>  http://marslander.jpl.nasa.gov/
>  ......
>  http://missions.marssociety.org/mpl/msp98/why.html

> ..... The first step in answering these questions is to simply find
> hard evidence of water in the Martian soil -- and that's exactly what
> the Mars Polar Lander is designed to do.

> I've included below a posting I put to sci.astro a couple of years,
> right after Pathfinder landed. .......

I for one very much appreciate the time Wirt occasionally takes
out of his busy schedule, to share some of his expertise in
scientific disciplines other than computer science....  I hope he
will feel like continuing to do so....   Of all the OT traffic we see
on 3000-L, things like the above are surely the most interesting
and educational, IMO....

Ken Sletten