NASA is forming an internal 'planetary-protection' committee of about 15 people to determine the care and handling of extraterrestrial samples. They fear back-contamination by a Martian microbe that could create a true 'Andromeda Strain'.

Military planners in the 21st century will get a big boost from the radar mapping data collected by Space Shuttle Endeavour\'s crew, military experts say.
Instead of using paper maps and grainy black and white spy satellite photos to plot their operations, military commanders in the future will be able to use information from digital radar maps to create a computerized 3-D picture of the battlefield. That picture will tell them not only the location, but also the precise height of every tree, hill or mountaintop, and the depth of every ditch, valley or canyon.