Steve Squyres
Steve Squyres
Steven W. Squyresis the James A. Weeks Professor of Physical Sciences at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. His research area is in planetary sciences, with a focus on large solid bodies in the solar system such as the terrestrial planets and the moons of the Jovian planets. Squyres is principal investigator of the Mars Exploration Rover Mission. He is the recipient of the 2004 Carl Sagan Memorial Award and the 2009 Carl Sagan Medal for Excellence in Communication in...
cases explosions hot perhaps springs trace violent water
It was a hot, violent place with volcanic explosions and impacts. Water was around, perhaps localized hot springs in some cases and trace amounts of water in other cases.
area climbing field geologist good plotting point
Also, we're doing what any field geologist would do in an area like this: climbing to a good vantage point for plotting a route.
capability created display edge five high homes images laptop nobody screen standing stories
Nobody has the display capability in their homes you'd need to really see these images in all their grandeur. One panorama we created was 4,000 pixels high and 24,000 pixels around, and your laptop just can't display that. But on an IMAX screen five stories tall, you're standing on the edge of the crater. You're there.
priority reach safe winter
For Spirit, the priority has been to reach a safe winter haven.
finished rest start
Once we've finished the rest of the list, we'll start the descent.
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Spirit has given us a wonderful window into the very ancient past of Mars. It was a violent place, a place where meteorite impacts, volcanic explosions happened frequently, where hot stuff was raining from the sky.
heck mount rover
That's no Mount Everest, but for a little rover this was a heck of a climb,
sit
So don't sit here and think, 'Oh, we're going to go to the hills.' We're going to go 'toward' the hills,
beyond good stuff
There's a lot of good stuff beyond it.
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They provide a wonderful glimpse into what Mars was like in the earliest part of its history, ... It was a violent place. It was a place where meteorite impacts were happening frequently. It was a place where there volcanic explosions happening frequently. Hot stuff was raining from the skies. There was water. When rocks were deposited, water would flow through those rocks and change their chemistry. This is a glimpse into the ancient past of Mars.
switched
It is a big step. We've really switched gears.
belief regarding
I don't have a belief regarding that question.
almost cause expected guess mars mystery occasional odd remains root vehicle
The root cause of the reset remains a mystery, but I guess the occasional odd glitch is to be expected from a vehicle that's been on Mars for almost 600 sols.
looking seen weird
It's not like anything I've ever seen before, ... It's very weird looking stuff.