It takes time to download that data and have scientists pore over it. It can take days to weeks and even longer.

After picking the complex geologic picture apart like a jigsaw puzzle, we think there must have been several episodes of (volcanic) heating creating catastrophic floods.

This is really a golden age of space exploration and discovery. But I can't go there with my field boots, so the next step is to send even smarter robots instead.

He's probably one of the most outstanding scientists this campus has seen in decades. He's one we did not want to lose.

Ultimately, it will take sample return of any putative 'fossils' to convince the scientists of the world. But we can tell a lot in situ [on-the-spot] before such a time,

Scientists do their best work when they are in their early years. Writers' skills don't necessarily decay; if they can keep their interests and hopes alive (like Jack Williamson), their experience allows them greater depths to explore.