White Mars; Planetary science.(The geology of Mars)

From: The Economist (US) | Date: April 22, 2006 | Copyright information

A cheap shot

Like Caesar's Gaul, the history of Mars is divided into three parts

WHETHER or not liquid water still exists on Mars, it is quite likely that it was there in the past. There is strong evidence of floods--and of channels carved by these floods--draining into the northern plains. There may have even been an ocean. Today, though, Mars appears as dry as a bone, and rarely gets warm enough to melt ice. So when, exactly, did it have water and for how long?

To tackle this question, Jean-Pierre Bibring, from the Institut d'Astrophysique Spatiale, in France, and ...

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