[ot] astronomy & space exploration in the news

Caught the following couple of blurbs from a newslist I'm on.
Considering
the recent thread on paint schemes of [specifically FSE] FT minis, who's
going to be the first on their block to have the Mars Fleet?  :)

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Mars Flag: Red, Green, Blue

NASA has adopted a tricolor flag for Mars, in honor of Kim Stanley
Robinson's Mars trilogy. The red, green, and blue flag went into orbit
aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery in December. It will soon wave over
the
Mars Arctic Research Station, which is currently being built in the US,
to
be reassembled in the arctic for research beginning in the summer of
2001.
*SF

Galileo detects new evidence for ocean in Europa

Galileo's most recent pass over Europa last week brought new
magnetometer
findings that suggest a salty ocean under the moon's icy crust. NASA
scientists now think that the ocean lies within 60 miles of the surface
of
the planet.

The magnetometer confirmed that Europa's magnetic field moves around,
reversing direction every 5 1/2 hours. The movement of the magnetic
field
requires a medium for electrical currents to travel in, and scientists
think
that medium is most likely to be salty water.

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Mk
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I'm not giving in to security under pressure,
I'm not missing out on the promise of adventure,
I'm not giving up on implausible dreams -
Experience to extremes...experience to extremes....
					   Rush - "The Enemy Within"