Marsbugs: The Electronic Astrobiology Newsletter
Volume 11, Number 19, 4 May 2004
Editor/Publisher: David J. Thomas, Ph.D., Science Division, Lyon College, Batesville,
Arkansas 72503-2317, USA. dthomas@lyon.edu
Marsbugs is published on a weekly to monthly basis as warranted by the number of articles and announcements. Copyright of this compilation exists with the editor,
except for specific articles, in which instance copyright exists with the author/authors. Opinions expressed in this newsletter are those of the authors, and are not
necessarily endorsed by the editor or by Lyon College. E-mail subscriptions are free, and may be obtained by contacting the editor. Information concerning the scope
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Articles and News
Page 1
MARS SCIENCE LABORATORY: NEW ROVER, NEW
SCIENCE EQUIPMENT
By Leonard David
Page 2
BEYOND THE MOON TO MARS
From Astrobiology Magazine
Page 6
SETI AND THE SMALLEST STARS
By Margaret Turnbull
Page 6
IS BUSH'S MOON-TO-MARS VISION DIMMING?
By Robert Roy Britt
Page 6
INTERVIEW WITH BEAGLE 2 SCIENTIST, COLIN
PILLINGER
By Helen Matsos
Page 11
NASA SCHEDULES CENTENNIAL CHALLENGES
WORKSHOP
NASA release 04-144
Page 11
NSBRI LAUNCHES POSTDOCTORAL FELLOWSHIP
PROGRAM
National Space Biomedical Research Institute release
Page 11
CUR QUARTERLY EDITOR SOUGHT
Council on Undergraduate Research release
Page 11
NEW ADDITIONS TO THE ASTROBIOLOGY INDEX
By David J. Thomas
Mission Reports
Page 8
TIGHTEN THE EXPLORATION INITIATIVE
By Robert Zubrin
Page 12
CASSINI SIGNIFICANT EVENTS
NASA/JPL release
Page 12
MARS ROVERS FINISH PRIMARY MISSION AND ROLL
ONWARD
NASA/JPL release 2004-113
Page 13
MARS GLOBAL SURVEYOR IMAGES
NASA/JPL/MSSS release
Page 14
MARS ODYSSEY THEMIS IMAGES
NASA/JPL/ASU release
Announcements
Page 9
SPACE RESOURCES ROUNDTABLE VI, FIRST
ANNOUNCEMENT
Lunar and Planetary Institute release
27 April 2004
will examine new technologies for human and robot-based exploration, as
well as on-going and planned space exploration missions. The first lecture,
"The Moon, Mars and Beyond," featured Dr. Andrew Chaikin, author of A
Man on the Moon: The Triumphant Story of the Apollo Space Program. The
book was the basis for Tom Hanks' HBO miniseries "From the Earth to the
Moon," which won an Emmy for best miniseries in 1998.
NASA is not wasting time in moving forward on its next rover that will strut
its stuff across the far-flung sands of the red planet. The space agency
released mid-month an "Announcement of Opportunity" that calls for science
gear and related ideas that could wind up onboard the Mars Science
Laboratory—or MSL, for short.
Chaikin has authored and edited several popular books about space, including
The New Solar System, Air and Space: The National Air and Space Museum
Story of Flight, Apollo: An Eyewitness Account, and Full Moon, a collection
of Apollo photography. Chaikin's most recent book, SPACE: A History of
Space Exploration in Photographs, was published in 2002 by Carlton Books.
The overall MSL science objective is to explore and quantitatively assess a
local region on the Mars surface as a potential habitat for life, past or present.
This mission will use a variety of instruments carried on a rover platform that
will operate under its own power and telemetry and is expected to remain
active for one Mars year, or 670 sols. For those on Earth Today Time, that
equates to 687 Earth days.
A graduate of Brown University, Chaikin served as executive editor for space
and science at Space.com until 2001 and was editor of Sky and Telescope
magazine for many years. Chaikin is currently a commentator for National
Public Radio's "Morning Edition" program.
MARS SCIENCE LABORATORY: NEW ROVER, NEW SCIENCE
EQUIPMENT
By Leonard David
From Space.com
29 April 2004
During Dr. Chaikin's public lecture, he described the Moon-Mars exploration
as "exciting and tremendously challenging".
His lecture featured a
spectacularly symbolic image that he photographed from central Florida
during last year's closest approach between Mars and Earth—the nearest such
view towards our sister planet seen in recorded history. Using a Celestron
Nexstar 11-inch telescope and a webcam, Chaikin captured an occultation of
Mars by our own Moon in silhouette. Six months later, the blue-ribbon
Presidential Commission studying transits to the Moon, Mars and beyond
formed with the same image in mind. How best to hopscotch humans safely
to the moon first, followed by the challenging trek to Mars.
NASA Research Park (NRP) launched a new Exploration Lecture Series at
NASA Ames Research Center, to feature top researchers and academics, who
Chaikin's perspective is unique since he had unparalleled access to the 23
living astronauts who pioneered the Apollo exploration of the Moon. Chaikin
Read the full article at
http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/marssciencelab_science_
040427.html.
BEYOND THE MOON TO MARS
From Astrobiology Magazine
Marsbugs: The Electronic Astrobiology Newsletter, Volume 11, Number 19, 4 May 2004
noted that humans left the moon for the last time, thirty-one years ago. While
posing the question, "What can we learn from the Apollo astronauts about
going back to the moon and onwards to Mars in the coming decades?",
Chaikin recalled a story told to him by Bob Gilruth, a key mission planner at
the Johnson Space Center during Apollo. Gilruth was walking on the beach
while a full moon was out. He looked up to the light-grey, shining disk and
said, "Someday, they're going to want to go back to the moon, and they'll
realize how difficult it is."
Part 1: Hemorrhaging from the Fingertips
Chaikin, like many before him, took special note of the April 30, 1954
Collier's cover article, entitled "Can We Go To Mars?" Fifty years ago today
[Collier's, April 30, 1954 (Volume 133 Number 9)], many futurists considered
the long human trip to the red planet as one of the key milestones—one first to
motivate early exploration of the moon and also to build a space station.
Chaikin noted a special advisory relationship that evolved between film
producer, Walt Disney, and the German-American rocket scientist, Wernher
von Braun, as von Braun contributed to Colliers and also to three influential
TV specials on space exploration for Disney's popular TV series.
The
current
NASA
Administrator
Sean
O'Keefe has described the
challenges
to
fulfill
"Moon-Mars and Beyond"
as two-fold: biomedical
and launch.
Chaikin
echoed the remarkable
nature of the Apollo
successes as unique to
deeper space exploration
missions, touching on both
human
and
machine
elements to reinventing a
manned mission to Mars.
The launch problem is
real,
as
heavy-lift
capability now seems a
treasure from the 1960's.
Heavy-lift has become a
Publishing on the question of whether
missing
element
of
humans can get to Mars fifty years ago on
American efforts to stock
April 30,1954, Collier's magazine consulted
the International Space
experts like W. von Braun. Image credit:
Station. Even today, the
Colliers.
Apollo rocket, the Saturn
V, remains the largest rocket ever successfully flown. The behemoth stood
363 feet (or over 30 stories) high from base to top. Contractors at the time
came up with their best analogy to describe the power of the five Saturn
engines, as "exceeding all the rivers in North America, if they could be turned
through turbines", according to Chaikin. All the fuel in its three stages needed
from launch to orbit exercised and channeled the energy equivalent of a small
atomic bomb.
To the first humans who rode atop the Saturn V, the vibrations of its engine
nozzles shook them in their seats like a whip antenna. In typical "Right Stuff"
description, Bill Anders on Apollo 8 told a debriefing panel that they
experienced "positive control motion". But outside the debriefing, his
experience was compared to being "a rat in the jaw of a giant terrier." Anders
felt as though the astronauts had been shaken within an inch of their lives.
Unlike previous orbital missions like Gemini and Mercury—or even today's
orbital views from the shuttle and space station—the feeling of leaving Earth
was unique psychologically to moon exploration. Chaikin quoted Apollo 17
astronaut, Gene Cernan, when he described looking back on a thumb-sized
blue planet in the window, "You know you're leaving town." Cernan went on
to say that despite the psychological separation from home, the Earth was one
of the most beautiful memories. Echoing Cernan's sentiment, Apollo 16
astronaut Ken Mattingly felt that he "was looking back at the most incredible
thing he'd ever seen."
Following the launch and earthview, the next signal to the astronauts that they
were entering an alien environment became the experience of zero-gravity.
Compared to the cramped quarters on Mercury and Gemini capsules, the
Apollo command and lunar modules were roomy. The astronauts could
2
appreciate storing a spacesuit and floating around in short-sleeves. But for
weeklong missions, the mundane biological needs to excrete waste products
still posed challenges. According to Apollo 16's Ken Mattingly, the lack of
convenient bathroom facilities needed to be solved for long-term exploration:
"If this is what it's like going to Mars, forget it."
Completing these mid-mission
adaptations, the Apollo astronauts
soon were stuck by the everenlarging Moon in their windows.
Chaikin described the Moon as a
Rosetta stone to understand the
origin of the solar system. But to
the human eye, the Moon was also
hauntingly beautiful.
Notable
among the alien views stood out a
signature of approach to the Moon:
the dominance of cratering. Small
craters measured a few miles across,
while large ones stretched hundreds
of miles. The notion of the Moon
On its journey outwards to
as pockmarked like Swiss cheese
Jupiter, the Galileo probe
became even more apparent as the
captured this picture of the
Moon got closer in view. By some
Earth and Moon together. Will
accounts, the imagery from orbit
humans share a feeling of
was even more spectacular to the
leaving home? Image credit:
astronauts than the view from the
NASA/Galileo project.
surface itself. For the later Apollo
missions, one orbiting command module pilot could spend days alone circling
the Moon—a contrast to the hectic schedules for the moonwalkers that gave
them little time to reflect on where they were putting a first bootprint.
Comparing the surface exploration of the moon and Mars, Chaikin pointed out
that one consideration for both is dust. As memorialized in a number of
astronaut portraits, moondust had the consistency of talcum powder or
powdered cement. The dust was cohesive and would "stick to everything",
according to Apollo 11 astronaut, Buzz Aldrin. But Chaikin said that the
micron-sized Mars dust might be even finer and more electrostatically
cohesive. "Mars is even dustier than the moon," said Chaikin, "and may be
toxic if the Viking findings of peroxides are globally true." Peroxide is a
strong oxidizer most familiar as hydrogen peroxide used to sterilize wounds.
Viking scientists in 1977 concluded that Mars may have a self-sterilizing
quantity of peroxide combined with the iron oxide, or rusty, soil that gives the
red planet its unique colors.
What would one notice with one's own eyes on another moon or planet that
may not be evident in a framed photograph? Chaikin asked this question to
several astronauts who walked on the moon's barren landscape. To Apollo
11's Buzz Aldrin, the moon near Tranquility Base was a flat area on large
scales—at least that was the way the moon appeared in a picture. But since
the moon is one-quarter the Earth's diameter, or about 2000 miles across,
Aldrin noticed a perception that the moon's curvature was "moving away from
him". To Aldrin, it became apparent that he was walking on the surface of a
sphere.
Having experienced free-floating as they departed the Earth's gravity, the
moonwalkers had to adjust to the moon's one-sixth value compared to
terrestrial gravity. For the astronauts who landed on the Moon, they
discovered with a small flexing of their ankles, they could easily jump three
feet off the surface even in their bulky spacesuits. Chaikin compared this
sensation to what future Mars explorers might find when confronted with the
one-third Earth gravity on Mars. Chaikin said that while "the moonwalkers
felt near weightless, the Mars-walker might feel as if walking on a
trampoline."
The ergonomics of working in a spacesuit were challenging to the Apollo
astronauts. Chaikin said the real pinch-points in doing work on the moon
came when gripping a hammer or closing a rock sampler. The astronauts did
not look forward to doing anything with their hands. "This was the weak link
in the pressurized suits", said Chaikin. "To wrap a hand around an object, one
had to exert strength against the pressurized glove. If one squeezes a tennis
ball enough, a burning sensation will develop in your arm. During seven
hours of doing this on the moon, the astronauts reported being very tired."
In addition to being exhausting to wear, the gloves also rubbed until fingers
became raw. Chaikin described the astronaut's account that the "gloves would
Marsbugs: The Electronic Astrobiology Newsletter, Volume 11, Number 19, 4 May 2004
3
mash against fingertips. Blood vessels under fingernails would eventually
hemorrhage. It was like getting hit on the fingertips with a hammer."
Left: Apollo astronauts could launch themselves three feet by flexing their
ankles, even in bulky spacesuits. Right: tiny Earth, a planet that could be
blotted out with a lunar astronaut's thumb. Image credits: NASA.
One question often posed to the Apollo astronauts is to reflect on the bigger
meaning of their journeys. A practical problem, according to Chaikin, was the
lack of time for reflection however. The moonwalkers particularly felt it was
"very hard to have time to think". Their every movement on the Moon was
carefully orchestrated and scheduled to the minute. Chaikin contrasts this
hectic workload to what is typical of other voyages of scientific discovery,
where often the least anticipated observation is the key to a new
understanding. Apollo 15's Dave Scott laughed at one point while working on
the Moon, since two checklists—one on his right hand, the other on his left—
instructed him to do two totally different things at the same time. Chaikin
recommended the Apollo lunar transcripts as an authoritative source to
understand the demands of scheduling and how humans reacted operationally
to a challenging and exhausting workload.
In the last few moon missions, the excursions got longer and had more
mobility. Chaikin said these extra days on the surface did manage to fill the
astronauts with glimpses of beauty on another world. Apollo 15's Dave Scott
flew on the first of these lengthened scientific missions and was struck by the
"beauty of the Moon: the brilliant Sun against a pristine wilderness that had
been untouched for four and half billion years. While the Sun was out, one is
still surrounded by blackness."
Neil Armstrong, the first human to set foot on the Moon, compared this same
contrast between darkness and illumination to being in an empty stadium,
where the "playing field was lit for night-time photography."
You are here. Earth as viewed from the surface of Mars. Image credit:
NASA/JPL/MER.
During the last of the three missions that featured the lunar rover, Chaikin
noted that issues of fine moondust circled back to jeopardize the driving on
Apollo 17. On the first surface day, while Commander Gene Cernan was
helping to unfold the rover, a hammer at his hip snagged the rear fender and
took it off. To minimize its launch weight, the rover was specially designed
with as little mass as possible and thus could be disassembled from its fragile
construction by the mishap. The problem could have restricted Apollo 17's
mobility, since the fender protected the astronauts from a fountain of dust
kicked up by the tire tread.
Part 2: Going Mobile
The solution proved to be innovative, as the astronauts strapped on their own
makeshift fender held together from an old map, clamps from a utility light,
and grey duct tape. Chaikin said that even with the new fender, just moving
around on the Moon made Cernan appear after the second day as if "he had
rolled around in a coal bin".
The importance of mobility was underscored by Chaikin, whether one is
exploring the moon or Mars. Future Mars missions anticipate wheeled crew
vehicles, and the latest twin robotic explorers have combined to surpass a mile
of martian roving this month. During Apollo, NASA supplied the astronauts
with a battery-powered car equipped not just to cover hundreds of feet. The
lunar rover could cover miles at a time.
To Chaikin and the astronauts alike, the defining moment in moon exploration
always seemed to revolve back to the view looking home. The picture of the
tiny earth as an oasis in the sky, according to Chaikin, was the nexus for the
greatest emotional, psychological and spiritual parts of the exploration. The
infamous "Earthrise over the Moon" image came from the first orbital
mission, Apollo 8, during the Christmas season of 1968.
Chaikin emphasized that Mars explorers will need surface transport to get
around, but also noted the Apollo experience that with increasing exploration
distances, so too the risks increased. NASA struck a balance between
mobility and risk on Apollo, when they considered if the hazards were
acceptable in worst case scenarios. Two scenarios considered were, "what
happens if an astronaut has to walk back more than a few miles after a rover
breakdown?" and "could a walk back be managed if one crewmember were
short of oxygen?" Both scenarios could be managed if limited to a driving
distance estimated at three and half miles, and a buddy system was set up to
share oxygen between crewmembers during normal work. But the "very bad"
scenario would be a kind of perfect storm when a rover broke down some
great distance from the lunar module, followed by some failure in the buddy
breathing system.
Apollo 8 astronaut Bill Anders took the telephoto shot when he noticed the
Earth apparently rising as they circled the moon. The telephoto image makes
the Earth look even less distant than in reality, according to Chaikin, as the
astronauts themselves often sized the Earth by simply blotting it out in the sky
with their thumbs. One anecdote told by Chaikin was how this story of taking
the infamous photo had been told repeatedly as attributed as a prize to Apollo
8 Commander Frank Borman, since the official lunar transcripts mislabeled
who was taking the picture and who surprisingly was arguing that the
Earthrise was a distraction from their scientific agenda. One voice on the
audio tapes chides another astronaut as the Earth rises into window view,
"Don't take that, it's not scheduled", to which another voice responds defiantly
"Quick, get me a roll of color film."
Chaikin presented one startling photograph from Apollo 15, where the rover
was perched on an incline near a large boulder and hill. The back wheel of
the rover is precariously off the ground, as an astronaut keeps the rover from
sliding in the reduced gravity. Dave Scott, mission commander later recalled
from the lunar transcripts his statement: "Uh oh, the rover is sliding down the
hill, better hold it."
According to the transcript, Anders was the astronaut worried about the
science, and Borman the photographer, but later when Borman was told by
Chaikin that the audio tape showed he opposite version was true—this
exchange was wrongly misappropriated to Anders as the one arguing against
taking the picture—Borman's wife insisted on an apology to Anders, the real
photographer, while Borman himself replied to his wife, "It's such a good
story, I'm sticking to the transcript."
Regardless of who photographed the Earth from the moon, Chaikin reiterated
that the lunar astronauts all had a profound sense—for the first time in human
Marsbugs: The Electronic Astrobiology Newsletter, Volume 11, Number 19, 4 May 2004
history—of leaving the Earth. Apollo 8's Bill Anders gave his own reaction
as two-fold, one riddled with danger and the other with bigger meaning.
Anders reflected that the Earth looked small, so he at first "hoped they could
hit it" upon return. The second reaction was that "Copernicus was right. The
Earth may be precious to us, but it is such a small part of the universe. On the
cosmic scale, we are such a small blip on the map."
4
Part 3: Man or Machine?
What martian scenery will greet the first human visitor? Chaikin noted that
"Mars is a geological wonder, with canyons as long as the continental United
States. With big volcanoes, such as the largest in our solar system—
Olympus—which towers three times higher than Mount Everest."
In contrast to the moon voyagers, martian travelers will confront yet another
view of home. On Mars, an astronaut won't even see the Earth as a disk at all.
From Mars, the Earth will look in the martian sky roughly like what we see
terrestrially as Jupiter—just another star. To Chaikin, the question to ask is,
"Can we imagine on Mars, humans seeing the Earth as just as another star in
the sky?"
To get that perspective on our own solar system, Chaikin said, the martian
astronauts will "have to work their tails off". Even during an accelerated six
months of outbound travel, the human body will go through many dramatic
biomedical changes. The first signs will be psychological changes, just as for
the Apollo astronauts.
Opportunity's size dominates the crater. "This is a picture of the vehicle,"
said Malin, referring to a bright spot. "One thing to note is how big it is
relative to the crater.
It fills the size of the crater."
Image
credit:NASA/JPL/MSSS
Left: looking back. Right: Apollo 15 lunar rover, with one wheel off the
ground as it started to slide down the hill. Upper left, astronaut Irwin braces
against the steep, soft slope and says, "Afraid we might lose the Rover?"
Image credits: NASA.
From his interviews, Chaikin hinted that many of the astronauts were cramped
in close quarters with crewmates that were not their best friends. One could
stand any proximity for hours or days, but six months filled with grating
opinions "may not be fun", recalled Chaikin from his interviews with those
who had been to the moon. "Not everyone liked each other" on the moon
missions, said Chaikin who said the psychological challenges may not be
trivial. "One can get along with anybody for awhile, but it may not be easy
for three years." The Mars' astronauts also "are not going to have the
diversion to watch the Earth go by. They will be looking out the window into
black space for most of their trip."
The lack of what space station astronauts have come to rely on—a steady resupply vessel for life support—may further increase the sense of isolation and
deprivation on the way to Mars. A terrestrial reminder as simple as a fresh
orange has proven to lift spirits on long space station missions.
On the International Space Station, noted Chaikin, astronauts and cosmonauts
can anticipate "weakened muscles, lower cardiovascular capacity and brittle
bones. How do we keep these people healthy? Radiation itself will be a big
long-term problem, since unlike the few days in deep space on the way to the
Moon, martian travelers will encounter cosmic rays and solar flare particles.
These are deadly forms of radiation." NASA estimates that everyday on space
station is the equivalent radiation exposure to eight daily chest X-rays.
The human record for space habitability is a fourteen month stint on the
Russian MIR space station. When filmmaker James Cameron asked the
record-holding cosmonaut in Moscow, how long it took to feel okay again
after returning to Earth, the flippant answer was "One vodka, one sauna."
When combined with the preflight training, extensive exercise regime on
board a space station and post-flight recovery, a three year mission to Mars
might take years to even a decade from human preparation to a healthy
recovery. Such a lengthy stint exceeds most forms of voluntary military
service.
The cosmonaut paused and reconsidered his recovery time when answering
Cameron's question, "About six months."
Unlike the moon, Mars has winds. Mars has exposed ice seen glinting with
sunlight. Even when viewed in a 1950's telescope, the frozen polar ice caps
could distinguish Mars from the moon. These icy poles sometimes contain
frozen water but have a core of frozen carbon dioxide, or dry ice. The matian
surface generally is rust-colored though, because it is literally covered in rust.
Iron oxide is a prevalent soil component. When first observed during the
1960's Mariner orbital missions to Mars, the red planet has craters and fault
rifts like the moon but unlike our lunar neighbor, shows signs of ancient water
flowing across its surface.
"River valleys with extensive tributaries," said Chaikin, show that Mars was
"once a place where water flowed in vast quantities." Even in more recent
geological times, "tiny channels on the walls of craters have been observed
from the orbiting Mars Global Surveyor, and this water may trickle down
embankments below a frost layer."
Attempts to resolve this watery past with Mars' apparent dryness today rely on
understanding the planet's climate history, said Chaikin. "The atmosphere is
seven parts in a thousand compared to Earth's pressure at sea level, which is
too thin for liquid water" to be exposed. The current round of rover missions
have taken up the mantle of tracing this watery past, and uncovered the
ground-truth to compare to what previously could only be speculated upon.
On the question of life on Mars or one of Jupiter's moons like Europa, Chaikin
noted that "life is found in hostile environments ranging from mid-ocean
ridges to dry and salty places. Even inside rocks. Life is proving more clever
and resilient than previously imagined."
Comparing the Moon and Mars visually on the surface is difficult, said
Chaikin, because almost all the Apollo astronauts have noted that images of
the lunar surface cannot do justice to seeing the brilliant Sun in complete
blackness for yourself.
Referring to the computer renderings of the "brilliant Dan Maas, who created
wonderful animations before the Mars Exploration Rovers landed", Chaikin
thought the human eye looking on the martian surface would be struck
foremost by the red, rusty surface compared to the grey lunar landscape. But
both are "desolate places. On the Moon, the brilliant sunlight and black sky
make a striking scene. On Mars, the sky is peach-colored, while the light is
diffuse with dust, kind of like Los Angeles. The dust floating in the thin
martian air scatters enough light to make the sky blue at sunset. The martian
sunset is the reverse of what we have here." While the daylight sky on Earth is
blue and its sunset pink, the martian daylight is pink and the sunsets are blue.
Marsbugs: The Electronic Astrobiology Newsletter, Volume 11, Number 19, 4 May 2004
Catching up Chaikin's unique historical perspective on exploration to the
present rover missions, he agreed with the incredible luck that JPL scientists
and engineers felt when the first images from the Opportunity rover were
viewed. "The rovers bounce haphazardly, the lander unfolds, and its camera
takes a look around. What are the chances of bouncing into a crater, one with
an outcrop thought to be martian bedrock? This outcrop on the crater rim
includes rocks in the same place they were formed, not blasted from some
other impact. And like sedimentary rocks, these are layered with their
geological history."
The luck of landing in a
crater with exposed
bedrock however was
dwarfed by finding
water evidence only ten
meters from the lander's
base station.
"The
spherical grains, called
concretions, are the
geological equivalent of
hail stones. They speak
of being formed in
Schematic of major mission events during
water.
Meridiani
entry, descent and landing. Image credit:
Planum
was
once
NASA/JPL/ Cornell University/Dan Maas
drenched with water,
maybe billions of years
ago. But we don't have to speculate anymore, Mars has given us ground-truth
as evidence of water"—the first such finding on the surface of another world.
5
beads, not entirely unlike the spherules or concretions found by the
Opportunity rover on Mars." If beads on Mars meant water, beads on the
moon meant active volcanoes. "On the moon, the orange soil meant that lunar
geology had a time when lava or a fiery fountain sprayed molten material high
into the air and formed these orange, glassy beads. Those beads then had been
exhumed by an impact or crater."
Apollo 17 astronaut, Harrison Schmidt
uncovered orange lunar soil, made of tiny
orange, glassy spheres (inset lower left)
and formed by a fire fountain (inset right)
as evidence of past volcanic lava flows.
Would a robot or imagery alone have found
the orange moon dust? Image credit:
NASA.
Could a robot transmit
enough
high-resolution
imagery, kick over enough
rocks, or turn over mounds
of lunar soil to have
mimicked Schmidt and
found the first orange soil
on the moon? Was a
geologist's trained eye a
better means of discovery
than a roomful of the best
terrestrial experts pouring
over mission photos?
Chaikin did not complete
any judgments on whether
a robot or human could
best map Mars. In either
case, a good camera lens is
almost always going to
filter the actual objects observed. A glass layer will inevitably come between
a raw planetary landscape and our best trained eyes. But Chaikin did offer a
philosophical perspective: "There will be no substitute for the sound of a
human voice from another planet, one to which we have never been to
before."
Part 4 (Encore): What's Next?
On December 11, 1972—thirty-one years ago—the astronauts of Apollo 17
eased their Lunar Module into a landing, beginning the last human excursion
to the Moon. Three days later, Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt blasted
off from the lunar surface to rejoin crewmate Ronald Evans in the
Command/Service Module. The crew circled the Moon for another fortyeight hours or so, fired the spacecraft's thruster, and left the Moon behind for
the next three decades.
Hematite shows a right and left peak in the Mossbauer spectra, with a higher
concentration at the crater rim than the floor.
Image credit:
NASA/JPL/Mainz.
While Chaikin marvelled at the luck and resourceful of the robotic rovers, he
shared an Apollo anecdote to illustrate what a human explorer might bring to
our understanding of Mars. "Nothing can replace the power of the human
mind and hand in exploration. These robots are incredible and currently the
only way to do exploration. But even the builders of the robots agree that
eventually we will have to have humans for the next level of discovery."
To illustrate historically, Chaikin selected the mission of the only trained
geologist to the moon. During his packed surface itinerary, Apollo 17's
Harrison Schmidt made one happenstance discovery on the moon. The lunar
soil is almost exclusively grey and tan, but as Schmidt walked across the dusty
surface, he saw that his boot was kicking up a lot of the grey soil. Underneath
his own bootprint, he saw a layer that was not muted in hues of grey, but
instead struck his geologist's eye as unlike anything thought to exist on the
moon. What Schmidt's boot revealed was the first and only lunar region that
differed from its surrounding strata.
Chaikin described Schmidt's find as not unlike what a human might find on
Mars—"the moon revealed a layer of brilliantly orange soil. Where Schmidt's
boot had kicked up grey to reveal orange were these microscopic glassy
Left: Moon occulting Venus, the morning star, taken by the lunar probe,
Clementine. Image credit: NASA/DOD/Clementine. Center: SMART mission
surveys the moon. Image credit: ESA. Right: Lunar Clementine mission
shows the South Pole of the Moon. The permanently shadowed region center
showed earlier evidence of meteor cratering and ice never exposed to direct
sunlight, but Arecibo radar reveals dust.
Image credit:
NASA/DOD/Clementine.
During their brief stay on the Moon, Commander Cernan and geologist
Schmitt crisscrossed the local terrain in their Lunar Rover, conducting a
variety of experiments and gathering Moon rocks to bring home. Thirty year
later, there's a resurgence of interest in returning to the Moon.
The Moon is believed to play an important role in Earth's habitability.
Because the Moon helps stabilize the tilt of the Earth's rotation, it prevents the
Earth from wobbling between climatic extremes. Without the Moon, seasonal
shifts would likely outpace even the most adaptable forms of life.
In addition, because our moon is lifeless, it is one of the most appealing places
to look for the preserved records of life elsewhere. At least according to
recent estimates for the amount of ejected rocks that might survive there, the
Moon may hold clues from the early history of Mars, Venus and Earth.
Unfortunately, the very early geological history of Earth has been nearly
completely obliterated by the actions of tectonics, weathering, and biology; on
Marsbugs: The Electronic Astrobiology Newsletter, Volume 11, Number 19, 4 May 2004
our home planet the earliest rock records date back about 3.8 billion years but
no further.
Scientists John Armstrong and Lloyd Wells of the University of Washington
in Seattle and Guillermo Gonzalez of Iowa State University argue for
resuming human missions to the Moon to collect not Moon rocks, but Earth
rocks. Early in Earth's history, a rain of comets known as the Late Heavy
Bombardment may have blasted bits of Earth's surface into space; some of the
material might now lie strewn across the lunar surface. The rocks might even
contain fossil evidence of the earliest life on Earth life, the researchers say.
Scientist Kevin Zahnle of NASA Ames Research Center adds that studying
the existing collection of Moon rocks returned by Apollo 17 and the five
earlier lunar landings could help test techniques for searching for Earth rocks
on the Moon. And NASA astrobiologist David McKay of Johnson Space
Center has remarked that, to his knowledge, no one has searched the
collection of Moon rocks for Earth minerals.
The Moon, however, still retains some of the earliest records of the formation
of the Earth-Moon system. Leading models suggest a very early origin of the
Moon as a result of the collision of a Mars-sized body with the newly formed
Earth. Samples from the Apollo and Luna programs elucidated some of this
history, but the nature of these samples, limited to equatorial regions of the
lunar near side, leaves many key questions unanswered.
The Moon's South Pole-Aitken Basin, one of the largest impact structures
known within the solar system, exposes material from deep within the crust
and possibly even the upper mantle that was excavated by the impact. In
addition, the floor of this basin probably retains impact melt rocks created by
the giant impact. Apollo experience shows that such melt rocks provide
insight into the average composition of the basin, and that by dating such
samples we can infer the age of the basin itself. This will help to resolve
questions that are raised by the observed cratering record of the lunar
highlands, with important implications for the early history of the Moon and
all of the terrestrial planets, including Earth. Analysis of ancient lunar
material will thus provide critical insights into the processes that occurred on
Earth and the other terrestrial planets during their early history.
For more than 40 years, the Moon has been visited by automated space probes
and by nine manned expeditions, six of which landed on its surface. Most
recently on the night of September 27th, 2003, Europe's lunar probe called
SMART-1 launched on a technology demonstration mission to the moon.
Much remains to be learnt about our closest neighbor, and SMART-1's
payload will conduct observations never performed before in such detail. The
Advanced/Moon Micro-Imaging Experiment (AMIE) miniaturized CCD
camera will provide high-resolution and high-sensitivity imagery of the
surface, even in poorly lit polar areas. The highly compact infrared
spectrometer will map lunar materials and look for water and carbon dioxide
ice in permanently shadowed craters.
Although the recent history of lunar missions has been dominated by robotic
probes, revisions to the future timeline may be forthcoming if the Presidential
Commission on Moon to Mars and Beyond continues to develop towards
fruition. As Chaikin noted in his lecture series on the subject, it remains a
remarkable realization however, that it was 31 years ago that the last human
left the moon.
Recent lunar timelines
1990: Japanese Hiten, Lunar Flyby and Orbiter.
1994: Michael Rampino and Richard Strothers propose Earth could be
periodically struck by comets dislodged from orbits when the solar
system passes through galactic plane.
U.S. Department Defense/NASA Clementine mission, Lunar
Orbiter/Attempted Asteroid Flyby.
1997: First commercial lunar mission, AsiaSat 3/HGS-1, Lunar Flyby.
1998: Lunar Prospector launches and enters lunar orbit.
1999: Lunar Prospector tries to detect water on the Moon (polar impact).
2001: Lunar soil samples and computer models by Robin Canup and Erik
Asphaug support impact origin of moon.
2003: SMART 1, to launch lunar orbiter and test solar-powered ion drive for
deep space missions.
2004: Japanese Lunar-A, Lunar Mapping Orbiter and Penetrator, to fire two
bullets 3 meters into the lunar soil near Apollo 12 and 14 sites.
2006: Japanese SELENE Lunar Orbiter and Lander, to probe the origin and
evolution of the moon.
6
Read the original four-article series at:
http://www.astrobio.net/news/article945.html
http://www.astrobio.net/news/article946.html
http://www.astrobio.net/news/article948.html
http://www.astrobio.net/news/article950.html
SETI AND THE SMALLEST STARS
By Margaret Turnbull
From Space.com
29 April 2004
While SETI, as a search for aliens, certainly inspires its fair share of dinner
table conversation, it also leads to much astronomical and biological research.
For example, in order to spend our telescope time wisely, we need to know
everything we can about the way different stars behave, and how that relates
to the requirements for life. Like people, the stars in the Galaxy come in
many colors, sizes, activity levels, social associations, and stages of life. All
stars start out as hydrogen-fusing "dwarfs," and swell into "giants" toward the
end of their lives after exhausting their hydrogen fuel supplies. The glorious
orb that lights our world and sustains life as we know it (a.k.a., the Sun) is a
calm, middle-aged, single, yellow dwarf star, one of several billion similar
"G"-type dwarfs in the Galaxy. G dwarfs like the Sun live a long time,
steadily burning hydrogen for about ten billion years, and, if they’ve got
suitable planets they can provide happy environments for life to take hold and
for technology to blossom. These are the stars that we’ve always loved at
SETI, the possible homes away from home.
Read the full article at
http://www.space.com/searchforlife/seti_turnbull_040429.html.
IS BUSH'S MOON-TO-MARS VISION DIMMING?
By Robert Roy Britt
From Space.com
29 April 2004
Like his father's proposal to go to Mars, President George W. Bush's grand
space exploration vision appears to be on the verge of being scuttled well
before launch. Despite its goal of refocusing NASA, the vision's potential to
inspire dreams and garner new funds is largely evaporating. The devil is in
the lack of details.
On January 14, Bush said he wanted to send humans back to the Moon and on
to Mars. Critics charged the plan, as it were, lacked specifics and the costs
could not be easily estimated. The White House has not talked space in the
three months since. Meanwhile, Congress is making budget decisions now,
and members complain they don't know how NASA aims to spend the
additional funds Bush requested.
Read the full article at
http://www.space.com/news/commentary_vision_040429.html.
INTERVIEW WITH BEAGLE 2 SCIENTIST, COLIN PILLINGER
By Helen Matsos
From Astrobiology Magazine
3 May 2004
From 200 million miles away on Mars, the European Beagle 2 lander was
intended to send back a faint 5-watt signal. To acquire that miniscule signal
could be compared to picking up a cell phone call if broadcast from Mars to
Earth. That phone call was intended to as a Christmas greeting to scientists
listening in after Beagle 2's expected December 25 th touchdown. When the
signal did not at first appear, early indications might be that the lander had
been shadowed by the lip of a crater. The fortuitous crater-landing of the
Mars Opportunity rover later in January showed that missing a crater might
require more luck than landing in one.
After entering orbit around Christmas, the parent spacecraft, Mars Express,
began its multi-year mapping with its unique focus on ancient volcanoes and
the mystery of what happened to martian water. For the lost Beagle 2 probe,
the orbiting of Mars Express held out the chance that a direct communication
link could be established to a beacon distress signal from the surface. The
beacon never could be heard.
Marsbugs: The Electronic Astrobiology Newsletter, Volume 11, Number 19, 4 May 2004
Another chance presented itself to try to image the landing site of Beagle.
The comprehensive, stereo-view maps from Mars Express features 10 meter
resolution, while some particularly interesting regions can get a close-up view
to 2 meters [about the size of small car, as seen from orbit]. Although
hundreds of thousands of images have been part of previous mapping
missions, as much as ninety-seven percent of Mars remains unexplored at high
resolution. Neither the Beagle surface beacon nor an image could ever be
acquired—not using orbiters, the Deep Space Network or the Jodrell Bank
Telescope in England—and the surface mission was concluded.
In England, the Astrobiology Magazine recently had the opportunity to revisit
the goals and remarkable mission plans for the Beagle 2 with Chief Scientist,
Professor Colin Pillinger. The interview had two main questions, how does a
robotic spacecraft look for life on another planet?, and secondly, what can be
learned from Beagle 2's long journey from conception to somewhere unknown
on the surface of Mars?
Beagle 2 was something of an afterthought to Europe's overall Mars
exploration, said Pillinger. "Mars Express was originally going to be a rescue
mission. It was going to re-launch instruments that had been lost on the
Russian Mars 96 mission," Pillinger explained. But the discoveries related to
signs of life in martian meteorites and the 1996 scientific revelation that
ALH84001 might contain a fossil sparked a new idea, Pillinger said. "I
suggested to ESA that if they were going to have a mission to Mars that they
really needed to have a lander and address some of these new issues."
The Beagle lander was small—a mere 30 kg (66 pounds)—and was never
intended to move from its landing spot, but at its core sat a miniaturized
version of a sophisticated chemical laboratory. The lander's Gas Analysis
Package, or GAP, was central to its mission to discover signs of past or
present life on Mars. The only previous life-detection experiments on Mars
were carried out by NASA's Viking 1 and 2 landers in 1976. "It wasn't that
Viking didn't find life," said Beagle 2 Chief Scientist, Professor Colin
Pillinger, "it was that they thought the conditions were just so horrid, so harsh,
nobody anticipated that life could exist there."
7
experiment. While "in the works for over a year," said MER's Deputy
Principal Investigator, Dr. Ray Arvidson, "the schedule was firmed up only
[in January 2004], science team to science team." One reason for the
serendipitous opportunity was uncertainties about the fate of the Beagle lander
and when exactly the timing might be right for an overpass view of the Spirit
rover for Mars Express. "The overpass will happen when it is nice and hot on
Mars, in the mid-afternoon. The rocks will be cooking by then, and so
infrared imagery will show up well in infrared (0.35-0.5 microns)."
Arvidson said that simultaneous mapping from above and below is key, if
scientists want to remove the strong infrared properties of atmospheric dust
and distortion from what future panoramic infrared images may provide for
distant objects, like the eastern hills in Gusev two to three kilometers away.
Arvidson recalled that the overpass experiment "began as an informal
conversation in a Paris cafe, in early summer [2003]."
As for the future, the Beagle 2 team is already considering what might be
possible with a Beagle 3 mission. "Viking did a very noble job," said
Pillinger. "They had three experiments, which were configured to see whether
there were any actively metabolizing organisms on the planet. [Beagle 2] was
not doing a metabolism experiment. The thing which is crucial as far as I'm
concerned is we need to see whether we can detect any organic [biologically
produced] matter.
Pillinger concluded, "I think there were a lot of failures of missions designed
to go to Mars. And we don't necessarily know what experiments were on
some of those Russian missions. But all of them had to get down before they
could do any experiments."
Interview with Colin Pillinger, Beagle 2 Chief Scientist, European Space
Agency
"The Beagle 2 project was based on martian meteorite studies," said Pillinger.
"I think the real thing that is driving us back to wanting to look at whether
there is life on Mars is something that Viking did that nobody anticipated,
nobody planned. It was that they were able to show that we have martian
meteorites on Earth."
"The discovery of water in martian meteorites was made just after Viking. Of
course, we didn't know then they were martian meteorites," said Pillinger.
"But we found evidence of water trickling through martian meteorites, we
found carbonates in martian meteorites that was definitely indigenous. And
we found organic matter. I believe that the organic matter is there in an
amount that can't just be explained by contamination. However, I can't prove
it. And if I can't prove something, I just simply say, right, what are we going
to do next? Go find another experiment."
So where is the Beagle 2 lander now? The detailed post-flight analysis of the
Beagle 2 mission includes an assessment of the landing site ellipse from
orbital images, reanalysis of atmospheric conditions during the entry into the
martian atmosphere on Christmas day, examination of the separation from
Mars Express and of the cruise phase preceding arrival at Mars.
One extremely useful piece of evidence could be provided by an image of the
lander. The team is hoping that the High Resolution Stereo Camera on Mars
Express or the camera on board Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) may eventually
be able to capture an image that reveals its location on the martian surface. In
addition to the European mission, two NASA orbiters—the Mars Odyssey and
Mars Global Surveyor—are part of the constellation of satellites that help
mapping and communication tasks independently.
It would be extremely difficult to find a lander for which the location is
uncertain. The large size of the Beagle 2 landing ellipse makes its
identification from orbital imagery a vast survey task. The same caveat
applies to previous minute search efforts, such as Viking 2 or Mars Polar
Lander (in fact, for Mars Polar Lander, it would take over 60 years to map out
the entire landing ellipse in which the spacecraft was lost).
Close scientific coordination between Mars Express and the surface Mars
Exploration Rovers (MER) continues. Scientists participating on both NASA
and ESA missions joined forces recently to design a novel imaging
Astrobiology Magazine (AM): Beagle carried an experiment that could look
for signs of life by measuring the fractionation of carbon in martian rocks.
Recently Opportunity discovered a high concentration of sulfur in rocks in the
bedrock outcrop at its landing site. During the press conference that
announced the finding, the possibility of using sulfur fractionation as a
biomarker was mentioned. Do you agree that this could be a good way to
look for life signs? If so, what are the challenges to adapting the Beagle
technology to measure sulfur fractionation, in addition to carbon? Does ESA
have any plans along these lines?
Colin Pillinger (CP): Sulfur isotopes can be used to recognize biological
action. It's a tricky measurement on Earth and may not be possible on a
robotic spacecraft.
AM: NASA indicated that isotope experiments would require a sample return
from Mars. But Beagle was going to do isotopes in situ, so what gives?
CP: NASA doesn't have an isotope Mass Spectrometer. We do. I have been
building isotope machines all my career.
AM: Given what has been learned so far with Spirit and Opportunity, have
you revised any thoughts about whether Beagle 2 would have found positive
life detection at the Isidis landing site?
CP: Neither MER rover has found anything to change our view. The Beagle
2 project was based on martian meteorite studies. Sulfates were found in
martian meteorites in the 1980's.
AM: Are there any caveats about testing for life by baking the soil? Such as
high temperature degradation of biologicals?
CP: We don't heat, we combust to convert all carbon to CO2 for isotope study.
Marsbugs: The Electronic Astrobiology Newsletter, Volume 11, Number 19, 4 May 2004
AM: It has been reported that when Beagle's airbag system was tested once
before launch in Ohio, that it failed the certification but flew anyway without
another test. Could you clear up this as true or false?
CP: Not true. It was tested extensively at JSC [NASA Johnson Space
Center], Houston.
AM: Beagle didn't have
mobility but did have a
mole-like sample retriever.
Does this bias life
detection to microbes in
the soil, compared to
rocks?
CP: No, Beagle was
intended looking at rocks
using the PAW.
"...the way in which I plan to detect organic
matter is to burn it." —Colin Pillinger,
principal scientist, with Beagle. Image
credit: ESA/Beagle project.
AM: What kind of
subsurface sampling could
have been done?
CP: Down to 1.5 meters
and under boulders.
AM: When considering Beagle 3, what would you change about the Beagle 2
design?
CP: In a re-flight landing has to be a priority.
AM: It has been reported that a transponder was hoped for prior to flight, that
it would have greatly helped the landing search, but couldn't be put on Beagle
2 in time. Could you clear up the importance of this kind of tracking beacon
if this reporting was true?
CP: We looked at this, but we had no satellite.
Read the original article at http://www.astrobio.net/news/article951.html.
TIGHTEN THE EXPLORATION INITIATIVE
By Robert Zubrin
Mars Society release
3 May 2004
This essay originally appeared in the April 26, 2004 issue of Space News.
Question: How much rope does it take to connect two posts separated by a
distance of ten meters? The answer varies. If you let the rope be slack or
diverted along detours, any amount can be used. But if the rope is pulled
straight and tight, the job can be done with about ten meters. The choice of
which approach is preferable depends upon whether your goal is to connect
the two posts—or if you're trying to sell rope.
The same is true of President Bush's new space exploration initiative. How
much will it cost to get humans to Mars? Opponents claim that it could cost a
politically fatal half-trillion or more, and while it need not, it could, unless the
rope is pulled tight. Unfortunately, what we are seeing is a binge of ropeselling that threatens to repeat the death-by-sticker-shock that killed a similar
initiative by the President's father a decade and a half ago.
Three major examples of current large-scale rope sales include the emphasis
on the International Space Station, the plans for creating a "Lunar Cape
Canaveral," and the push for high-powered nuclear electric propulsion. Each
of these is a distraction, wasting time and money.
Let's start at the beginning. What is, or should be, the goal of the new manned
spaceflight initiative? The answer can only be to send human explorers to
Mars. The recent findings of the Mars rovers have shown with certainty that
the martian surface once hosted standing bodies of liquid water—habitats that
could have hosted the development of life. Also, in recent weeks, three
different groups of investigators using four different instruments have
announced the detection of methane in the martian atmosphere at levels far
above what would make sense if the planet were lifeless. These methane
traces must be seen as a probable signature of subsurface microbial life. If
8
human explorers could go to Mars and set up drilling rigs capable of reaching
the underground refuges of these microbes, we could sample them, culture
them, image them, and subject them to a battery of biochemical tests that
would reveal whether martian life is created in accord with the same plan that
underlies all Earth life, or whether it is constructed in another way entirely.
Put another way, by going to Mars we have a chance to find out whether life
as we know it on Earth is the pattern for all life everywhere, or whether we are
just one particular example of a much vaster and more interesting tapestry.
This is fundamental science that bears on the nature of life itself, and it can
only be done by human explorers on the surface of Mars. It is a rational,
program, a search for truth that is worth the billions of dollars of expenditure
and the risk of human life necessary to implement it.
So, having chosen the right goal, the question then becomes: "What do we
need to do to pull it off?"
The International Space Station doesn't help reach that goal. While the ISS
provides some useful data for Mars mission designers, no one with a budget of
$50 billion and the task of getting humans to Mars would choose to spend $30
billion conducting zero-gravity experiments on human subjects in a station
orbiting Earth. Not only is it a disproportionate share of the program budget,
but the negative effects of zero gravity can be avoided by rotating the Marsbound spacecraft to provide artificial gravity.
President Bush's planned lunar base could also be a detour from the main
goal. The limited research that can be done on the Moon—dating impact
craters and other geological work aimed at resolving questions of the Moon's
origin—is much less important than the investigation of the nature of life that
can be done on Mars. Lunar science is historical, while martian science is
fundamental. The lunar base must therefore seek justification in what it can
do to further the enterprise of exploring Mars.
Thus, we now hear proposals for the creation of a "Lunar Cape Canaveral."
According to the advocates of this concept, a Moon base will enable Mars
exploration because launching from the Moon is much easier than launching
from Earth. While it is true that it should be possible to generate liquid
oxygen, the majority component of chemical rocket propellant, on the surface
of the Moon, and the low lunar gravity certainly makes Moon launch much
easier than Earth launch, the fact remains that before the Marsbound
spacecraft launches from the Moon it needs to reach the Moon, which means
it must be launched from Earth in any case. Furthermore, because the Moon
has no atmosphere to enable aerobraking or parachute assisted descent, the
amount of rocket propulsion needed to go from low Earth orbit to the surface
of the Moon is substantially greater than that needed to go from low Earth
orbit to the surface of Mars. What this means is that even if a Moon base
existed right now, and had large reservoirs not only of liquid oxygen but also
of fuel to burn with it, sitting in propellant tanks and available for free, it
would make no sense to use it to support Mars expeditions, because it would
cost more to get there than it would to go directly to Mars.
A lunar base could serve as a training ground for Mars missions, but that same
objective could be accomplished at a thousandth of the cost by establishing
prototype Mars stations in the Arctic. Far from making a Mars mission easier,
the Moon base would just be a gold-plated lunar tollbooth, wasting tens of
billions to build and adding massively to the expense of every Mars mission
forced to use it.
Another oft-mentioned diversion from the main goal is high-powered nuclear
electric propulsion (NEP). According to the high-power NEP rope-sellers,
manned Mars exploration won't be possible using today's rocket technology,
because the six-month transit to Mars would expose the crews to lethal doses
of radiation. Accordingly, they claim, enormous hundred-megawatt class
nuclear electric propulsion systems will be needed, since these would allow
the ship to reach Mars in two months.
In fact, nothing could be further from the truth. In order to enable a two
month transit from Earth to Mars, the NEP system would need to achieve a
power density of 3000 W/kg. In contrast, the actual NEP systems now on
NASA's drawing board for the Jupiter Icy Moon Orbiter (JIMO) mission will
have a power density of 16 W/kg. If the JIMO spacecraft were sent from
Earth to Mars, it would require 48 months to do the trip, each way. In reality,
there is no prospect of being able to develop NEP systems with one-third the
trip time of current chemical systems, or the same time, or three times the time
for that matter.
Marsbugs: The Electronic Astrobiology Newsletter, Volume 11, Number 19, 4 May 2004
Fortunately, however, such faster trips are not necessary. The radiation dose
received over a 2.5 year period on a roundtrip Mars mission involving two six
month transits and an 18 month stay would have no visible effects, and be
expected to increase each crew member's lifetime risk of cancer by about one
percent (in contrast, the average American smoker increases his cancer risk by
twenty percent). Of the half dozen astronauts and cosmonauts who have
already received cosmic ray doses comparable to those that would be
experienced on a Mars mission, none has experienced any radiation-induced
health effects.
9
October 8
Final announcement mailed
October 12
Preregistration deadline
November 1-3
Space Resources Utilization Roundtable VI at Colorado School of Mines
Purpose and scope
It may also be noted that the NEP megasystems described above utilize xenon
as propellant, and have no use for the liquid oxygen that might be
manufactured at the Lunar Cape Canaveral. So, while each of these two
boondoggle projects lacks merit on its own terms, taken together, they are
doubly nonsensical, as neither fits together with the other.
We need to break with this kind of thinking. Unless the rope is pulled tight to
define a critical path program, we will be left with a tangled mess of
incoherent and useless projects which will never lead to Mars and which
ultimately will fail even in their desired objective of rope-selling as their
pointlessness becomes apparent.
The missing ingredient is leadership. NASA's average Apollo-era (1961-73)
budget, adjusted for inflation, was about $17 billion/year in today's dollars,
only six percent more than the agency's current budget. Yet the NASA of the
sixties accomplished a hundred times more because it had a mission with a
deadline, and was forced to develop an efficient plan to achieve that mission,
and then constrained to build a coherent set of hardware elements to achieve
that plan.
If the new space exploration program is to succeed, it must proceed in the
same way today. To be defensible, it must be rational, which means it must
actually commit itself to its true goal, and define a minimum cost, minimum
schedule, plan to reach that goal. In the absence of rigorous leadership from
NASA headquarters, Congress should take the initiative and instruct the space
agency to report back in one year on its options for humans to Mars by 2016,
with a total program budget of $50 billion or less.
The rope must be pulled tight.
Dr. Robert Zubrin, an astronautical engineer, is president of the Mars Society
(www.marssociety.org) and the author of The Case for Mars (1996), Entering
Space (1999), and Mars on Earth (2003). An in-depth discussion of strategies
for the new Space Exploration Initiative will be held at the 7th International
Mars Society Convention, Palmer House Hilton, Chicago, IL, August 19-22,
2004. Registration is now open at www.marssociety.org. Those wishing to
present at the SEI Strategy or any other session should send abstracts of no
more than 300 words to msabstracts@aol.com by May 31,
2004.
SPACE RESOURCES ROUNDTABLE VI, FIRST ANNOUNCEMENT
Lunar and Planetary Institute release
28 April 2004
Space Resources Roundtable VI
Colorado School of Mines
November 1-3, 2004
http://www.mines.edu/research/srr
Sponsored by:
Colorado School of Mines
Lunar and Planetary Institute
Space Resources Roundtable, Inc.
Schedule
June 1
Indication of Interest forms due
June 30
Second announcement mailed
October 1
Electronic abstract submission deadline
The Space Resources Roundtable, Inc., in collaboration with the Colorado
School of Mines and the Lunar and Planetary Institute, will convene the sixth
Space Resources Roundtable on November 1-3, 2004, at the Colorado School
of Mines in Golden, Colorado.
The purpose of the Space Resources Roundtable is to bring together interested
space professionals, experienced resources personnel from industry, and
entrepreneurs who may be considering entering into the process of developing
and utilizing the resources of space, including the Moon, Mars, and asteroids.
The goal of the Space Resources Roundtable is to advance the prospects for
the commercial development of space resources through information
exchange between personnel in government, commercial, and academic
organizations.
This year's meeting promises to be particularly exciting. U.S. President
George W. Bush announced a bold new exploration program for NASA that
includes a central role for in situ resource utilization on the Moon and Mars.
The plan calls for robotic and human missions to the Moon that lead to
technological capabilities and a long-term space infrastructure that will enable
sustained human operations on the Moon and Mars. The European Space
Agency has similar long-range plans. The Space Resources Roundtable, with
its visionary and technically savvy participants, is in a unique position to help
shape these new programs. Thus, the Space Resources Roundtable solicits
contributions in the areas of:

Identification of orbital or landed measurements of the Moon and Mars
that will help identify and characterize potential resources.

Descriptions of experimental packages to land on the lunar surface that
will demonstrate resource utilization processes, including those with
carryover to Mars exploration.

Descriptions of resource utilization experiments that can be flown on
robotic landed missions to Mars.

Resource processing technologies, including descriptions of
demonstration experiments that could be flown on lunar or martian
landed missions.

Descriptions of experiments that could lead to manufacturing with space
resources.

Commercial potential of space resources on Earth and in space.

Space power systems (including space power as a resource).

Planetary surface materials transportation systems.

Space transportation systems utilizing space resources.

Market demand and utilization scenarios for products made from space
resources.

The relationship between government-funded exploration and private
ventures in identifying and using space resources, and how to develop
public and private partnerships.

Property rights in space.
The Roundtable will be organized to accommodate two goals: discussion of
technical reports, and subgroup analysis of specific topics. Our goal this year
is to produce one or more short white papers to present to appropriate NASA
and, through international participants, ESA officials. These documents are
intended to provide government decision makers with technically sound
recommendations for incorporating space resources into its new exploration
program. Potential attendees are encouraged to suggest discussion topics for
consideration by the Roundtable. Possibilities include identifying resource
utilization experiments that can be done on a landed lunar mission, but have
application to both the Moon and Mars, or a list of experiments that could be
flown on the first landed mission to the Moon, currently scheduled for 2009.
The discussion topics will be listed in the second announcement.
The Space Resources Roundtable, Inc.
The Space Resources Roundtable, Inc. has been incorporated within the State
of Colorado and has gained 501c(3) status with the U.S. Internal Revenue
Marsbugs: The Electronic Astrobiology Newsletter, Volume 11, Number 19, 4 May 2004
Service. Membership in the Space Resources Roundtable, Inc., is $75.00/year
for individual members. Paid-up members, who pay their dues after June 30,
2004, will receive a $50 discount off the registration fee at Space Resources
Roundtable VI. Membership payments can be transmitted to Professor Alex
Ignatiev, Treasurer, Texas Center for Semiconductors and Advanced
Materials, University of Houston, Houston TX 77204-5002.
When and where
The Roundtable will be held in Green Conference Center on the campus of the
Colorado School of Mines in Golden, Colorado. The campus is conveniently
located to downtown Denver and is about a 45-minute drive from Denver
International Airport. Conference activities will include a dinner on the
second evening, two lunches, and coffee/soft drinks at morning/afternoon
breaks. A complete list of nearby accommodations will be provided with the
second announcement, which will be sent to all persons who respond to this
notice. A formal call for abstracts will be included in the second
announcement.
The Roundtable meeting will be constructed from topics chosen from the
submitted abstracts or by invitation from the Roundtable organizing
committee.
The
Space
Resources
Roundtable
Web
site
(http://www.mines.edu/research/srr), provides access to the abstracts,
10
programs, and other information from previous meetings as well as those of
the current meeting.
Steering committee
Joe Burris, WorldTradeNetwork
R. Scott Baird, NASA Johnson Space Center
David Criswell, University of Houston
Michael B. Duke, Colorado School of Mines
Stephen Mackwell, Lunar and Planetary Institute
Clyde Parrish, NASA Kennedy Space Center
Sanders Rosenberg, InSpace Propulsion, Inc.
Frank Schowengerdt, NASA Headquarters
G. Jeffrey Taylor, University of Hawaii
Lawrence Taylor, University of Tennessee
Further information
Further details regarding abstract submission, the program, and logistics will
be included in the second and final announcements. Returning the indication
of interest forms greatly aids the program committee in planning both the
program and meeting logistics, so please return the form by June 1, 2004.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------Indication of Interest, Space Resources Utilization Roundtable VI
Name:
Title:
Affiliation:
Address:
City:
State:
Zip:
Country:
Phone:
Fax:
E-mail:
Additional Topic Suggestions:
Return by June 1, 2004, to Space Resources Roundtable VI, Office of
Special Programs & Continuing Education, Colorado School of Mines, Golden
CO
80401
(phone:
303-273-3321;
fax:
303-273-3314;
e-mail:
space@mines.edu).
-------------------------------------------------------------------------Contacts:
Scientific Program
G. Jeffrey Taylor
Workshop Program Committee Chair
E-mail: gjtaylor@higp.hawaii.edu
Announcements and Logistics
Office of Special Programs & Continuing Education (SPACE)
E-mail: space@mines.edu
Marsbugs: The Electronic Astrobiology Newsletter, Volume 11, Number 19, 4 May 2004
NASA SCHEDULES CENTENNIAL CHALLENGES WORKSHOP
NASA release 04-144
11
Questions may be directed to Gerald Sonnenfeld, Ph.D., Program Director,
NSBRI Postdoctoral Fellowship Program, E-mail: postdoc@www.nsbri.org,
Telephone: 404-752-1586.
29 April 2004
The NASA program that offers cash prizes for the development of new
capabilities to help meet the agency's exploration and program goals is
conducting its first workshop June 15-16 at the Hilton Hotel, Washington,
DC. Centennial Challenges is a novel program of challenges, competitions,
and prizes. NASA plans to tap the innovative talents of the nation to make
revolutionary, breakthrough advances to support Vision for Space Exploration
and other NASA priorities.
"Centennial Challenges is a small but potentially high-leverage investment by
NASA to help address some of our most difficult hurdles in research and
exploration," said NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe. "I look forward to
stimulating competitions and very innovative wins that advance the nation's
Vision for Space Exploration," he added.
The goal of Centennial Challenges is to stimulate innovation in fundamental
technologies, robotic capabilities, and very low-cost space missions by
establishing prize purses for specific achievements in technical areas of
interest to NASA. By making awards based on achievements, not proposals,
NASA hopes to bring innovative solutions from academia, industry, and the
public to bear on solar system exploration and other technical challenges.
"From 18th century seafaring, early 20th century aviation to today's private
sector space flight, prizes have played a key role in spurring new
achievements in science, technology, engineering, and exploration," said
Craig Steidle, NASA's Associate Administrator for Exploration Systems.
"The Centennial Challenges Program is modeled on the successful history of
past prize contests, and I am proud the Office of Exploration Systems is
shepherding this path-finding program for NASA," he added.
"This workshop will help NASA develop challenges that are of high value to
the agency," said Brant Sponberg, Centennial Challenges Program Manager.
"The workshop also will provide input into what challenges NASA announces
this year and next year and what the rules for those competitions will be. It
should be an invigorating way to lay the groundwork for this exciting
program," he said.
NASA invites individuals and organizations interested in competing to attend
the 2004 Centennial Challenges Workshop. The agenda and registration
information for the workshop is available on the Internet at
http://www.tisconferences.com/nasa_centennial/.
NASA plans annual
Centennial Challenges workshops. For information about the program on the
Internet, visit http//www.centennialchallenges.nasa.gov. For information
about NASA and agency programs on the Internet, visit http://www.nasa.gov.
Contact:
Michael Braukus
NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC
Phone: 202-358-1979
NSBRI LAUNCHES POSTDOCTORAL FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM
National Space Biomedical Research Institute release
2 May 2004
The National Space Biomedical Research Institute (NSBRI) is soliciting
applications for its Postdoctoral Fellowship Program. Two-year fellowships
are available in any U.S. laboratory carrying out space-related biomedical or
biotechnological research that supports the NSBRI's goals. NSBRI research
addresses and seeks solutions to the various health concerns associated with
long-duration human space exploration.
Applicants must submit proposals with the support of a mentor and institution,
and all proposals will be evaluated by a peer-review panel.
The program is open to U.S. citizens, permanent residents, or persons with
pre-existing visas obtained through their sponsoring institutions.
Detailed program and application submission information is available on the
NSBRI Web site at http://www.nsbri.org/Announcements/rfp04-01.html.
Letters of intent and applications must be submitted through the NSBRI's
electronic proposal submission system. Letters of intent are due May 12,
2004, and the application deadline is June 30, 2004.
CUR QUARTERLY EDITOR SOUGHT
Council on Undergraduate Research release
3 May 2004
After more than three years of outstanding volunteer leadership as Editor-inChief of the CUR Quarterly, Tom Wenzel is stepping down at the end of the
year. Under Tom’s guidance, the CUR Quarterly has evolved into a highly
respected publication and each issue has excelled at promoting CUR’s
mission. New features have increased the value and relevancy of CUR’s
primary information outlet. Please review the position description below and
consider volunteering, or encourage other qualified persons to do so.
The Council on Undergraduate Research invites applications for the volunteer
position of Editor-in-Chief of the CUR Quarterly. The official appointment
term is January 1, 2005 to December 31, 2007; however, responsibility begins
with the development of content for the March, 2005 issue. The Editor-inChief works closely with the National Executive Officer and the Executive
Board to promote and serve the mission of CUR. Review of applications will
begin June 1 and continue until the position is filled. Applicants should read
the CUR Quarterly policy document available on the CUR web site and the
guidelines/deadlines published in each issue of the Quarterly.
For further information and our online application form, consult the CUR
web site at http://www.cur.org/Publications/EICapp.asp. Direct inquiries via
email to Neal Abraham, CQ Editor Search Chair, e-mail:
nabraham@depauw.edu.
NEW ADDITIONS TO THE ASTROBIOLOGY INDEX
By David J. Thomas
http://www.lyon.edu/projects/marsbugs/astrobiology/
4 May 2004
Astrobiology and planetary engineering articles
http://www.lyon.edu/projects/marsbugs/astrobiology/online_articles1.html
L. David, 2004. Mars Science Laboratory: new rover, new science
equipment. Space.com.
H. Matsos, 2004. Interview with Beagle 2 scientist, Colin Pillinger.
Astrobiology Magazine.
SpaceDaily, 2004. Plausibility of martian microbes. SpaceDaily.
Human space exploration articles
http://www.lyon.edu/projects/marsbugs/astrobiology/online_articles3.html
Astrobiology Magazine, 2004. Beyond the Moon to Mars, Part 1:
hemorrhaging from the fingertips. Astrobiology Magazine.
Astrobiology Magazine, 2004. Beyond the Moon to Mars, Part 2: going
mobile. Astrobiology Magazine.
Astrobiology Magazine, 2004. Beyond the Moon to Mars, Part 3: Mars, man
or machine? Astrobiology Magazine.
Astrobiology Magazine, 2004. Beyond the Moon to Mars, Part 4: encore,
what's next? Astrobiology Magazine.
R. R. Britt, 2004. Is Bush's Moon-to-Mars vision dimming? Space.com.
SETI articles
http://www.lyon.edu/projects/marsbugs/astrobiology/online_articles4.html
M. Turnbull, 2004. SETI and the smallest stars. Space.com.
Marsbugs: The Electronic Astrobiology Newsletter, Volume 11, Number 19, 4 May 2004
12
CASSINI SIGNIFICANT EVENTS
NASA/JPL release
and a discussion of the Cassini spacecraft using the full-scale model on
display at the museum.
22-28 April 2004
The Cassini Imaging Team has released a montage of Saturn images
illustrating the variable appearance of the planet in four different regions of
the spectrum from ultraviolet to near infrared. The pictures show the effects
of absorption and scattering of light at different wavelengths by both
atmospheric gas and clouds of differing heights and thicknesses. They also
show absorption of light by colored particles mixed with white ammonia
clouds in the planet's atmosphere. Contrast has been enhanced to aid visibility
of
the
atmosphere.
For
more
information
link
to
http://jpl.convio.net/site/R?i=tMxQqf41RU9O-3BCLCXxIg
PIA05388.jpg&type=image.
The most recent spacecraft telemetry was acquired from the Goldstone
tracking station on Wednesday, April 28. The Cassini spacecraft is in an
excellent state of health and is operating normally. Information on the present
position and speed of the Cassini spacecraft may be found on the "Present
Position" web page located at http://jpl.convio.net/site/R?i=u88nc69CBflO3BCLCXxIg.
This week witnessed the 6-year anniversary of Cassini's Venus 1 flyby on
April 26, 1998. The flyby occurred just over 6 months after launch in October
of 1997.
The primary on-board activity this week was the loading of ACS A8.6.7 flight
software from the Solid State Recorder to ACS memory beginning on 26
April and completing on 28 April. ACS loaded properly and all tests were
normal. Additional activities included a Reaction Control Subsystem
functionality checkout, Star ID suspend checkout, and Reaction Wheel
Assembly bias. All activities executed successfully. Uplinks included minisequences to perform Imaging Science Subsystem stray light mapping and
Composite Infrared Spectrometer (CIRS) scattered sunlight observations, and
Cassini Plasma Spectrometer Electron Spectrometer testing. Teams delivered
Instrument Expanded Block load files, and Preliminary Sequence Integration
and Validation 2 (PSIV) merge sequence products including the background
sequence and Phoebe live moveable block files were released in support of
sequence development for S01.
A Subsequence Generation (SSG) Sequence Change Request (SCR) approval
meeting was held as part of the development of S02. SCRs to change optical
navigation pointing, adding a downlink roll on DOY 194, and shifting the
time of three CIRS deep space calibrations were approved. These changes
will be implemented in the PSIV1 background sequence products. The S02
PSIV1 initial merged background sequence files were released for review, and
SSG detailed subsequences delivered by all participating teams.
The 34th meeting of the Cassini Project Science Group was held this week at
the European Space Research & Technology Centre in Noordwijk, the
Netherlands. In the last week, 611 Imaging Science Subsystem (ISS) images
and 10 Visual and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (VIMS) cubes were
returned and distributed, bringing the total of images acquired since the start
of Approach Science up to 4432, and the number of cubes up to 741. Mission
Assurance convened a Risk Team Meeting this week to re-assess the
remaining risks identified for Cruise, as well as those for Saturn Tour
Operations. Three Cruise phase risks were annotated for retirement after
Saturn Orbit Insertion. Updates to several Tour related risks were also
discussed and actions are pending.
Outreach conducted a 1/2-day workshop for the education and guest services
staff at the California Science Center in Los Angeles, California. The
workshop included a mission update, demonstration of education materials,
A montage of Cassini images, taken in four different regions of the spectrum
from ultraviolet to near-infrared, demonstrates that there is more to Saturn
than meets the eye. The pictures show the effects of absorption and scattering
of light at different wavelengths by both atmospheric gas and clouds of
differing heights and thicknesses. They also show absorption of light by
colored particles mixed with white ammonia clouds in the planet's
atmosphere. Contrast has been enhanced to aid visibility of the atmosphere.
Cassini's narrow-angle camera took these four images over a period of 20
minutes on April 3, 2004, when the spacecraft was 44.5 million kilometers
(27.7 million miles) from the planet. The image scale is approximately 267
kilometers (166 miles) per pixel. All four images show the same face of
Saturn. In the upper left image, Saturn is seen in ultraviolet wavelengths (298
nanometers); at upper right, in visible blue wavelengths (440 nanometers); at
lower left, in far red wavelengths just beyond the visible-light spectrum (727
nanometers; and at lower right, in near-infrared wavelengths (930
nanometers). Image credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute.
A TV series called The Planets will air on May 4, 2004, and run for 8
consecutive weeks. It was initially produced by the BBC and aired on A&E
some years ago. It has been updated, rewritten and reproduced, and will now
run on the Discovery Science channel.
Clear as black and white, Saturn's moon Iapetus is two-faced. One half is
dark as coal and the other is as bright as fresh linens. Astronomers have
puzzled over the stark difference since late in the 17th century. New radar
observations hint at what's going on, but the mystery is far from solved. For
more information link to http://jpl.convio.net/site/R?i=E0kuS65E5SJO3BCLCXxIg.
Cassini is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and
the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the
California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, CA, manages the Cassini
mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, DC.
Additional articles on this subject are available at:
http://www.astrobio.net/news/article947.html
http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/cassini_saturn_040429.html
http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0404/29saturncolor/
MARS ROVERS FINISH PRIMARY MISSION AND ROLL ONWARD
NASA/JPL release 2004-113
28 April 2004
Both of NASA's Mars Exploration Rovers have completed their originally
planned mission and are tackling extra-credit assignments.
Marsbugs: The Electronic Astrobiology Newsletter, Volume 11, Number 19, 4 May 2004
"Spirit and Opportunity have completed all the primary objectives of the
mission. The terrific success achieved is a tribute to a superb team whose
commitment to excellence, and keeping the public engaged, is hard to match,"
said Orlando Figueroa, director of the Mars Exploration Program, NASA
Headquarters, Washington, DC.
This 180-degree view from the navigation camera on the Mars Exploration
Rover Opportunity is the first look inside "Endurance Crater." The view is a
cylindrical projection constructed from four images. The crater is about 130
meters (about 430 feet) in diameter. Image credit: NASA/JPL.
Opportunity finished its 90th martian day of surface operations on Monday.
That was the last of several criteria set in advance for full mission success.
Spirit passed its 90-day mark on April 5. Both rovers have met all goals for
numbers of locations examined in detail, distances traveled, and scientific
measurements with all instruments. Both rovers are healthy. In early April,
NASA approved funding for extending operation of Spirit and Opportunity
through September.
"This brings Opportunity's primary mission at Meridiani Planum to a
resounding and successful close. It's stunning to think through the short
history of this vehicle," said Matt Wallace, Opportunity mission manger at
NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., where rover assembly
began barely two years ago. In its three-month primary mission, Opportunity
drove 811 meters (more than half a mile) and sent home 15.2 gigabits of data
about Mars, including 12,429 images.
Opportunity found other rock exposures in recent days similar to the ones near
its landing site that yielded evidence for a body of salty water covering the
area long ago. Instead of spending many days to examine those rocks,
controllers told the rover to go to the rim of a 130-meter-wide (approximately
430-foot-wide) crater informally named "Endurance."
When Opportunity sends home a view into Endurance Crater, expected within
a few days, scientists and engineers will begin deciding whether the rover
should try to enter that crater. "We're coming up on a major branch point in
the mission," said Dr. Scott McLennan of the State University of New York,
Stony Brook, NY, a member of the rovers' science team. "Can we get down
into Endurance? Can we get back out?"
Last week, Opportunity paused beside a crater dubbed "Fram," less than onetenth the size of Endurance Crater. It examined a rock studded with small,
iron-rich spherules that are one part of the evidence for past water in the
region. The rover used its rock abrasion tool to grind a hole. This allowed
examination of the interior of the rock, called "Pilbara."
McLennan said, "Pilbara is a dead ringer for McKittrick," a rock target in the
outcrop Opportunity examined in February and March. Another rock at Fram
showed hints that it might provide the best-yet evidence about how minerals
precipitated out of solution as the ancient body of water evaporated. "It's
something that would be of interest to come back and study more if we don't
see something of even greater interest along our way," he said. Images of
Endurance Crater from a distance seem to show much thicke far.
Improvement to the rovers' mobility from new software has expanded options
for planning their explorations. Spirit and Opportunity have driven farther in
April than in the previous three months combined. Spirit has traveled more
that 1.2 kilometers (three-fourths of a mile), and has another 1.8 kilometers
(more than a mile) to go before reaching highlands informally named
"Columbia Hills." Scientists hope to examine rock layers older than the
volcanic plain Spirit has been crossing. This week, Spirit is cr crater-forming
impacts into an area with fewer rocks.
"We are transitioning into a geologically different region. Nothing could be
more striking evidence of this than the view ahead of a landscape that has
fewer and smaller rocks than the region explored so far," said Dr. Dave Des
Marais, a rover science team member from NASA Ames Research Center,
Moffett Field, Calif. Scientists are using Spirit's observations at ground level
to check ideas about the region's geology based on observations from orbiting
spacecraft. That could improve interpretation of orbital the soils, rocks and
13
other features on the plain as it continues toward Columbia Hills, with arrival
planned for mid to late June.
JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages
the Mars Exploration Rover project for NASA's Office of Space Science,
Washington, DC. Images and additional information about the project are
available from JPL at http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov and from Cornell
University, Ithaca, NY, athttp://athena.cornell.edu.
Daily MER updates are available at:
http://marSrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/status_spirit.html
http://marSrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/status_opportunity.html
Contacts:
Guy Webster
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA
Phone: 818-354-6278
Donald Savage
NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC
Phone: 202-358-1547
Additional articles on this subject are available at:
http://www.astrobio.net/news/article949.html
http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/rover_updates_040428.html
http://www.spacedaily.com/news/mars-mers-04zzzzf.html
http://www.universetoday.com/am/publish/spirit_closes_in_columbia_hills.ht
ml
MARS GLOBAL SURVEYOR IMAGES
NASA/JPL/MSSS release
22-28 April 2004
The following new images taken by the Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) on the
Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft are now available.
Hill in Propontis (Released 22 April 2004)
http://jpl.convio.net/site/R?i=64QupjGHPkVO-3BCLCXxIg
Wind Streak in Acidalia (Released 23 April 2004)
http://jpl.convio.net/site/R?i=DQYpfW4ujW9O-3BCLCXxIg
Lava Flows in Tharsi (Released 24 April 2004)
http://jpl.convio.net/site/R?i=sG1qEkHNKFlO-3BCLCXxIg
Columbus Wall Outcrop (Released 25 April 2004)
http://jpl.convio.net/site/R?i=10B0LxQU7YpO-3BCLCXxIg
Daedalia Streak (Released 26 April 2004)
http://jpl.convio.net/site/R?i=kSaIihAh0-hO-3BCLCXxIg
Early Autumn Dust Storm (Released 27 April 2004)
http://jpl.convio.net/site/R?i=meGH6ivsXTRO-3BCLCXxIg
Barchan Dunes (Released 28 April 2004)
http://jpl.convio.net/site/R?i=NKw9676qqLBO-3BCLCXxIg
All of the Mars Global Surveyor images are
http://jpl.convio.net/site/R?i=QPIg2RYPwylO-3BCLCXxIg.
archived
at
Mars Global Surveyor was launched in November 1996 and has been in Mars
orbit since September 1997. It began its primary mapping mission on March
8, 1999. Mars Global Surveyor is the first mission in a long-term program of
Mars exploration known as the Mars Surveyor Program that is managed by
JPL for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, DC. Malin Space
Science Systems (MSSS) and the California Institute of Technology built the
MOC using spare hardware from the Mars Observer mission. MSSS operates
the camera from its facilities in San Diego, CA. The Jet Propulsion
Laboratory's Mars Surveyor Operations Project operates the Mars Global
Surveyor spacecraft with its industrial partner, Lockheed Martin Astronautics,
from facilities in Pasadena, CA and Denver, CO.
Marsbugs: The Electronic Astrobiology Newsletter, Volume 11, Number 19, 4 May 2004
MARS ODYSSEY THEMIS IMAGES
NASA/JPL/ASU release
26-30 April 2004
MSIP: A Bend In The River in Tiu Vallis (Released 26 April 2004)
http://jpl.convio.net/site/R?i=aoIV6gEs1pFO-3BCLCXxIg
MSIP: Elysium Mons Lava Flow (Released 27 April 2004)
http://jpl.convio.net/site/R?i=2-pPYo5Fa4ZO-3BCLCXxIg
MSIP: Crater Formation (Released 28 April 2004)
http://jpl.convio.net/site/R?i=Cn1WpsqZrsJO-3BCLCXxIg
MSIP: Hale Crater (Released 29 April 2004)
http://jpl.convio.net/site/R?i=kXURZnnlu21O-3BCLCXxIg
Colored Crater in Vastitas Borealis (Released 30 April 2004)
http://jpl.convio.net/site/R?i=Avn3B0QfwfhO-3BCLCXxIg
All
of
the
THEMIS
images
are
http://jpl.convio.net/site/R?i=qvGDfjyCz_hO-3BCLCXxIg.
archived
at
NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission
for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, DC. The Thermal
Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State
University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote
Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at
Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the
prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter.
Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from
JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena.
End Marsbugs, Volume 11, Number 19.
14