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Photo shows river once ran across Mars

canyon on Mars
A picture of a canyon on Mars taken by the Global Surveyor spacecraft
February 2, 1998
Web posted at: 9:54 p.m. EST (0254 GMT)

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- NASA officials unveiled a photograph Monday that proves for the first time that there was once a flowing river meandering across the planet.

Vice President Al Gore, who was on hand for the unveiling, joked that scientists can now say "a river ran through it."

NASA scientists say the photograph does not confirm when the river existed. But they estimate that it was about 1 billion years ago.

A second photo also unveiled Monday revealed evidence of horizontal layers on the surface of Mars -- which could prove Mars has something similar to the Grand Canyon in Arizona.

Gore and NASA officials showed the pictures at a briefing on the research and development portions of President Clinton's proposed 1999 budget. The administration has proposed increasing spending for research and development to $78.2 billion.

Gore described the discoveries about Mars as the "kinds of new facts that are so exciting to people in all fields."

Gore said Clinton is earmarking $170 billion over five years for research and development, the largest commitment to "key civilian research" in U.S. history.

"That would have been considered unthinkable just a few short years ago," he said.

Gore urged Congress to "work across party lines, beyond all political and parochial concerns" to get the package passed.

Clinton's research proposal includes:

  • $31 billion for the 21st Century Research Fund to support various research efforts.

  • $14.8 billion for the National Institutes of Health to expand biomedical research on cancer, diabetes, brain disorders, drug demand reduction, genetic medicine, disease prevention and development of an AIDS vaccine.

  • $3.8 billion for the National Science Foundation for research in computer sciences and engineers.

  • $7.2 billion for energy research.

  • $4.3 billion for research into advancing defense capabilities.

  • $2.1 billion for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

  • $770 million for food safety and other agricultural research.

  • $1.08 billion for research supported by the Department of Commerce and for oceanic and atmospheric research.

Energy Secretary Federico Pena said the increased funding for energy research would help automakers produce a car that would get 80 miles per gallon by the year 2004, and would give a tremendous boost to reaching Clinton's stated goal of having 1 million households using solar energy by 2010.

 
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