Philips Atlas of the Universe

Pathfinder was not designed to search for traces of

life; this will be the task of later missions, and even as

Sojourner was crawling around in Ares Vallis, moving at a

maximum rate of half a kilometre (one-third of a mile) per

hour, a new spacecraft, Mars Global Surveyor, was on its

way. It entered orbit round Mars in September 1997, and

began sending back images of amazingly good quality.

One crater, Galle – 230 kilometres (140 miles) across, on

the edge of Argyre – gave the impression of a happy smil-

ing face!

As yet we still do not know whether there is any

trace of life there. However, we ought to find out in the

near future, when Martian samples will be brought

back for study in our laboratories. But whether or not life

exists, Mars remains a planet which is, to us, of surpassing

interest.

THE SOLAR SYSTEM

On Ares Vallis. Nicknamed

Yogi, this rock was 5 metres

(16 feet) northwest of the

Pathfinder lander. It was

examined by Sojourner’s

X-ray spectrometer.

Ares Vallis, from

Pathfinder. The Sojourner

rover is seen approaching

the rock Yogi, on the Ares

Vallis. Rocks of several

different types can be seen

on this old flood plain.

Crater Galle,on the

edge of the Argyre basin.

Certainly it does recall a

happy human face!

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