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Article: Magellan's last gasps leave a puzzle. (spacecraft provides information indicating that sections of Venus' upper atmosphere is not as dense as scientists believed) (Brief Article)
- Article from:
- Science News
- Article date:
- October 22, 1994
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1994 Science Service, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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With the Magellan spacecraft nearly out of fuel, ground controllers last week commanded the craft to take a fatal plunge into Venus' thick atmosphere. The craft, which had orbited Venus for 4 years and used radar to image the cloud-bedecked planet, fell silent on Oct. 12 and probably crashed the following day.
But Magellan's swan song proved even more memorable than expected. The craft's last transmissions suggest that some sections of Venus' upper atmosphere may have a much different density distribution than predicted.
Magellan beamed down the puzzling data during experiments designed to measure atmospheric forces on the dying craft as it explored ...