Today’s researchers are using tools that would seem like science fiction to those intrepid explorers. John Kuglin, director of UM’s Earth Observing System Education Project, said that NASA’s recently launched Terra satellite, which contains software written by UM scientists, will study the route of the Corps of Discovery, honing in on details a kilometer square. He said Terra can map the entire surface of Earth every two days in astonishing detail.

Another satellite, Ikonos II, will examine specific Lewis and Clark stopping points — some in Montana — zooming in on details as small as a meter.

Kuglin admits it isn’t really fair. The Corps of Discovery slogged thousands of miles to study the West, while today’s researchers examine Montana from orbit with a mouse click. And with the Internet providing nearly instantaneous transmission of information, the pace of discovery is speeding up.