MAR 13, 2006 - Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter is bound to be a hot online destination in the weeks and months to come, now that NASA's latest planetary exploration mission has settled into orbit around the Red Planet. If all goes well, this low orbiting robotic explorer will return some of the most detailed observations of Mars yet - "more science data than all previous Mars missions combined," if it lives up to expectations. This will mean not only gigabytes of breathtaking Martian eye candy, but also evidence as to the conditions favorable for life on the Red Planet - in the past (as in indigenous biology) as well as in the future (as in the existence of water necessary for human colonization).
