When Michael Zolensky first saw the meteorite that had recently punched a crater in a west Texas road, it looked like a fairly common piece of space rock. “We didn’t know it was unusual until we brought it into the lab, broke it open, and saw purple deposits,” says Dr. Zolensky, curator of NASA’s collection of cosmic dust and moon-rock samples.
June 4th, 1999
Satellite reveals ‘whole new Mars’ Christian Science Monitor
Scientists studying Mars say they are seeing “a new planet.” Mars itself hasn’t changed. But data pouring in from the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft are changing scientists’ perspective.
April 30th, 1999
Mars’ past may look like Earth’s present Christian Science Monitor
The Red Planet has intrigued humanity for more than 3,000 years. The ancient Babylonians and Romans named it for their gods. A 19th-century astronomer caused an international uproar when he said he found “canals” on its surface.