Surveying another globe
ALL being well, by the time you read this article the good ship Mars Global Surveyor will have gone into orbit around its planetary target. It was due to arrive there on September 11th, and although it will not start its eponymous mission until March, a few spectacular pictures designed to whet the public appetite should soon be dribbling out of mission control and on to the World Wide Web.
This article appeared in the Science & technology section of the print edition under the headline “Surveying another globe”
From the September 13th 1997 edition
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Elon Musk is causing problems for the Royal Society
His continued membership has led to a high-profile resignation
Deforestation is costing Brazilian farmers millions
Without trees to circulate moisture, the land is getting hotter and drier
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They could soon show their moves in settings from car factories to care homes
Scientists are learning why ultra-processed foods are bad for you
A mystery is finally being solved
Scientific publishers are producing more papers than ever
Concerns about some of their business models are building
The two types of human laugh
One is caused by tickling; the other by everything else