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Mars

Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the seventh largest in the Solar System. A cold, dusty desert world with a thin atmosphere (mostly CO₂), the planet features extinct volcanoes, deep canyons, polar ice caps, and seasons. Mars has two small moons (Phobos and Deimos), a day just over 24 hours long, and a year lasting about 687 Earth days. It is a prime focus of robotic exploration and studies about past water and habitability.

Source: science.nasa.gov

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Huygens Images Titan's Surface

15/01/2005

Huygens Images Titan's Surface
Image Credit: NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day

After a seven year interplanetary voyage on board the the Cassini spacecraft, the European Space Agency's Huygens probe parachuted to a historic landing on Saturn's moon Titan on January 14. Above are two of the first raw images Huygens recorded of the mystery moon's surface - a view from an altitude of 16 kilometers (left), and surface level. The altitude image resolves features as small as about 40 meters. In the dramatic surface level vista, the light toned rock-like object below and left of center is only about 15 centimeters across and lies 85 centimeters from the probe. Remarkably, the views of Titan's surface suggest a similarity to eroded surfaces on Earth and Mars. News: Huygens Updates