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The Planetary Report • May/June 2008

Alien Volcanoes

Alien Volcanoes

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On the Cover: Olympus Mons, Mars' highest volcano, towers 26 kilometers (about 16 miles) above the surrounding plains. This false-color image covers an area of about 600,000 square kilometers (about 230,000 square miles). The colors represent a range of elevations, from a low (blue) of 5 kilometers (3 miles) below the surface to a high (white) of 22 kilometers (14 miles). The High Resolution Camera on the European Space Agency's <i>Mars Express</i> captured the images in this mosaic over a span of 18 orbits.

Features

4 NASA at 50: A Personal View: James D. Burke reflects on his time with NASA.

8 We Make it Happen! LIFE Flying to Phobos and Back! Bruce Betts gives a progress report on this Society project.

12 Alien Volcanoes—A Solar System Tour: Michael Carrol and Rosaly M. C. Lopes take us on a tour of volcanoes throughout the solar sytem.

Departments

18 Members' Dialogue The Road to Mars, humans vs. robots, and life in the universe

19 World Watch What's up at the ISS; political discussions at Stanford University

20 Q&A Can we ever see a perfectly full Moon? And how well-mixed is Jupiter's atmosphere?

21 Factinos Revelations of Titan and Enceladus from Cassini

22 Society News Planetary Radio, tribute gifts, annual audits, and a town hall meeting.

23 Planetary Sales Show your Planetary Society spirit!

Alien Volcanoes

The Planetary Report • May/June 2008

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