"With the high resolution Mars Orbiter Camera images, things that look smooth at low resolution appear very rough from high resolution and vice versa, " said David Spencer, mission manager for the Mars 2001 mission.

CNN: High-resolution images help prepare for Mars landing

"We look for high cash, low debt, and screen for management quality and efficiency, " Callahan says, adding that he considers direct meetings with companies' executive spinmeisters a waste of time.

FORBES: Learning From an Icon

Suddenly, the high cost and low yield of those markets may look like just the ticket, as they did two years ago when the commercial real estate market began to move toward recovery.

FORBES: It's Only a Market

But what we did was we tried to look at the scientific evidence and figure out where are areas where low risk environmentally and a high potential upside.

WHITEHOUSE: Promoting Jobs and Growth Through Innovation

To pull out the most important themes in the data, look for survey questions in which you are rated high across all sources, and questions where you are rated low across all sources.

FORBES: How to Get the Most out of your 360 Survey Feedback