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Shooting Mars

The US National Aeronautics and Space Administration has fixed the orbit of its Mars Global Surveyor so that the spaceprobe can spend this summer clicking snaps of the Martian landscape, including the controversial "Face on Mars', spotted years back by the Viking mission. Other targets include the nostalgic Viking and Mars Pathfinder landing sites. Its 11.6-hour orbit ranges from 760-8,000 km above planet, and takes it above each target thrice each month ( New Scientist , Vol 158, No 2128).

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