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CONTENTS.
It has been 17 years since the first Viking lander touched down on the surface of the Red Planet, and 28 years since Mariner 4, took the first close-up photos of Mars. I am a few months too young to remember Mariner 4, but I was just about to enter the 6th grade when the Vikings landed. This mission, which placed two robots on the surface of Mars and used them to search for microscopic organisms in the dry martian soil, captured my imagination like nothing else had ever done before. Now, as a graduate student, I work under the guidance of one of the principal investigators for an instrument aboard Mars Observer-- a spacecraft that will begin to orbit Mars on 24 August 1993.
I have assembled the Education Supplement and Guide which you now hold in your hands so that you and your students can begin to follow the mission of Mars Observer as it unfolds in real time. I have included a variety of material (including line drawings which you can use to make transparencies) about the spacecraft, its mission, its instruments, and where to get more information about Mars and this NASA space mission. It is my sincere hope that you will find the material assembled here to be a useful supplement to your regular curriculum by providing background and information about Mars Observer. I hope in 1994 and 1995 to assemble Education Supplement and Guides for the 1994-1995 and 1995-1996 school years. -- K.S. Edgett, 12 August 1993