From: edgett@esther.la.asu.edu (Ken Edgett)
Subject: recent Mars articles
Date: Tue, 17 Sep 1996 08:06:47 -0700 (MST)
Mars Educators- A *really excellent* summary of where the Mars science community stands today on the issue of the Martian climate, the history of the climate and Mars' water, and possibilities of life (written before the NASA announcement of 6 August) appeared this month in AMERICAN SCIENTIST. You should be able to find this in libraries and some of the better bookstores--- "The Evolution of the Martian Climate," by Aaron P. Zent, AMERICAN SCIENTIST, v. 84, n. 5, p. 442-451, September-October 1996. A really good treatment of the "Life on Mars / ALH84001" story appeared in a recent issue of NEW SCIENTIST-- again this should be in many libraries and some book stores-- it is published in England--- There are several articles, all in the 17 August 1996 issue of NEW SCIENTIST--- "Editorial: Lonely little Earthlings," p. 3. "Did Martians Land in Antarctica?" p. 4-5. "Seeds, soup and the meaning of life," p. 6 (about seeding of planets with life from beyond the Solar System) "Earth oddities tell their tale," p. 7 (about funky micro-organisms on Earth) "Still alive after all these years?" p. 7 (is there still stuff living on Mars?) "Other worlds, other lives---" p. 10 (life on Europa and Titan ?) "The oldest meteorite from Mars," p. 10 (about ALH84001 and why it's from Mars) "Fossils launch a fleet of probes," p. 11 (upcoming Mars missions). Also, if you can find it in a library, there is a magazine called ENDEAVOUR (new series) published in Europe that has the following useful piece: "Water erosion on Mars and its biologic implications," by Michael H. Carr, ENDEAVOUR (NEW SERIES), v. 20, n. 2, p. 56-60, 1996. Both Mike Carr's article and Aaron Zent's articles pre-date the ALH84001-Life-on-Mars story breaking in the news. They give a good picture of what folks have been thinking about the conditions for life on the planet in recent years. Ken Edgett Arizona Mars K-12