DOES  MARS  HAVE  RIVERS   
      In addition to developing on-orbit repair techniques for the Thermal Protection System, the Board had four other associated recommendations. They are: to eliminate or greatly minimize debris sources; another is to develop and improve NASA's ability to inspect the orbiter for damage on orbit; to define the impact tolerance of the Thermal Protection System; and to evaluate the International Space Station for crew contingency options.
 Mars Global Surveyor could help settle a decades-long debate about whether the planet had long-lasting rivers instead of just brief, intense floods. The delta-like fan shows eroded ancient deposits of transported sediment long since hardened into interweaving, curved ridges of layered rock. Scientists interpret some of the curves as traces of ancient "meanders" made in a sedimentary fan as flowing water changed its course over time.
 Space is a dangerous and hostile environment for humans as attested by U.S. astronaut Michael Foale, who relates his harrowing experiences on Russia’s critically damaged Mir space station. Despite the risks, a new era of space exploration is just beginning.
 EXPLORER investigates several of countless possibilities from bold spacecraft designs to lunar colonies to asteroid-based mines. As we enter the next era of space travel, space is just not for astronauts anymore.