Date: 3/23/02 4:01:48 PM Pacific Standard Time

Mars Odyssey finds dangerous radiation; much hydrogen

By ALEXANDRA WITZE

Knight Ridder Tribune

HOUSTON -- NASA's latest mission to Mars has confirmed that astronauts won't be visiting there any time soon. Even Val Kilmer couldn't survive the deadly radiation he would encounter on the way to the Red Planet.

Last week, scientists announced new measurements of the radiation hazard, taken by the robotic Mars Odyssey spacecraft. On the way to Mars, a person would be blasted with more than twice the radiation experienced by astronauts in the relatively protected environment of Earth's orbit.

"This is bad news. This is a real problem for getting humans out there," said Tim Cleghorn, a radiation expert at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, last week at a gathering of planetary scientists.

SLEUTH: Here's the real poop:

I spoke with a very close associate in Manned Space Flight at JSC today. He says this story is a total fabrication by the boys at JPL and in the space robotics program.

He says no prior probes sent to Mars have indicated this radiation hazard.

He thinks its being done to shoot down the growning push for manned flight to Mars.

EDITOR: Sheesh, check this out:

Mars Society Members Survive Plane Crash