The geological record of the earth's beginnings has been largely obliterated by erosion, volcanic activity, earthquakes and even the shifting of continents. Thus, scientists have looked with increasing eagerness to other celestial bodies for clues as to how their own planet was formed. Last week they were rewarded with a new bonanza of evidence. It came in the form of the most remarkable photographs yet taken of the planet Mars and a trove of fresh data from the last two missions to the moon.
Vistas of the Red Planet
For weeks, Mariner 9's mission controllers at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena had...
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