Lance Armstrong Confesses to Doping

Lance Armstrong, formerly cycling's most decorated champion and considered one of America's greatest athletes, confessed to cheating for at least a decade, admitting on Thursday that he owed all seven of his Tour de France titles and the millions of dollars in endorsements that followed to his use of illicit performance-enhancing drugs.

After years of denying that he had taken banned drugs and received oxygen-boosting blood transfusions, and attacking his teammates and competitors who attempted to expose him, Armstrong came clean with Oprah Winfrey in an exclusive interview, confessing to using banned substances for decades.

"I view this situation as one big lie that I repeated a lot of times," he said.

In October, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency issued a report in which 11 former teammates exposed the system with which they and Armstrong received drugs with the knowledge of their coaches and help of team physicians.

READ MORE: Did Doping Cause Armstrong's Cancer?

George Burns/Courtesy of Harpo Studios, Inc./AP Photo

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The U.S. Postal Service Cycling Team "ran the most sophisticated, professionalized and successful doping program that sport has ever seen," USADA said in its report.

Armstrong said he was driven to cheat by a "ruthless desire to win."

He told Winfrey that his competition "cocktail" consisted of EPO, blood transfusions and testosterone, and that he had previously used cortisone.

He said he stopped doping following his 2005 Tour de France victory and did not use banned substances when he placed third in 2009 and entered the race again in 2010.

"It was a mythic perfect story and it wasn't true," Armstrong said of his fairytale story of overcoming testicular cancer to become the most celebrated cyclist in history.

PHOTOS: Olympic Doping Scandals: Past and Present

Armstrong would not name other members of his team who doped, but admitted that as the team's captain he set an example. He admitted he was "a bully" but said there "there was a never a directive," from him that his teammates had to use banned substances.

"At the time it did not feel wrong?" Winfrey asked.

"No," Armstrong said. "Scary."

"Did you feel bad about it?" she asked again.

"No," he said.

Also on Thursday, before the Winfrey interview aired, the International Olympic Committee stripped Armstrong his of 2000 Olympic bronze medal.

READ MORE: 10 Scandalous Public Confessions

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Agency calls for fireworks disposal guidelines

The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board is calling on five government organizations to strengthen federal guidelines and safety standards for disposing of fireworks, an area where no such provisions exist.

The board plans to announce its recommendations Thursday with its report on a 2011 accident that killed five employees of a company contracted to dispose of illegal pyrotechnics in Hawaii.

The board said federal procurement guidelines should require the government to consider a company’s safety record and expertise before awarding contracts to deal with explosive materials.

No such criteria was in place when Donaldson Enterprises won a subcontract to dispose of Chinese fireworks seized in Hawaii by U.S. Customs officials. The company, which specialized in handling unexploded munitions, had no experience with fireworks.

The Chinese pyrotechnics were seized because they appeared to be commercial-grade display fireworks labeled falsely for consumer use.

Alexandria-based VSE, a firm hired by the government to deal with seized property, awarded the subcontract to Donaldson based on convenience and cost, according to the board’s report. The company was already storing the confiscated fireworks and offered the lowest bid to get rid of them.

Contractor trade groups have long said that the government should only hire experienced and qualified companies to deal with hazardous materials, regardless of the cost.

“We should all be concerned if low price is being used as the primary award criteria,” said Elise Castelli, a spokeswoman for the Professional Services Council. “Clearly, that is not a smart way to procure such services.”

According to the board’s report, the nation faces a growing problem with the accumulation of illegal fireworks in storage facilities around the country. Shipping the fireworks and disposing of them have proven too costly and time-consuming for many local agencies.

The fatal Hawaii explosion occurred on April 8, 2011, after Donaldson workers stacked a large quantity of fireworks components near the entrance of a storage facility during a rainstorm, the report said.

The workers had disassembled the explosives by hand and soaked the empty shells in diesel fuel to burn them, the report said. The employees then placed the black powder from the shells in cardboard boxes lined with garbage bags.

The board did not say how the materials ignited, though its report offered a few potential causes such as a spark from a metal handcart, friction from a rolling office chair or a static charge from the plastic liners.

Donaldson did not respond Wednesday to requests for comment about the accident or the report.

The Hawaii Department of Health had given Donaldson a 90-day “emergency hazardous waste permit” under Environmental Protection Agency rules, authorizing the company to burn the fireworks at a local shooting range. The permit expired before the fatal explosion occurred, and it did not relate to the disassembling of the fireworks or to their storage, the report said.

The accident happened because of “insufficient federal contractor selection and safety oversight requirements” and “a significant gap in regulatory and industry standards,” according to the report.

The board issued recommendations to five government organizations, including the Treasury Department’s procurement office, the EPA, the National Fire Protection Association, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

The report said the EPA should conduct rigorous safety reviews before authorizing companies to dispose of explosive materials and require “the use of best available technology, safe disposal methodologies, as well as safety management practices.”

The board additionally recommended that the federal procurement office consider a company’s safety record before awarding contracts, and require experts to assist prime contractors who sub out the disposal of explosive materials to other firms.

“I hope the government puts these recommendations to law so no other family has to go through the pain we’ve gone through with the boys who lost their lives that day,” said Deborah Dulatre, the aunt of one of the accident victims, Justin Kelii, who was 29 when he died. “These regulations weren’t in effect at that time.”

The other victims included Robert Freeman, 24, an Army veteran who served in Iraq; Bryan Cabalce, 25; Neil Sprankle, 24; and Robert Leahey, 50.

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Football: Hodgson eyes long-awaited England glory

LONDON: As the Football Association begins its 150th anniversary year, England manager Roy Hodgson has challenged his players to provide the ultimate celebration by at least putting themselves in contention to end almost half a century without a trophy.

Hodgson is the latest in a string of managers charged with ending England's wait for a first major honour since their lone World Cup final triumph, against the then West Germany at London's Wembley Stadium in 1966.

But after helping the FA launch its landmark birthday on the London site of its first meeting, the current incumbent in the so-called 'impossible job' refused to accept it may take another 50 years to replicate.

"There's always hope," Hodgson insisted. "Hope springs eternal. But what you have to do to win tournaments is make sure you're regularly among the ones who are up there with a possibility of winning.

"You could compare it to someone who is an amateur darts player. The more darts he throws in and around the centre, one day he will get it in the bullseye.

"If he's spreading them around the board your chances will be less than if he's getting them in the 25 circle."

Hodgson took England to the quarter-finals at Euro 2012, only losing on penalties to Italy -- even though his team's performances were often described as limited by many critics who yearn for England to rely more on technique and finesse than just their famous bulldog spirit.

The FA shares the same ambition; which is why it has built a national academy in central England at St George's Park -- a school for coaches where all 24 national teams will also be based.

And although Hodgson knows any rewards from that venture are a long way down the line, he hasn't ruled out a degree of short-term success if England qualify for the 2014 World Cup finals in Brazil.

"The first thing we have to do of course is qualify for the tournament," he said. "And then when we qualify it will be important that we give a very good account of ourselves at the World Cup in Brazil. And who knows, once you are there you have a chance of winning it.

"I think we have some very good young players coming into the game playing regularly now and showing that they do have the ability to shoulder the burden."

Hodgson was joined at The FA's anniversary launch by several former England managers including Sven-Goran Eriksson, Terry Venables and Fabio Capello, who left the role in controversial circumstances following a row over a decision to strip John Terry of the England captaincy.

But the Italian was all smiles as he said: "We are all friends now. It is very good to come back and see the people I used to work with. I have no problems with anyone.

"You know I can't talk about what happened with England but I am enjoying my life with Russia and my hope is that we play England in Brazil at the World Cup. That would be very good I think."

FA chairman David Bernstein welcomed Capello's participation by insisting: "Fabio is a man of great dignity and I respect him enormously.

"To see him today (Wednesday) and the warmth he showed, and there was a great deal of warmth when we met each other was really fabulous. It's the way it should be. There were hugs all round."

Meanwhile it emerged the FA, which has already arranged anniversary England friendlies against Brazil, Scotland and the Republic of Ireland, was also looking to fit in matches against Argentina and Germany at Wembley in October and November.

-AFP/ac

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Tiff over liqour shop stake led to Hindu terror accused Joshi's murder?

NEW DELHI: There could be more personal and local reasons behind the murder of key Hindu terror accused Sunil Joshi than the larger motive of protecting the saffron module from being exposed.

Investigations into the December 2007 murder case by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) have found that a liquor shop on Indore-Dewas road in Madhya Pradesh had become a bone of contention among saffron terror accused with many of them, including Joshi, having stakes in it.

Until now, investigating agencies, including the Madhya Pradesh Police, which has filed a charge-sheet in the case against 2008 Malegaon blast accused Pragya Singh Thakur, have maintained that Joshi was killed because the group suspected he could spill the beans on saffron terror module. Another reason cited was that Joshi had misbehaved with Thakur in a manner that had angered the group.

It has now been revealed, however, that Joshi and his confidante Lokesh Sharma — accused in Samjhauta Express and 2006 Malegaon blasts — were partners in a liquor shop in Dakachya village on the Indore-Dewas road. There were others in the group too who had stakes in the shop that was reportedly highly profitable.

Sources say, during 2006-07, a dispute arose among the group on profit sharing and led to animosity between Joshi and others in the group. In fact, Joshi and others had even stopped talking months before he was shot dead in Dewas on December 29, 2007.

After NIA arrested Rajender Chaudhary last month in connection with the Samjhauta Express blast he revealed his and Lokesh Sharma's hand behind Joshi's murder. Madhya Pradesh Police has charge-sheeted an entirely different set of people for the murder.

On Monday, NIA made the first arrest in connection with the case when it picked up one Balbir Singh from Indore's Mandalwada village. Balbir too has been found to be linked to the liquor shop through one Jitendra Patel, a close aide of Joshi who died of cancer last year. Patel, who hails from Dakachya and had a partnership in the liquor shop, was associated with Singh.

NIA sources said, they had conducted raids at the residences of both Singh and Jitendra Patel and recovered a 9 mm pistol magazine from the former's house. "We suspect that this magazine may belong to the pistol that was used to kill Joshi. However, things will be clear only after forensic examination," said an NIA official.

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6 Ways Climate Change Will Affect You

Photograph by AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez

The planet keeps getting hotter, new data showed this week. Especially in America, where 2012 was the warmest year ever recorded, by far. Every few years, the U.S. federal government engages hundreds of experts to assess the impacts of climate change, now and in the future.

From agriculture (pictured) to infrastructure to how humans consume energy, the National Climate Assessment Development Advisory Committee spotlights how a warming world may bring widespread disruption.

Farmers will see declines in some crops, while others will reap increased yields.

Won't more atmospheric carbon mean longer growing seasons? Not quite. Over the next several decades, the yield of virtually every crop in California's fertile Central Valley, from corn to wheat to rice and cotton, will drop by up to 30 percent, researchers expect. (Read about "The Carbon Bathtub" in National Geographic magazine.)

Lackluster pollination, driven by declines in bees due partly to the changing climate, is one reason. Government scientists also expect the warmer climate to shorten the length of the frosting season necessary for many crops to grow in the spring.

Aside from yields, climate change will also affect food processing, storage, and transportation—industries that require an increasing amount of expensive water and energy as global demand rises—leading to higher food prices.

—Daniel Stone

Published January 16, 2013

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FAA Grounds Boeing 787 Dreamliners

The Federal Aviation Administration has ordered the grounding of Boeing 787 Dreamliner jets until their U.S. operator proves that batteries on the planes are safe.

United is the only U.S. carrier flying the Boeing 787s, which have been touted as the planes of the future. However, several operated by overseas airlines have run into recent trouble, the latest because of a feared battery fire on a 787 today in Japan.

The FAA's so-called emergency airworthiness directive is a blow to Boeing, from the same government agency that only days ago at a news conference touted the Dreamliner as "safe." Even Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood went so far as to say he would have no issue flying on the plane.

Now, United will need to prove to the FAA that there is no battery fire risk on its six Dreamliners. An emergency airworthiness directive is one that requires an operator to fix or address any problem before flying again.

"Before further flight, operators of U.S.-registered Boeing 787 aircraft must demonstrate to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) that the batteries are safe and in compliance," the FAA said in a statement today. "The FAA will work with the manufacturer and carriers to develop a corrective action plan to allow the U.S. 787 fleet to resume operations as quickly and safely as possible."

United Airlines responded tonight with a statement: "United will immediately comply with the airworthiness directive and will work closely with the FAA and Boeing on the technical review as we work toward restoring 787 service. We will begin reaccommodating customers on alternate aircraft."

787 Dreamliner Grounded, Passengers Forced to Evacuate Watch Video

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Jim McNerney, Boeing's chairman, president and CEO, expressed regret about any scheduling disruptions in a written statement, adding that Boeing was "confident the 787 is safe and we stand behind its overall integrity."

"The safety of passengers and crew members who fly aboard Boeing airplanes is our highest priority," McNerney said. "Boeing is committed to supporting the FAA and finding answers as quickly as possible. The company is working around the clock with its customers and the various regulatory and investigative authorities. We will make available the entire resources of The Boeing Company to assist."

There are some 50 Dreamliners flying in the world, mostly for Japanese airlines, but also for Polish and Chilean carriers.

Overseas operators are not directly affected by the FAA's emergency airworthiness directive -- but Japanese authorities grounded all of their 787s overnight after All Nippon Airways (ANA) said a battery warning light and a burning smell were detected in the cockpit and the cabin, forcing a Dreamliner, on a domestic flight, to land at Takamatsu Airport in Japan.

The plane landed safely about 45 minutes after it took off and all 128 passengers and eight crew members had to evacuate using the emergency chutes. Two people sustained minor injuries on their way down the chute, Osamu Shinobe, ANA senior executive vice president, told a news conference in Tokyo.

ANA and its rival, Japan Airlines (JAL), subsequently grounded their Dreamliner fleets. ANA operates 17 Dreamliner planes, while JAL has seven in service.

Both airlines said the Dreamliner fleet would remain grounded at least through Thursday.

ANA said the battery in question during today's incident was the same lithium-ion type battery that caught fire on board a JAL Dreamliner in Boston last week. Inspectors found liquid leaking from the battery today, and said it was "discolored."

Japan's transport ministry categorized the problem as a "serious incident" that could have led to an accident.

Even more shaken up than the passengers on the Japanese flight may be the reputation of America's largest plane manufacturer, Boeing.

Since the 787 -- with a body mostly made of carbon fiber -- was introduced, it's had one small problem after another. But the nagging battery issue, which caused an onboard fire at Boston's Logan Airport last week, was serious enough for the FAA to ground the plane.

"It's a rough couple weeks for Boeing and ANA," said John Hansman, an MIT professor of aeronautics and astronautics. "I think clearly in the short term this type of bad press has been tough for Boeing. I think in the long haul, this is a good airplane. It's in a good market."

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Citing Rubio’s ideas on immigration reform, White House sees hope for bipartisan deal

The Obama administration suggested Tuesday that there are signs that bipartisan cooperation might be possible on immigration reform, in light of some new ideas being championed by Republican Sen. Marco Rubio (Fla.).

White House press secretary Jay Carney said that Rubio’s proposals to offer more visas to highly skilled tech workers and potentially provide legal status and citizenship to many of the nation’s 11 million illegal immigrants “bode well for a productive, bipartisan debate.”

“We hope that it signals a change in the Republican approach to this issue,” Carney said during his daily briefing, “because if we are going to get this done, it’s going to take more than just a handful of Republicans working across the aisle.”

President Obama has promised a vigorous push for comprehensive immigration reform — including a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants — early in his second term.

Rubio, a tea party favorite and potential 2016 White House contender, laid out his newest ideas in an interview with the Wall Street Journal last week. He insisted on tight border security and emphasized that foreigners who arrive legally must be treated fairly. But he split from conservatives who do not favor offering any legal status or citizenship to undocumented workers because, they say, it would reward people who break the law.

Despite Carney’s modestly upbeat assessment, Obama and Rubio remain unlikely allies who have yet to have a discussion on immigration.

“There’s not much expectation that the White House will partner with Republicans on this,” said Rubio’s spokesman, Alex Conant. “They haven’t partnered with Republicans on anything. We’ve been working with our Senate colleagues on this.”

The ill will between Obama and Rubio dates to last summer, in the middle of the presidential campaign, when Rubio appeared to be moving toward unveiling a scaled-back version of the DREAM Act. Instead, the White House preempted the freshman senator by announcing in June that Obama would take executive action to halt the deportations of some young undocumented immigrants.

One week later, in a speech to national Hispanic leaders in Orlando, Rubio accused Obama of playing politics on the issue.

“I don’t care who gets the credit,” he said at the time. “I don’t. But it exposes the fact that this issue is all about politics for some people.”

On Tuesday, Carney said the White House is “encouraged” that Rubio’s thinking now “so closely reflects the president’s blueprint for reform.”

But Conant countered that Obama has not laid out his own proposals for a comprehensive bill.

Immigration reform advocates said the interplay amounted to early posturing for the debate ahead, with each side trying to figure out how far the other is willing to go.

Rubio is seen by many as a rising star in the GOP ranks whose personal story and influence among Latinos could help broaden the party’s appeal among minorities at a time when that population is growing quickly.

Hispanic voters largely supported Obama and other Democrats at the polls last year, and Republicans are eager to win back some of their losses. Rep. Paul Ryan (Wis.), who was the GOP’s vice presidential candidate, has voiced early support for Rubio’s immigration ideas.

“We’re seeing a sort of tango with Rubio and Obama beginning on immigration reform, and they are each not sure yet who is leading and who is following,” said Angela Kelley, an analyst at the Center for American Progress, a progressive think tank. “I suspect until they figure that out, there will be some stepping on toes.”

For the moment, the gun-control debate has overshadowed the battle over immigration reform, and some advocates have said they fear that the administration could be delayed or sidetracked by that and by negotiations with Congress over the federal debt ceiling.

But Carney said Tuesday that the administration expects the immigration debate to begin in earnest soon after Obama is inaugurated Monday.

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RP's Kenneth Jeyaretnam to focus on national & local issues

SINGAPORE: He's no stranger to politics, having contested in West Coast Group Representation Constituency during the 2011 General Election. This time, Kenneth Jeyaretnam is venturing out on his own, to stand as Reform Party's (RP) candidate in the Punggol East by-election.

The former hedge fund manager took over the reigns of the Reform Party, following the death of his father, J.B. Jeyaretnam.

He said he has come a long way from then, having initially had the mindset of an economist. "I've learnt, I've become much more of a democracy advocate, activist, and recognised that without democracy, without freedom, we're not going to have prosperity."

Since contesting in the General Election in 2011, the 53-year-old said he has been walking the ground, making his presence felt in Punggol East since December last year.

Mr Jeyaretnam said his Party is relatively new, and has to work with limited resources, but he's confident it has the interests of the residents at heart.

"I think we would focus both on the national and local level, on ensuring that the welfare of the citizens is uppermost in the government's minds."

He said if elected, he will raise the concerns of the residents. These include cleanliness and drainage issues in the area, and questioning the lengthy renovation work of Rivervale Plaza.

He said he will also move to the ward if elected. "I use public transport, and I've noticed that there are a lot of problems with public transport, and delays on the Light Rail Transit (LRT) in getting here. I would hope I will experience it first hand, the problems faced by the locals."

Mr Jeyaretnam said residents have welcomed the Party standing in the by-election, and added that "it's only right that the people should get to choose."

- CNA/ck

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Indian Army chief's statements "very hostile", says Pak foreign minister Hina Rabbani Khar

WASHINGTON: The disconnect between Pakistan's adrift and enfeebled civilian government and its out-of-control military was on show in the US last night when the country's foreign minister Hina Rabbani Khar insisted Islamabad wanted to resolve issues through dialogue rather than military actions despite the alleged depredations of its army resulting in the beheading of an Indian soldier.

The Indian leadership had to "catch up" with Pakistan in the matter of striving for peace with, Khar gratuitously told the Charlie Rose show, while presenting her country's version of what transpired at the LoC and denying the Indian account the soldier's beheading.

Khar arrived in the US to attend a special session of the UN Security Council of which Pakistan is the Chairman for the month of January even as her toxic country was imploding from a shadowy confrontation involving the judiciary, military, and clerical-political forces. But she presented the voice of sweet reason before American TV audience, maintaining that Islamabad was striving for peace and describing the Indian Army Chief's warning to Pakistan as "very hostile."

"After the comments by the army chief I am taken back by 20 years," Khar said on show aired on PBS.

Charlie Rose: What did he say?

Khar: Just very hostile comments.

The Indian Army Chief Gen Bikram Singh had warned Pakistan that India reserves the right to retaliate at the "time and place" of its choosing, suggesting that the border spat is not going to be buried anytime soon. India's political leadership too appeared to be responding with spine after initial timidity, following popular anger and media outcry.

Khar said Pakistan was "not very pleasantly surprised" by the comments it heard from India and gratuitously added "I think this is what has changed in Pakistan where India needs to catch up." Pakistan, she said, today presents a country "which is very clear in its head as to how it wants to operate with its neighbors."

"And the way we want to operate with our neighbors is to try and build on the trust to take care of and then build that trust enough to be able to build an environment in which we can take care of the disputes that we have on the dialogue table rather than through military statements and through military actions," she added.

While the Pakistan foreign minister's statements were mainly meant for western consumption, it is no great secret among analysts here that the country's civilian government has little control or leverage over the military, which plays by its own jihadi rule book both in its eastern and western front. There has been speculation in expert circles that the Pakistani military or sections of it could be turning up the heat on its eastern front with India to rein in and redirect some of the jihadi forces which are attacking the military.

On Tuesday, the regionalists were also riveted to the new power struggle in Islamabad with little attention paid to India's fulminations on the border incident.

In Khar's version of the border incident, it was Indian forces which came 400 meters inside Pakistani territory for an attack which resulted in the death of a Pakistani soldier. "Now just two days after that or three days after that, we had an allegation which was made that two Indian soldiers were killed by Pakistani fighting which we looked into and we could find no evidence that Pakistani troops had done that. And then of course, there were extremely conflicting statements that the heads were decapitated," Khar narrated, capitalizing on the initial mixed messages that came from India.

"The northern commander spokesperson who is the person on the ground said they weren't (beheaded). Others said they were," she added, suggesting that the issue had become embroiled in domestic politics.

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Mars Rover Finds Intriguing New Evidence of Water

The first drill sample ever collected on Mars will come from a rockbed shot through with unexpected veins of what appears to be the mineral gypsum.

Delighted members of the Curiosity science team announced Tuesday that the rover was now in a virtual "candy store" of scientific targets—the lowest point of Gale crater, called Yellowknife Bay, is filled with many different materials that could have been created only in the presence of water. (Related: "Mars Has 'Oceans' of Water Inside?")

Project scientist John Grotzinger, of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, said during a press conference that the drill area has turned out "to be jackpot unit. Every place we drive exposes fractures and vein fills."

Mission scientists initially decided to visit the depression, a third of a mile from Curiosity's landing site, on a brief detour before heading to the large mountain at the middle of Gale Crater. But because of the richness of their recent finds, Grotzinger said it may be some months before they begin their trek to Mount Sharp.

The drilling, expected to start this month, will dig five holes about two inches (five centimeters) into bedrock the size of a throw rug and then feed the powder created to the rover's two chemistry labs for analysis.

The drill is the most complex device on the rover and is the last instrument to be used. Project Manager Richard Cook, of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, said that operating it posed the biggest mechanical challenge since Curiosity's high-drama landing. (Watch video of Curiosity's "Seven Minutes of Terror.")

A Watery Past?

That now-desiccated Mars once had a significant amount of surface water is now generally accepted, but every new discovery of when and where water was present is considered highly significant. The presence of surface water in its many possible forms—as a running stream, as a still lake, as ground water soaked into the Martian soil—all add to an increased possibility that the planet was once habitable. (Watch a video about searching for life on Mars.)

And each piece of evidence supporting the presence of water brings the Curiosity mission closer to its formal goal—which is to determine whether Mars was once capable of supporting life.

Curiosity scientists have already concluded that a briskly moving river or stream once flowed near the Gale landing site.

The discovery of the mineral-filled veins within Yellowknife Bay rock fractures adds to the picture because those minerals can be deposited only in watery, underground conditions.

The Curiosity team has also examined Yellowknife Bay for sedimentary rocks with the rover's Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI).  Scientists have found sandstone with grains up to about the size of a peppercorn, including one shaped like a flower bud that appears to gleam. Other nearby rocks are siltstone, with grains finer than powdered sugar. These are quite different from the pebbles and conglomerate rocks found in the landing area, but all these rocks are evidence of a watery past. (Related: "A 2020 Rover Return to Mars?")

One of the primary reasons Curiosity scientists selected Gale crater as a landing site was because satellite images indicated that water-formed minerals were present near the base of Mount Sharp. Grotzinger said that the minerals' presence so close to the landing site, and some five miles from the mountain, is both a surprise and an opportunity.

The current site in Yellowknife Bay is so promising, Grotzinger said, that he would have been "thrilled" to find similar formations at the mission's prime destination at the base of Mount Sharp.  Now the mission can look forward to the surprises to come at the mountain base while already having struck gold.

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