Destiny In Space Page #4

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is hot enough to melt lead.

In the distance, the great

Gula Mons volcano.

We are now soaring more than

The long, smooth strips

that now and then cross our path ...

are small portions of the surface

that Magellan's radar did not scan.

The Magellan craft has shown us the

fantastic surface of an alien planet ...

where no human could

ever hope to land.

But there is another world in our

solar system that people can visit.

Future generations of explorers

will walk upon Mars.

Do you know what that is?

To prepare the way for them,

we could send a robot like this ...

to scout a landing site.

We might dispatch a whole flock of

these helpers to explore the terrain.

Unlike us, they are almost

immune to radiation ...

and need no air or water.

And they never get homesick.

Robots like this

Russian Mars rover ...

being tested in

Death Valley, California ...

have already been programmed

for difficult tasks ...

like negotiating rugged terrain.

More elaborate versions could

help us construct a Mars base.

But operating them

will be a challenge.

At the speed of light,

a single command ...

takes up to 20 minutes to

travel from Earth to Mars.

If there is or ever has been life

somewhere else in the solar system ...

Mars is a good place

to look for traces.

A great rift valley splits

open the Martian plain.

It is as long as the

entire United States.

We are now descending

from 40,000 feet ...

into a part of the valley

known as Candor Chasma.

It is five times deeper than

the Earth's Grand Canyon.

The height of the terrain

has not been exaggerated.

This is how it really looks.

Life as we know it must

have liquid water to develop.

Water may have flowed

through these canyons long ago.

Perhaps it nourished life.

Fossil life forms may lie exposed

on the floor of these canyons.

If we find any, it would

be our first proof ...

that life has existed beyond Earth.

It would mean that life

probably is abundant in our galaxy ...

and awaiting discovery

in the universe beyond.

Today, Mars is a frozen world.

The average temperature here is

lower than at the Earth's South Pole.

But long ago, when water

may have flowed here ...

it must have been warmer.

We don't know

why Mars turned so cold ...

but perhaps it could be made

to change once again.

Could future generations

somehow transform Mars ...

into an Earth-like world

where people could live?

To do it, we might imagine some-

how raising the temperature ...

to build up the atmosphere

and melt the ice caps.

This would create

lakes and rivers.

Then we could introduce plants

to fill the air with oxygen.

Animals and people

could now breathe the air.

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