rocks on Mars
for traces of fossil life.
Cassini and Huygens Arrive at Saturn: A Grand Adventure
Is Beginning
The lord of the rings has a new satellite—the Cassini spacecraft
is now orbiting Saturn. Early next year, the Huygens probe will enter
the dense, hydrocarbon-rich atmosphere of Titan. Together, these two spacecraft
will enable us to know, in depth, a planetary system that we have known only
from three brief flyby missions. To give our members a detailed preview of
what to expect, we asked the project scientist, Dennis
Matson, and deputy
project scientist, Linda Spilker, to describe their mission. Both are veterans
of the great Voyager mission and look forward to completing the reconnaissance
of the beautiful and enigmatic Saturnian system.
DEPARTMENTS
Members’ Dialogue
We Make It Happen!
World Watch
Questions and Answers
Society News
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