Mar 5 2004
From The Space Library
NASA reported that its Mars Exploration Rovers had discovered geological evidence indicating that Mars had once had water. The rover Spirit had found a volcanic rock containing fissures filled with material that could have crystallized from water. A few days earlier, on 2 March 2004, the rover Opportunity, operating nearly 6,600 miles (10,622 kilometers) from Spirit, had found minerals and geological features that appeared to have been leached by groundwater or to have been formed by sediment in what was previously a body of water. However, scientists were unable to conclude from the two rovers' findings when Mars had actually had water in the past or whether the water had been located above or below the planet's surface. (Guy Gugliotta, “Mars Rover Finds Signs of Water,” Washington Post, 7 March 2004; NASA, “Opportunity Rover Finds Strong Evidence Meridiani Planam Was Wet,” news release 04-077, 2 March 2004.
The airline company Virgin Atlantic conducted the first successful test flight of its Globalflyer airplane. The company had designed the Globalflyer to conduct a flight around the world in 3.3 days without refueling, which, if achieved, would create a world's record for the length of an unrefueled flight. During a test flight lasting 1 1/2 hours, the Globalflyer aircraft ~ also known as the Model 311 Capricorn ~ exhibited no significant mechanical problems. However, the experimental aircraft had required several modifications, such as the development of a cabin-pressurization system, to reach its final design parameters. Previously, the longest duration for an unrefueled flight around the world had been nine days, a record set by Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager in 1986. (Michael A. Dornheim, “Globalflyer Airborne,” Aviation Week and Space Technology 160, no. 11 (15 March 2004): 38.
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