Images Dated 20th August 2002

Artwork of Mars Surveyor 2001 Lander on Mars

Mars Surveyor 2001 Lander. Artwork of the Mars Surveyor 2001 Lander on the Martian surface. This probe is due for launch in April 2001. The small rover at lower right may also travel with the Lander, collecting rock samples. The Lander is designed primarily to check the potential health risks to any human explorers on Mars caused by exposure to the minerals on the surface. These include radiation, and fouling of systems by wind- borne dust particles. A robotic arm (centre) can collect soil samples, which will be tested to find their compatibility with human-made materials. The craft is powered by its large solar panels (blue)

© DETLEV VAN RAVENSWAAY/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY

Robot arm picks tray of DNA-containing bacteria

DNA cloning trays. Robot arm picking a tray of bacterial colonies which clone human DNA fragments for use in the Human Genome Project. The bacteria clone (replicate) the DNA as they reproduce, which allows workable amounts of DNA to be produced. The Human Genome Project aims to find the base sequence of all the genes in human DNA. Genes are lengths of DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) which have specific functions within an organism. Human DNA is made up of over 100, 000 genes comprising some 3 billion pairs of bases. Once complete, the human genome map will allow for improved drug design and a greater understanding of genetic diseases. Phot- ographed at the Sanger Centre, Cambridge, England

© DAVID PARKER/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY