Marsbugs: The Electronic Astrobiology Newsletter
Volume 11, Number 48, 29 December 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,
but individual author(s) retain the copyright of specific articles. 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 of this newsletter,
subscription formats and availability of back-issues is available at http://www.lyon.edu/projects/marsbugs. The editor does not condone "spamming" of subscribers.
Readers would appreciate it if others would not send unsolicited e-mail using the Marsbugs mailing lists. Persons who have information that may be of interest to
subscribers of Marsbugs should send that information to the editor.
Articles and News
Page 1
Page 2
NEAR-EARTH ASTEROID 2004 MN4 REACHES HIGHEST
SCORE TO DATE ON HAZARD SCALE
By Don Yeomans, Steve Chesley and Paul Chodas
CHINA'S SECOND MANNED SPACE FLIGHT TO TAKE
PLACE IN SEPTEMBER
From Agence France-Presse and SpaceDaily
Page 6
TOP TEN ASTROBIOLOGY STORIES OF 2004, NUMBER
7; MYSTERIOUS MARTIAN METHANE
From Astrobiology Magazine
Page 7
HUMAN BRAIN EVOLUTION WAS A "SPECIAL EVENT"
Howard Hughes Medical Institute release
Announcements
Page 8
Page 2
TOP TEN ASTROBIOLOGY STORIES OF 2004, NUMBER
10; GENESIS: IN THE END...
From Astrobiology Magazine
2005 ESLAB SYMPOSIUM, FIRST ANNOUNCEMENT
ESA release
Mission Reports
Page 3
TOP SCIENCE STORIES OF 2004
From Scientific American
Page 8
CASSINI-HUYGENS UPDATES
NASA/ESA releases
Page 3
YEAR IN REVIEW RELEASE: NASA BUILDS SUCCESS
BASED ON THE VISION FOR SPACE EXPLORATION
NASA release 04-408
Page 11
MARS EXPLORATION ROVERS UPDATES
NASA/JPL releases
Page 13
Page 5
TOP TEN ASTROBIOLOGY STORIES OF 2004, NUMBER
9; VENUS: SIZING UP THE SOLAR SYSTEM
From Astrobiology Magazine
MARS EXPRESS: WALLS OF CANDOR CHASMA
ESA release
Page 14
MARS GLOBAL SURVEYOR IMAGES
NASA/JPL/MSSS release
Page 14
MARS ODYSSEY THEMIS IMAGES
NASA/JPL/ASU release
Page 6
TOP TEN ASTROBIOLOGY STORIES OF 2004, NUMBER
8; MARS REMOTE
From Astrobiology Magazine
NEAR-EARTH ASTEROID 2004 MN4 REACHES HIGHEST SCORE
TO DATE ON HAZARD SCALE
By Don Yeomans, Steve Chesley and Paul Chodas
NASA Near Earth Object Program Office release
23 December 2004
A recently rediscovered 400-meter Near-Earth Asteroid (NEA) is predicted to
pass near the Earth on 13 April 2029. The flyby distance is uncertain and an
Earth impact cannot yet be ruled out. The odds of impact, presently around 1
in 300, are unusual enough to merit special monitoring by astronomers, but
should not be of public concern. These odds are likely to change on a day-today basis as new data are received. In all likelihood, the possibility of impact
will eventually be eliminated as the asteroid continues to be tracked by
astronomers around the world.
This object is the first to reach a level 2 (out of 10) on the Torino Scale.
According to the Torino Scale, a rating of 2 indicates "a discovery, which may
become routine with expanded searches, of an object making a somewhat
close but not highly unusual pass near the Earth. While meriting attention by
astronomers, there is no cause for public attention or public concern as an
actual collision is very unlikely. New telescopic observations very likely will
lead to re-assignment to Level 0 [no hazard]." This asteroid should be easily
observable throughout the coming months.
The brightness of 2004 MN4 suggests that its diameter is roughly 400 meters
(1300 feet) and our current, but very uncertain, best estimate of the flyby
distance in 2029 is about twice the distance of the moon, or about 780,000 km
(480,000 miles). On average, an asteroid of this size would be expected to
pass within 2 lunar distances of Earth every 5 years or so.
Most of this object's orbit lies within the Earth's orbit, and it approaches the
sun almost as close as the orbit of Venus. 2004 MN4's orbital period about
the sun is 323 days, placing it within the Aten class of NEAs, which have an
orbital period less than one year. It has a low inclination with respect to the
Earth's orbit and the asteroid crosses near the Earth's orbit twice on each of its
passages about the sun.
2004 MN4 was discovered on 19 June 2004 by Roy Tucker, David Tholen
and Fabrizio Bernardi of the NASA-funded University of Hawaii Asteroid
Survey (UHAS), from Kitt Peak, Arizona, and observed over two nights. On
18 December, the object was rediscovered from Australia by Gordon Garradd
of the Siding Spring Survey, another NASA-funded NEA survey. Further
observations from around the globe over the next several days allowed the
Minor Planet Center to confirm the connection to the June discovery, at which
point the possibility of impact in 2029 was realized by the automatic
SENTRY system of NASA's Near-Earth Object Program Office. NEODyS, a
similar automatic system at the University of Pisa and the University of
Valladolid, Spain also detected the impact possibility and provided similar
predictions.
December 24 update
2004 MN4 is now being tracked very carefully by many astronomers around
the world, and we continue to update our risk analysis for this object. Today's
impact monitoring results indicate that the impact probability for April 13,
2029 has risen to about 1.6%, which for an object of this size corresponds to a
rating of 4 on the ten-point Torino Scale. Nevertheless, the odds against
impact are still high, about 60 to 1, meaning that there is a better than 98%
chance that new data in the coming days, weeks, and months will rule out any
possibility of impact in 2029.
Marsbugs: The Electronic Astrobiology Newsletter, Volume 11, Number 48, 29 December 2004
December 27 update
Over the past week, several independent efforts were made to search for prediscovery observations of 2004 MN4. These efforts proved successful today
when Jeff Larsen and Anne Descour of the Spacewatch Observatory near
Tucson, Arizona, were able to detect and measure very faint images of
asteroid 2004 MN4 on archival images dating to 15 March 2004. These
observations extended the observed time interval for this asteroid by three
months allowing an improvement in its orbit so that an Earth impact on 13
April 2029 can now be ruled out.
As is often the case, the possibility of future Earth impacts for some nearEarth objects cannot be entirely ruled out until the uncertainties associated
with their trajectories are reduced as a result of either future position
observations, or in this case, heretofore unrecognized, pre-discovery
observations. When these additional observations were used to update the
orbit of 2004 MN4, the uncertainties associated with this object's future
positions in space were reduced to such an extent that none of the object's
possible trajectories can impact the Earth (or Moon) in 2029.
2
high ranking space official as saying. Officials had previously said the launch
would be next autumn but had not revealed the month.
"Shenzhou VI is scheduled to be launched in September next year," Huang
Chunping, chief commander of China's first manned spaceflight, said
Wednesday, the Beijing News reported.
Read the full article at
http://www.spacedaily.com/2004/041223050848.ry47uc14.html.
TOP TEN ASTROBIOLOGY STORIES OF 2004, NUMBER 10;
GENESIS: IN THE END...
From Astrobiology Magazine
26 December 2004
Six years ago, then NASA Associate Administrator Wesley Huntress, Jr.,
stated, "Wherever liquid water and chemical energy are found, there is life.
There is no exception." Few opportune years like 2004 have presented
astrobiology with as many remarkable vistas and fresh perspectives on this
fundamental triad of water, chemical energy and life. Consider this year's
accomplishments of those dedicated to searching for life in the universe.
"This may result in snatching victory from the jaws of defeat,"
added Dr. Roger Wiens of the Los Alamos National Laboratory, a
member of the Genesis science team. "We are very encouraged."
Image credit: NASA.
Landing on Mars not once, but twice; then finding evidence for water on
opposite sides of the red planet. Picking up what appears to be methane
signals in the martian atmosphere, one of the residues that might prove one
day to be the product of underground biology. Scientists began to discuss
seriously what colonization strategies make sense.
In the accompanying diagram, the most likely position of asteroid 2004 MN4
is shown at the end of the blue line near the Earth on 13 April 2029.
However, since the asteroid's position in space is not perfectly known at that
time, the white dots at right angles to the blue line are possible alternate
positions of the asteroid. Neither the nominal position of the asteroid, nor any
of its possible alternative positions, touches the Earth, indicating that an Earth
impact in 2029 is ruled out.
Read the original news releases at:
http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news146.html
http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news148.html
Additional articles on this subject are available at:
http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/asteroid_update_B_041227.html
http://www.space.com/news/asteroid_defense_041227.html
http://www.spacedaily.com/news/deepimpact-04u.html
http://www.universetoday.com/am/publish/asteroid_2004_mn4.html
http://www.universetoday.com/am/publish/asteroid_threat_ruled_out.html
CHINA'S SECOND MANNED SPACE FLIGHT TO TAKE PLACE IN
SEPTEMBER
From Agence France-Presse and SpaceDaily
23 December 2004
China's second manned space mission will take place in September 2005 with
two astronauts circling the Earth for five days, state media Thursday quoted a
Setting off to explore the even richer atmosphere of the Earth-like moon,
Titan. Spiraling into orbital capture around Saturn and photographing its
majestic rings.
Flying through the tail of a comet and heading home after collecting the first
extraterrestrial samples from such dusty ice balls. Launching the Deep Impact
probe to smash into a comet and watch how the dust and ice get kicked up.
Filling the astronomy catalogs with well over a hundred new planets,
including what may prove to be the first visible exoplanet. Finding some
nearby candidates that might occupy temperate locations or safely orbit Sunlike stars.
Witnessing the once-per-century passage of our neighboring Venus across the
face of the Sun. The Messenger probe took off on its decade long tour of the
inner solar system to orbit Mercury.
Discovering the largest planetoids beyond Pluto among those outer nurseries
where only comets visit.
The editors of Astrobiology Magazine revisit the highlights of the year and
where possible point to one of the strongest lineups ever for beginning a new
turn of the calendar. Between the marathon still being run by the twin Mars
rovers and the expected descent to Saturn's moon, Titan, next year promises
no letdowns.
Marsbugs: The Electronic Astrobiology Newsletter, Volume 11, Number 48, 29 December 2004
3
2007

Japanese Planet-C Venus Orbiter, to study the Venusian atmosphere,
lightning, and volcanoes.

Mars Scout mission, final selections August 2003 from four Scouts:
SCIM, ARES, MARVEL and Phoenix.

French Mars Remote Sensing Orbiter and four small Netlanders, linked
by Italian communications orbiter.
Wafer fragments post-recovery. "I want to emphasize
the excellent work by the navigation team to bring the
capsule back exactly on target was key in our ability to
recover the science," said Andrew Dantzler, Director of
the Solar System Division at NASA Headquarters,
Washington. "In addition, the robustness of the design
of the spacecraft was the reason it could take such a
hard landing and still give us a chance to recover the
samples," he said. Image credit: NASA/JPL.
Number ten on the countdown of 2004 highlights was the mission to collect
solar wind called Genesis. As the first return of extraterrestrial samples since
the final moon rocks, this tiny capsule survived a crash in the Utah desert yet
may still reveal what magnetically charged wind flows out from the Sun to fill
the void between all the planets and moons. Genesis represented NASA's first
sample return mission since December 1972, when Apollo 17 returned lunar
samples to Earth. The spacecraft had been gathering atoms streaming off the
sun's corona for the past two years. These solar wind samples, which were
contained in collector wafers made of gold, sapphire, silicon and diamond,
were stored within the capsule.
In Utah on September 8, NASA reported that parachute and parafoil failures
led to desert impact of the Genesis probe. Even though the capsule failed to
deploy its parachute, scientists and engineers continue to examine the wafers
for examples of solar wind.
The solar wind samples reflect the composition of the solar nebula—the disk
of gas and dust that formed the planets in the solar system—because,
according to principal investigator Don Burnett, of the California Institute of
Technology in Pasadena, "the nebula is frozen for us in the surface layers of
the sun." By comparing the nebula materials with the composition of the
planets today, scientists hope to determine how the planets have changed over
time.
"Most of what has been learned about the early solar system has been gotten
from meteorites and cosmic dust," says NASA Genesis program scientist
David Lindstrom, of NASA Headquarters in Washington, DC. "We also
know these have been modified by later processes in the solar system." The
sun's corona, on the other hand, is considered to be a relatively unaltered
representation of the solar nebula.
What's next?
2005

Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) launch, Mars Orbiter to collect
high-resolution, 1-meter, images in stereo-view of Mars.

European Venus Express, Venus Orbiter for two-year nominal mapping
life [486 days, two Venus year].
2006

New Horizons, Pluto and moon Charon flyby, mapping to outer solar
system cometary fields and Kuiper Belt.

Dawn, Asteroid Ceres and Vesta rendezvous and orbiter, including
investigations of asteroid water and influence on meteors.

Kepler, Extrasolar Terrestrial Planet Detection Mission, designed to look
for transiting or earth-size planets that eclipse their parent stars [survey
100,000 stars].

Europa Orbiter, planned Orbiter of Jupiters ice-covered moon, Europa,
uses a radar sounder to bounce radio waves through the ice.

Japanese SELENE Lunar Orbiter and Lander, to probe the origin and
evolution of the moon.
2009

BepiColumbo, European Mercury Orbiters and Lander, including
Japanese collaborators, lander to operate for one week on surface.

Mars 2009, proposed long-range rover to demonstrate hazard avoidance
and accurate landing dynamics.
Read the original article at http://www.astrobio.net/news/article1362.html.
TOP SCIENCE STORIES OF 2004
From Scientific American
27 December 2004
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
Mars Exploration
Researchers Unveil New Form of Matter
Cloned Human Embryos Yield Stem Cells
Chemists Report New Superheavy Elements
Ancient Shells May be Earliest Jewels
Ringed Victory: Cassini Gets Up Close and Personal with Saturn
NASA Identifies "Likely Direct Cause" of Genesis Crash
Mini-Human Species Unearthed
Fixing the Vote
Holes in the Missile Shield
Monkey Protein Blocks HIV
Newly Discovered Galaxy is a Record-Breaker
Birds Share "Language" Gene with Humans
Mouse Study Upends Bedrock Tenet of Reproductive Biology
SpaceShipOne Soars
Hubble's Most Penetrating View Yet of the Early Universe
Brood X Reappears, with Clues to Cicada Behavior
Chandra Observations Confirm Existence of Dark Energy
Tropical Primate Found to Hibernate
Fido Found to be Wiz with Words
Muscle Twitch Switch
Scaled-Up Darkness
Testing Madness
Growth Study Shows that T. rex Teens Would have been a
Handful
Why are Atlantic Hurricanes on the Rise?
GM Pollen Spreads Much Farther Than Previously Thought
Quantum Teleportation across the Danube Demonstrated
Surface Climate's Effects Felt on Ocean Floor
Burial Find Doubles Age of Human Bond with Fluffy
Read the full articles at
http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?chanID=sa003&articleID=0006B543F747-11C9-B74783414B7F0103.
YEAR IN REVIEW RELEASE: NASA BUILDS SUCCESS BASED ON
THE VISION FOR SPACE EXPLORATION
NASA release 04-408
27 December 2004
NASA started the year on an upbeat and positive note, when President George
W. Bush announced the Vision for Space Exploration on January 14. His
announcement at NASA Headquarters in Washington of a robust space
exploration program to advance U.S. scientific, security and economic
interests became the keystone for NASA's transformation.
"NASA has a new face and new approach to operations and programs," said
NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe. "We've taken the recommendations of
the Columbia Accident Investigation Board, the President's Commission on
Implementation of U.S. Space Exploration Policy, and input from other key
advisory panels, and applied them to our return-to-flight efforts, International
Marsbugs: The Electronic Astrobiology Newsletter, Volume 11, Number 48, 29 December 2004
Space Station operations, and our implementation of the Vision for Space
Exploration," he said.
President Bush said in June, "The Vision for Space Exploration is a
sustainable and affordable long-term human and robotic program to explore
space. We will explore space to improve our lives and lift our national spirit."
"The enthusiastic support of the Congress, both in spirit and as reflected in
NASA's fiscal year 2005 budget, will allow us to begin implementing the
Vision for Space Exploration and to continue our exciting and extensive
exploration projects," Administrator O'Keefe said.
"As we approach the return to Space Shuttle operations, NASA is facing the
most exciting time in the agency's 46 year history. How we meet the technical
and cultural challenges and how we successfully change this agency will
guide our path within the Vision for Space Exploration for decades,"
Administrator O'Keefe said. "We expect continued success as NASA leads
the efforts to explore the Earth and the universe through space- based
research."
NASA is enthusiastically approaching restoration of Space Shuttle operations,
completion of the International Space Station and scientific exploration in a
safe, milestone-driven manner. NASA's budget is an endorsement of the
Vision for Space Exploration and agency efforts to understand and protect the
Earth; explore the universe; search for life; and inspire the next generation of
explorers, as only NASA can.
NASA Aggressively Pursues Transformation
NASA transformed into a mission-oriented agency during the year. Four
major mission directorates—Exploration Systems, Space Operations, Science
and Aeronautic Research were formed to manage agency operations. Mission
support offices, including the Independent Technical Authority, were
established to ensure safety, quality assurance and effective program
management. Transformation of NASA's organization structure was designed
to streamline the agency and create a framework that affixes clear authority
and accountability, while positioning the agency to implement the Vision for
Space Exploration.
Schools across the Nation Catch the Vision
NASA's 2004 Explorer Schools Program provided information and interactive
activities for more than 20,000 elementary-to-high-school pupils in 46 states
and Washington, DC. The three-year partnership between NASA and selected
schools in diverse communities offers opportunities and materials for teachers
to spark interest in science, technology and math. Applications for 2005
Explorer Schools Program are being accepted.
NASA's Rovers a Big Hit on Mars and Earth
NASA successfully landed the mobile geology labs Spirit and Opportunity on
Mars on January 3 and January 24, respectively. Opportunity discovered
evidence its landing site was a standing body of water in the distant past,
raising the possibility key ingredients for life might have existed on Mars. In
April, both rovers successfully completed their primary three-month missions
and went into bonus overtime work. Spirit completed a two-mile trek to the
Columbia hills. Opportunity descended into Endurance Crater and found
layers of rocks bearing evidence of having once been drenched in water.
Web Portal is Window to the World
Highlighting agency-wide programs and missions, the NASA portal served up
more than 17 billion hits and 1.6 billion page views during 130 million visits.
It sent out more than one million webcast streams of NASA TV. Interest
peaked quickly with the landings of the Mars Rovers in January, as nearly
50,000 people watched the live webcasts during the landings. Portal traffic
had a four-fold increase from 2003 to 2004, and a ten-fold increase from
2002.
Tougher Space Shuttle Readied for Return to Flight
Shuttle processing activities at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, FL, assumed a
pre-launch rhythm, after almost two years of innovative and intensive agencywide effort to make the fleet safer. The most significant Return to Flight work
was on the Shuttle External Fuel Tank, which was redesigned to eliminate
debris from striking the spacecraft. NASA also focused on the ability to
assess the condition of Shuttles in orbit. The first Shuttle mission since the
Columbia accident, Discovery (STS- 114), has a launch window opening in
mid-May.
4
Centennial Challenges Taps Technology Advances
NASA developed the initial Centennial Challenges prize competition to tap
the nation's ingenuity to make revolutionary advances to support the Vision
for Space Exploration.
International Space Station Enters Fifth Year of Operations
Three crews lived on the Station during 2004, as the orbiting laboratory
entered its fifth year as a staffed facility. Each two-person crew, working with
ground teams, did its part to keep the Station safely operating. Crews made
unprecedented repairs to an oxygen generator, a crucial piece of exercise
equipment and a U.S. spacesuit. They also performed a spacewalk to restore
power to a gyroscope.
Year of Firsts for Space Station Crewmembers
All three U.S. crewmembers had personal milestones. Expedition 8
Commander Mike Foale returned to Earth as the U.S. record-holder for time
in space, logging 374 days, 11 hours and 19 minutes over several missions.
Expedition 9 Flight Engineer Mike Fincke is the first U.S. astronaut to have a
child born, while he was in orbit. Expedition 10 Commander Leroy Chiao is
the first U.S. citizen to vote from space in a presidential election.
Next Generation of Explorers Selected
NASA announced the 2004 astronaut candidate class, the first focused on
fulfilling the Vision for Space Exploration. The class includes three educator
astronauts, three military pilots, a Navy SEAL, an astrophysicist, two
physicians and an engineer.
Space Station Research Yields New Health Information
A NASA-funded study revealed how bone loss increases the risk of injuries,
highlighting the need for additional measures to ensure the health of
spacecraft crews. This research may aid people on Earth who suffer from
similar conditions including osteoporosis. Space Station astronauts, using
ultrasound techniques developed by NASA, demonstrated the ability to
quickly and remotely transmit medical data to the ground. These techniques
are directly transferable for Earth use to improve patient care in remote
locations.
Cassini-Huygens First Mission to Orbit Saturn
After a seven-year, two billion mile journey, Cassini-Huygens became the
first spacecraft to go into orbit around Saturn. The NASA, European and
Italian Space Agencies' mission found the planet roiled by storms, detected
lighting, discovered a new radiation belt, found four new moons, a new ring
around Saturn, and mapped the composition of the planet's rings. Cassini flew
within 745 miles of Titan, the closest any spacecraft has come to Saturn's
largest moon.
New Supercomputer Improves Research and Forecasting
NASA named its newest supercomputer Columbia to honor the crew of the
Shuttle Columbia. It is one of the world's most powerful supercomputing
systems. It will dramatically increase NASA's capacity for conducting
scientific research, modeling, forecasting and engineering. Improvements in
the supercomputer's climate model are being used to explore the Earth's
atmosphere. Results from the model indicate significant improvements in
forecast accuracy for major storms and hurricanes.
Proposals Selected for Exploration Research & Technology
NASA selected proposals from industry and academia to support the research,
technology goals and objectives of the Vision for Space Exploration. The
selections were part of the effort to develop new partnerships among NASA,
industry and academia. NASA also awarded the first contracts to conduct
preliminary concept studies for human lunar exploration and the development
of the Crew Exploration Vehicle.
Genesis Crash-Lands, but Brings Home Precious Samples
The Genesis solar-sample return mission made a hard landing in the Utah
desert, but NASA managed to preserve a significant portion of the precious
samples of the sun it brought back from space. Genesis scientists believe they
will achieve the most important portions of their science objectives, which
should tell us about the conditions when the sun and planets were created
more than five billion years ago. Genesis was launched in August 2001.
Stardust Makes Historic Comet Flyby
NASA's Stardust mission flew within 147 miles of the comet Wild 2. Sent to
collect samples, images and other data, the flyby yielded the most detailed,
high-resolution comet images ever—revealing a rigid surface dotted with
towering pinnacles, plunging craters, steep cliffs, and dozens of jets spewing
Marsbugs: The Electronic Astrobiology Newsletter, Volume 11, Number 48, 29 December 2004
material into space. Launched in 1999, Stardust is headed back to Earth with
its payload of thousands of captured particles. The sample return capsule is
scheduled for a soft landing in the Utah desert in January 2006.
Spitzer Space Telescope Unveils Strange Cosmic Sights
The Spitzer Space Telescope pierced cosmic dust to reveal previously hidden
objects. It unmasked a family of newborn stars whose birth was triggered by
the death of another star; a dying star surrounded by a mysterious donutshaped ring; a cannibalistic galaxy and what may be the youngest planet ever
detected. Spitzer identified one of the farthest galaxies yet seen, measuring its
age and mass for the first time. Spitzer was launched August 24, 2003.
Swift Offers New Possibilities to Spot Birth of Black Holes
NASA's Swift satellite will pinpoint the location of distant, fleeting explosions
that appear to signal the births of black holes. Each gamma-ray burst is a
short-lived event, and Swift should detect several weekly. Swift, launched
November 20, is a mission with British and Italian participation designed to
solve the mystery of the origin of gamma-ray bursts.
Hubble Sees Farther Than Ever
Astronomers used NASA's Hubble Space Telescope to take the deepest
portrait ever of the visible universe. The Hubble Ultra Deep Field revealed
the first galaxies to emerge from the time shortly after the big bang, when the
first stars reheated the cold, dark universe. The image should offer new
insights into what types of objects reheated the universe. The image exposed
galaxies too faint to be seen by ground-based telescopes.
Aura Spacecraft Will Help Us Understand the Air We Breathe
NASA'S Aura, a next generation Earth-observing satellite launched on July
15, is supplying the best information yet about the health of Earth's
atmosphere.
Aura will help scientists understand how atmospheric
composition affects and responds to Earth's changing climate; help reveal the
processes that connect local and global air quality; and track the extent Earth's
protective ozone layer is recovering.
Jupiter Icy Moons Orbiter Enters Design Phase
NASA selected Northrop Grumman Space Technology, Redondo Beach, CA,
to co-design the Prometheus Jupiter Icy Moons Orbiter (JIMO) spacecraft.
JIMO will be the first NASA mission using nuclear electric propulsion. The
system will enable the craft to orbit Jupiter's three planet-sized moons,
Callisto, Ganymede and Europa. JIMO will perform extensive investigations
of their composition, history and potential for sustaining life.
Scramjet Breaks Speed Record, Flies Near Mach 10
NASA's X-43A scramjet-powered research vehicle successfully broke its own
speed record, flying nearly Mach 10 (7,000 mph). It showed promise for
developing more airplane-like operations in ultra high-speed flights within the
atmosphere, increased affordability, flexibility and safety for the first stage to
Earth orbit.
5
Satellites and Balloons Spot Airborne Pollution
NASA scientists, using multiple satellites and balloon-borne sensors,
discovered pollution could catch an airborne wind current from Asia all the
way to the southern Atlantic Ocean. Scientists believe, during certain seasons,
as much as half the ozone pollution above the Atlantic may be speeding down
a track of air and precipitation from the Indian Ocean.
Extended TRMM Operations Help Forecasters
NASA extended the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM). The
extension ensured data for forecasters and researchers during worldwide storm
seasons TRMM data aids government agencies and others researching,
monitoring and predicting rainfall and storms.
Gene Studies Help Understand Disease
NASA scientists and their academic colleagues provided valuable insights
into how DNA encodes instructions to control basic biological functions. This
research may change the understanding of human diseases and will help
NASA ensure astronauts' well being during long-duration space missions.
Dust Bowl Drought Finally Explained
NASA scientists used a computer model developed with satellite data to look
at the climate over the past 100 years. The study found cooler-than-normal
tropical Pacific Ocean surface temperatures combined with warmer tropical
Atlantic Ocean temperatures turned America's breadbasket into a dust bowl
from 1931 to 1939.
For information about NASA, agency missions and programs on the Web,
visit http://www.nasa.gov.
Contacts:
Glenn Mahone/Doc Mirelson
NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC
Phone: 202-358-1898/1600
TOP TEN ASTROBIOLOGY STORIES OF 2004, NUMBER 9; VENUS:
SIZING UP THE SOLAR SYSTEM
From Astrobiology Magazine
28 December 2004
Number nine on the countdown of 2004 highlights was the June 8th eclipse of
the Sun by Venus. A Venus transit occurs when, from an earthly perspective,
Venus crosses in front of the sun. When it happens, once every 122 years,
there are two transits eight years apart. The next crossing happens in 2012
and will be visible to people on the U.S. West Coast. The Venus transit was a
global event. The eclipse was visible from approximately 75 percent of the
Earth. Only the two inner planets, Mercury and Venus, can show this
phenomenon, but the last time a transit happened involving Venus was in
1882, thus making the event the rarest of eclipses.
Earthquake Prediction Program Scores Big
A NASA-funded earthquake prediction program has an amazing track record.
Published in 2001, the forecast has accurately predicted the locations of 15 of
California's largest earthquakes this decade, including September's California
tremors. Of 16 earthquakes, magnitude five and higher occurring since
January 1, 2000, 15 fell on hotspots identified by the forecasting program.
Satellites Act as Thermometers in Space
NASA satellites, acting as thermometers in space, confirmed Earth has
experienced an increasing "fever" for decades. Satellites were used to develop
a record from 1981 to 1998 of global land-surface temperatures. The research
provided better proof Earth's snow-free land surfaces, on average, warmed
during this period. This unique satellite record is more detailed and
comprehensive than previously available ground measurements.
Moon Sheds Light on Earth's Climate
A NASA-funded study found insights into Earth's climate might come from
the moon. During the 1980s and 90s, the Earth bounced less sunlight out to
space. The trend reversed during the past three years. The apparent change in
the amount of sunlight reaching Earth in the 1980s and 90s is comparable to
doubling the effects of greenhouse-gas warming since 1850. Increased
reflectance since 2001 suggests change of a similar magnitude in the opposite
direction.
Venus Transiting the Sun, June 8, as seen by TRACE.
NASA/TRACE.
Image credit:
Astronomers once used the last Venus transit to discover the distances
between the sun and all the planets of the solar system. One could imagine a
popular curiosity for the science community to know the scale of our solar
system.
Using other methods today, the solar system is known to centimeter scales or
better in accuracy. However, observing the transit of Venus still plays an
important role in astronomy today. Those who search for extrasolar planets
Marsbugs: The Electronic Astrobiology Newsletter, Volume 11, Number 48, 29 December 2004
can use the same observational methods to find terrestrial planets in other star
systems where hot, gaseous, Jupiter-like planets have been found. A new
planet is found when the parent star's brightness flickers or dims in a regular
orbital timing.
Read the original article at http://www.astrobio.net/news/article1363.html.
TOP TEN ASTROBIOLOGY STORIES OF 2004, NUMBER 8; MARS
REMOTE
From Astrobiology Magazine
28 December 2004
Number eight on the countdown of 2004 highlights was the assembly of the
Mars satellite constellation. With two surface rovers active, even more
satellites circumnavigated overhead.
For the first time in planetary
exploration, data relays of unprecedented volume and frequency could be
assembled, stored and transmitted back to Earth. Two of these satellites have
orbited for years, the Mars Global Surveyor and Odyssey. The European
mission, Mars Express, joined with the constellation to study the atmosphere
and provide high-resolution images of the surface features and topography.





6
search for signs of water down to a few kilometers underground;
map the martian surface more accurately than ever before (in colour and
stereo);
determine the detailed composition of the surface;
determine the composition and circulation of the atmosphere;
study the interaction of the solar wind with the planet.
Mars Express's orbiter will operate for a whole martian year (687 Earth days).
It is expected that the mission will be extended by another martian year. After
the mission, the Mars Express orbiter will simply keep orbiting the planet for
at least 50 years. Then it will probably burn up in Mars's atmosphere. This
will also ensure that debris will not pollute the planet's surface. Many of Mars
Express elements will be used for Venus Express, and probably other missions
in the future.
Read the original article at http://www.astrobio.net/news/article1364.html.
TOP TEN ASTROBIOLOGY STORIES OF 2004, NUMBER 7;
MYSTERIOUS MARTIAN METHANE
From Astrobiology Magazine
29 December 2004
Number seven on the countdown of 2004 highlights was detection of methane
on Mars. Relatively high levels of methane have been detected on Mars using
a combination of ground based spectroscopy and the orbiting Mars Express
probe. Mars resembles Earth more than any other planet in our solar system,
and studying its atmosphere gives us a greater understanding of our own.
Having methane appear on Mars is something of a mystery, because the planet
was not believed to have active volcanism or tectonics. Could the methane be
evidence of martian life forms buried underground?
Perspective view of Solis Planum. Images were taken
during orbit 431 in May 2004 with a ground resolution
of approximately 48 meters per pixel. The displayed
region is located south of Solis Planum at longitude
271° East and latitude of about 33° South. Image
credit: ESA/Mars Express.
Mars Express is performing the most detailed and complete exploration of
Mars ever done. From the start of January to the middle of February, Mars
Express produced a total of 18 strips of pictures in 100 orbits of Mars. In
general, one orbit produces an image with a length of over 250,000 lines.
Chemical reactions triggered by ultraviolet (hv) in the thin martian
atmosphere. Image credit: Sushil Atreva, University of Michigan.
Methane on Mars could be produced by non-biological methods or by
biological ones.
"Biologically produced methane is one of many
possibilities," said Sushil Atreya, professor and director of the Planetary
Science Laboratory in the University of Michigan College of Engineering.
"Methane is a potential biomarker, if a planet has methane we begin to think
of the possibility of life on the planet. On Earth, methane is almost entirely
derived from biological sources."
A top-view, high resolution image looking down on Eos
Chasma, part of Valles Marineris. Image credit:
ESA/Mars Express.
When searching for water, for instance, Mars Express is conducting the most
thorough search so far: from several kilometers below the ground, and up into
the atmosphere. Before entering martian orbit, the cruise took just over six
months. Mars Express traveled at an average speed of about 10 kilometers per
second (around 2100 miles per hour) and covered a distance of about 400
million kilometers (240 million miles). From orbit, Mars Express is scanning
the surface and atmosphere of the planet with seven instruments. In particular
it will:
Perspective view of Ophir Chasm in northern Marineris
Valley network. Image credit: ESA/Mars Express.
Marsbugs: The Electronic Astrobiology Newsletter, Volume 11, Number 48, 29 December 2004
How the methane got to Mars is the big question, and there are several
possible sources, Atreya said.
The most exciting scenario is that
methanogens—microbes that consume the martian hydrogen or carbon
monoxide for energy and exhale methane—dwell in colonies out of sight
beneath the surface of the red planet.
7
Humans have extraordinarily large and complex brains, even when compared
with macaques and other non-human primates. The human brain is several
times larger than that of the macaque—even after correcting for body size—
and "it is far more complicated in terms of structure," said Lahn. For each
gene, Lahn and his colleagues counted the number of changes in the DNA
sequence that altered the protein produced by the gene. They then obtained
the rate of evolution for that gene by scaling the number of DNA changes to
the amount of evolutionary time taken to make those changes.
By this measure, brain-related genes evolved much faster in humans and
macaques than in mice and rats. In addition, the rate of evolution has been far
greater in the lineage leading to humans than in the lineage leading to
macaques.
This accelerated rate of evolution is consistent with the presence of selective
forces in the human lineage that strongly favored larger and more complex
brains. "The human lineage appears to have been subjected to very different
selective regimes compared to most other lineages," said Lahn. "Selection for
greater intelligence and hence larger and more complex brains is far more
intense during human evolution than during the evolution of other mammals."
Perspective view of Ophir Chasm in the northern Marineris Valley
network. Image credit: ESA/Mars Express.
"These are anaerobic so they don't need oxygen to survive, if they are there,"
Atreya said. "If they are there, they would be underground."
Spectrocopy detected an average 10 parts per billion by volume (ppbv) of
methane on Mars, a small amount compared to the approximately 1700 ppbv
on Earth. The methane gas was distributed unevenly over Mars' surface,
which tends to support the theory that an internal, on-site source, rather than a
comet, is the source generating the methane, said Atreya.
Speculation is tempting, but many more experiments are necessary before
drawing any conclusions.
"While it's tantalizing to think there are living things on Mars, we aren't in a
position to say that is what is causing the methane," Atreya said.
Read the original article at http://www.astrobio.net/news/article1365.html.
HUMAN BRAIN EVOLUTION WAS A "SPECIAL EVENT"
Howard Hughes Medical Institute release
29 December 2004
Genes that control the size and complexity of the brain have undergone much
more rapid evolution in humans than in non-human primates or other
mammals, according to a new study by Howard Hughes Medical Institute
researchers. The accelerated evolution of these genes in the human lineage
was apparently driven by strong selection. In the ancestors of humans, having
bigger and more complex brains appears to have carried a particularly large
advantage, much more so than for other mammals. These traits allowed
individuals with "better brains" to leave behind more descendants. As a
result, genetic mutations that produced bigger and more complex brains
spread in the population very quickly. This led ultimately to a dramatic
"speeding up" of evolution in genes controlling brain size and complexity.
"People in many fields, including evolutionary biology, anthropology and
sociology, have long debated whether the evolution of the human brain was a
special event," said senior author Bruce Lahn of the Howard Hughes Medical
Institute at the University of Chicago. "I believe that our study settles this
question by showing that it was."
Lahn and his colleagues reported their data in a research article published in
the December 29, 2004, issue of the journal, Cell. The researchers focused
their study on 214 brain-related genes, that is, genes involved in controlling
brain development and function. They examined how the DNA sequences of
these genes changed over evolutionary time in four species: humans, macaque
monkeys, rats, and mice. Humans and macaques shared a common ancestor
20-25 million years ago, whereas rats and mice are separated by 16-23 million
years of evolution. All four species shared a common ancestor about 80
million years ago.
To further examine the role of selection in the evolution of brain-related
genes, Lahn and his colleagues divided these genes into two groups. One
group contained genes involved in the development of the brain during
embryonic, fetal and infancy stages. The other group consisted of genes
involved in "housekeeping" functions of the brain necessary for neural cells to
live and function. If intensified selection indeed drove the dramatic changes
in the size and organization of the brain, the developmental genes would be
expected to change faster than the housekeeping genes during human
evolution. Sure enough, Lahn's group found that the developmental genes
showed much higher rates of change than the housekeeping genes.
In addition to uncovering the overall trend that brain-related genes—
particularly those involved in brain development—evolved significantly faster
in the human lineage, the study also uncovered two dozen "outlier" genes that
might have made important contributions to the evolution of the human brain.
These outlier genes were identified by virtue of the fact that their rate of
change is especially accelerated in the human lineage, far more so than the
other genes examined in the study. Strikingly, most of these outlier genes are
involved in controlling either the overall size or the behavioral output of the
brain—aspects of the brain that have changed the most during human
evolution.
According to graduate student Eric Vallender, a coauthor of the article, it is
entirely possible by chance that that two or three of these outlier genes might
be involved in controlling brain size or behavior. "But we see a lot more than
a couple—more like 17 out of the two dozen outliers," he said. Thus,
according to Lahn, genes controlling the overall size and behavioral output of
the brain are perhaps places of the genome where nature has done the most
amount of tinkering in the process of creating the powerful brain that humans
possess today.
There is "no question" that Lahn's group has uncovered evidence of selection,
said Ajit Varki of the University of California, San Diego. Furthermore, by
choosing to look at specific genes, Lahn and his colleagues have demonstrated
"that the candidate gene approach is alive and well," said Varki. "They have
found lots of interesting things."
One of the study's major surprises is the relatively large number of genes that
have contributed to human brain evolution. "For a long time, people have
debated about the genetic underpinning of human brain evolution," said Lahn.
"Is it a few mutations in a few genes, a lot of mutations in a few genes, or a lot
of mutations in a lot of genes? The answer appears to be a lot of mutations in
a lot of genes. We've done a rough calculation that the evolution of the
human brain probably involves hundreds if not thousands of mutations in
perhaps hundreds or thousands of genes—and even that is a conservative
estimate."
It is nothing short of spectacular that so many mutations in so many genes
were acquired during the mere 20-25 million years of time in the evolutionary
lineage leading to humans, according to Lahn. This means that selection has
worked "extra-hard" during human evolution to create the powerful brain that
exists in humans.
Varki points out that several major events in recent human evolution may
reflect the action of strong selective forces, including the appearance of the
genus Homo about 2 million years ago, a major expansion of the brain
Marsbugs: The Electronic Astrobiology Newsletter, Volume 11, Number 48, 29 December 2004
8
beginning about a half million years ago, and the appearance of anatomically
modern humans about 150,000 years ago. "It's clear that human evolution did
not occur in one fell swoop," he said, "which makes sense, given that the brain
is such a complex organ."
including a list of invited speakers. A limited number of contributions will be
selected by the SOC for oral presentation, and ample space for poster papers
will be available.
The conference proceedings, containing all the
contributions, will be published as a volume in the ESA-SP series.
Lahn further speculated that the strong selection for better brains may still be
ongoing in the present-day human populations. Why the human lineage
experienced such intensified selection for better brains but not other species is
an open question. Lahn believes that answers to this important question will
come not just from the biological sciences but from the social sciences as
well. It is perhaps the complex social structures and cultural behaviors unique
in human ancestors that fueled the rapid evolution of the brain.
An "expression of interest" form can be downloaded at
http://sci.esa.int/science-e/www/object/doc.cfm?fobjectid=36264,
which
should be returned to eslab2005 rssd.esa.int by 15 January 2005. The same
address can also be used for any question regarding the workshop. Updated
information about the Workshop will be made on the RSSD web site
(http://www.rssd.esa.int/index.php?project=CONF2005&page=eslab). Please
note that the invitation is equally open to scientists working both in ESA- and
non-ESA-member states.
"This paper is going to open up lots of discussion," Lahn said. "We have to
start thinking about how social structures and cultural behaviors in the lineage
leading to humans differed from that in other lineages, and how such
differences have powered human evolution in a unique manner. To me, that is
the most exciting part of this paper."
Read the original news release at http://www.hhmi.org/news/lahn3.html.
2005 ESLAB SYMPOSIUM, FIRST ANNOUNCEMENT
ESA release
20 December 2004
"Trends in Space Science and Cosmic Vision 2020," ESTEC (Noordwijk, The
Netherlands), 19-21 April 2005.
European space science has really matured during the last decades.
Astronomical observatories covering all regions from the infrared to gamma
rays have been launched. A solar system exploration program has been put in
place including comets, the Moon, Titan and Mars, with Venus and Mercury
to come, as well as missions to study the Sun and its relation to our planet
Earth.
Finally, missions targeting the detection and observation of
gravitational waves are being developed. ESA's approach to the definition of
the future Science Program involves both direct discussions with the scientific
community via its advisory structure and open, competitive calls for
proposals. The missions currently in the program were selected using this
procedure and cover launches up to 2015. The definition of the program for
the period 2015-2025 (Cosmic Vision 2020) is currently ongoing. This time
the discussion started with scientific objectives or themes that will be
followed later by the identification of specific missions to carry out the
selected themes. In the process, technology developments have to be
identified together with possibilities for international cooperation. The themes
for Cosmic Vision 2020 were presented in a preliminary form during a
workshop held in Paris in September 2004. Activities are ongoing to prepare
a final proposal in the form of a report to be widely distributed to the scientific
community. This symposium will look at a more developed picture.
As an example of the initial recommendations, in the area of solar system
exploration, research could be undertaken on the 3-D solar magnetic field as
well as the space plasma processes that occur on a hierarchy of scales in the
terrestrial and Jovian magnetospheres. The giant planets and particularly their
moons, together with sample return missions or subsurface measurements in
minor bodies or Mars are also possible areas for future missions. In the area
of space astronomy topics include the study of extrasolar planets, their
discovery, formation mechanisms and characterization, a deeper
understanding of the very beginning of the Universe, as well as its lesser
known constituents such as dark matter and dark energy, and the evolving
high-energy elements of it, such as the environment of black holes, their
structure and their role in structure of the Universe. Finally, in the area of
fundamental physics from space, attention is being focused on quantum
gravity, matter in the form of Bose-Einstein condensates and more sensitive
gravitational wave detectors leading eventually to the measurement of
primordial gravitational waves.
The symposium
This symposium is an invitation to the wider scientific community to present
and discuss in depth the science topics which constitute the broad themes
mentioned above. The program will include a number of invited talks, which
will give an overview of the science themes, plus a number of contributed
talks. Contributions are solicited on all topics of interest to the Cosmic Vision
2020 program, focusing on the scientific aspects. A formal call for abstracts
will be circulated early in 2005, together with a preliminary program
Scientific Organizing Committee
Alvaro Gimenez (ESA/ESTEC, chair)
Risto Pellinen (Finnish Meteorological Institute)
Giovanni Bignami (CESR)
Catherine Turon (Obs. Paris Meudon)
Bernard Schutz (MPI for Gravitational Physics)
Peter Cargill (Imperial College)
Fabio Favata (ESA/ESTEC)
Local Organizing Committee
C. Bingham
F. Favata
J. Sanz-Forcada
CASSINI-HUYGENS UPDATES
NASA/ESA releases
Variations in ring particle concentration give Saturn's brilliant rings the
appearance of ripples in a pond in this close-up view. Many of the gaps and
wavelike patterns elsewhere in the rings are due to the gravitational influence
of Saturn¿s moons, but the origin of much of the structure in the B ring seen
here is still unexplained. The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft
narrow angle camera on October 29, 2004, at a distance of approximately
824,000 kilometers (512,000 miles) from Saturn. The image scale is 4.5
kilometers (2.8 miles) per pixel. The image has been slightly contrastenhanced to aid visibility. Image credit: NASA/JPL.
Successful Probe Targeting Maneuver
ESA release, 20 December 2004
The Probe Targeting Maneuver (PTM) was successfully executed by the
NASA/ESA/ASI Cassini-Huygens spacecraft during the night of Friday, 17
December 2004. The burn start time was 02:30:11 UTC (Earth Received
Time). The predicted burn duration was 85.1 seconds, for a total delta-V of
Marsbugs: The Electronic Astrobiology Newsletter, Volume 11, Number 48, 29 December 2004
9
11.937 m s-1. A look at the telemetry immediately after the maneuver showed
the burn duration was 84.9 seconds long, giving a delta-V of 11.9 m s-1.
This was a main engine burn designed to put Cassini-Huygens on an impact
trajectory with Titan. The maneuver design for PTM included the expected
separation delta-V in order to achieve the proper entry conditions at the
reference interface altitude of 1270 kilometers above the surface of Titan. An
additional maneuver is planned on Thursday, 23 December 2004, to fine tune
the Huygens trajectory after separation.
Saturn's cratered moon Dione displays a large impact basin near its south
pole in this Cassini spacecraft image. The topographic features that extend
radially away from the basin could be secondary craters or tectonic grooves
related to the impact. Dione is 1,118 kilometers (695 miles) across. This view
shows principally the leading hemisphere of Dione. The image was taken in
visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow angle camera on Nov. 2,
2004, at a distance of 2.1 million kilometers (1.3 million miles) from Dione
and at a Sun-Dione-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 100 degrees. North is up.
The image scale is 13 kilometers (8 miles) per pixel. The image has been
magnified by a factor of two and contrast enhanced to aid visibility of surface
features. Image credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute.
European Space Agency's Huygens Probe Set to Detach from Cassini
Orbiter
NASA/JPL release 2004-295, 21 December 2004
The highlights of the first year of the Cassini-Huygens mission to Saturn can
be broken into two chapters: first, the arrival of the Cassini orbiter at Saturn in
June, and second, the release of the Huygens probe on December 24, 2004, on
a path toward Titan. The Huygens probe, built and managed by the European
Space Agency (ESA), is bolted to Cassini and fed electrical power through an
umbilical cable. It has been riding along during the nearly seven-year journey
to Saturn largely in a "sleep" mode, awakened every six months for three-hour
instrument and engineering checkups. In three days, it will be cut loose from
its mother ship and will coast toward Saturn's moon Titan, arriving on January
14, 2005.
"As partners with ESA, one of our obligations was to carry the Huygens probe
to Saturn and drop it off at Titan," said Robert T. Mitchell, Cassini program
manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA. "We've done
the first part, and on Christmas Eve we will release Huygens and tensionloaded springs will gently push it away from Cassini onto a ballistic free-fall
path to Titan."
Once freed from Cassini, the Huygens probe will remain dormant until the
onboard timer wakes it up shortly before the probe reaches Titan's upper
atmosphere on January 14. Then it will begin a dramatic plunge through
Titan's murky atmosphere, tasting the chemical makeup and composition as it
descends to touch down on its surface. The data gathered during this 2-1/2
hour descent will be transmitted from the probe to the Cassini orbiter.
Afterward, Cassini will point its antenna to Earth and relay the data through
NASA's Deep Space Network to JPL and on to ESA's Space Operations
Center in Darmstadt, Germany, which serves as the operations center for the
Huygens probe mission. From this control center, ESA engineers will be
tracking the probe and scientists will be standing by to process the data from
the probe's six instruments.
Saturn, more bland in appearance than Jupiter to the naked eye, puts on a
dramatic display in this contrast-enhanced image taken with the Cassini
spacecraft. This view shows a giant oval in the ringed planet's southern
hemisphere that is somewhat smaller than, but resembles in appearance,
Jupiter's long-lived Great Red Spot. The image was taken with the Cassini
spacecraft narrow angle camera on December 6, 2004, at a distance of
approximately 3.3 million kilometers (2.1 million miles) from Saturn and at a
Sun-Saturn-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 58 degrees. The filter used is
centered at 727 nanometers--an area of the electromagnetic spectrum where
methane gas is strongly absorbing. The image scale is 38 kilometers (24
miles) per pixel. This image has been slightly contrast-enhanced to aid
visibility. Image credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute.
Currently, both the orbiter and the probe are on an impact trajectory with
Titan. This is the only way to ensure that Cassini delivers the probe in the
right location. A confirmation of successful release is expected to be received
from NASA's Deep Space Network tracking stations at Madrid, Spain and
Goldstone, CA, shortly before 8:00 PM PST on December 24. A team of JPL
engineers and ESA mission managers will be monitoring spacecraft activities
at JPL during the release phase of the mission.
On December 27, the Cassini orbiter will perform a deflection maneuver to
keep it from following Huygens into Titan's atmosphere. This maneuver will
also establish the required geometry between the probe and the orbiter for
radio communications during the probe descent.
Two of the instruments on ESA's Huygens probe, the descent imager and
spectral radiometer camera and the gas chromatograph-mass spectrometer, are
contributions from NASA and American academia. The imaging camera will
take advantage of the Huygens probe's rotation, using two imagers to observe
the surface of Titan during the late stages of descent for a view of the regions
around the impact site. A side-looking imager will view the horizon and the
underside of any cloud deck. More than just a camera, the instrument is
designed to measure concentrations of argon and methane in the atmosphere
and determine the size and density of particles. The instrument will also
determine if the local surface is a solid or liquid, and if solid, its topography.
The principal investigator is Dr. Martin G. Tomasko of the University of
Arizona, Tucson, AZ.
Although Titan's atmosphere is primarily nitrogen and methane, scientists
believe it contains many other gases that are present only in small amounts.
These trace gases can reveal critical details about the origin and evolution of
Titan's atmosphere. Because trace gases are rare, they are difficult or
impossible to observe remotely, so direct measurements must be made.
The gas chromatograph-mass spectrometer instrument will sample gas directly
from Titan's atmosphere as the Huygens probe descends by parachute. Data
from the instrument will allow researchers to investigate the chemical
composition, origin and evolution of the atmosphere of Titan. The instrument
Marsbugs: The Electronic Astrobiology Newsletter, Volume 11, Number 48, 29 December 2004
was designed and built by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt,
MD, and is led by the principal investigator, Dr. Hasso Niemann.
10
European Space Agency. "This was an amicable separation after seven years
of living together. Our thanks to our partners at NASA for the lift. Each
spacecraft will now continue on its own but we expect they'll keep in touch to
complete this amazing mission. Now all our hopes and expectations are
focused on getting the first in-situ data from a new world we've been
dreaming of exploring for decades."
An artist's concept of the European Space Agency's Huygens Probe en route
to Titan after release from the NASA Cassini orbiter. Image credit:
NASA/JPL.
From its station nearly 1.2 billion kilometers (746 million miles) from Earth,
the stalwart Cassini spacecraft sends holiday greetings to Earth with this
lovely color portrait of Saturn and two of its moons. The image shows the
majestic ringed planet, with bands of colorful clouds in its southern
hemisphere. The planet's northern extremes have a cool bluish hue, due to
scattering of blue wavelengths of sunlight by the cloud-free upper atmosphere
there. Long shadows of the icy rings stretch across the north. A grayish, ovalshaped storm is visible in Saturn's southern hemisphere and is easily 475
kilometers (295 miles) across—the size of some hurricanes on Earth. Titan
(5,150 kilometers, or 3,200 miles across) is visible near lower right with its
thick, orange-colored atmosphere, and faint Mimas (398 kilometers, or 247
miles across) appears just right of the rings' outer edge. Images taken in the
red, green and blue filters with the Cassini spacecraft wide angle camera on
December 14, 2004, were combined to create this color view at a distance of
approximately 719,000 kilometers (447,000 miles) from Saturn. The image
scale is 43 kilometers (27 miles) per pixel. Image credit: NASA/JPL/Space
Science Institute.
The Huygens probe will remain dormant until the onboard timer wakes it up
just before the probe reaches Titan's upper atmosphere on January 14, 2005.
Then it will be begin a dramatic plunge through Titan's murky atmosphere,
tasting its chemical makeup and composition as it descends to touch down on
its surface. The data gathered during this 2-1/2 hour descent will be
transmitted from the probe to the Cassini orbiter. Afterward, Cassini will
point its antenna to Earth and relay the data through NASA's Deep Space
Network to JPL and on to the European Space Agency's Space Operations
Center in Darmstadt, Germany, which serves as the operations center for the
Huygens probe mission. From this control center, ESA engineers will be
tracking the probe and scientists will be standing by to process the data from
the probe's six instruments.
On Monday, December 27, the Cassini orbiter will perform a deflection
maneuver to keep it from following Huygens into Titan's atmosphere. This
maneuver will also establish the required geometry between the probe and the
orbiter for radio communications during the probe descent.
Cassini Mission Status Report
NASA/JPL release 2004-296
24 December 2004
The European Space Agency's Huygens probe successfully detached from
NASA's Cassini orbiter today to begin a three-week journey to Saturn's moon
Titan. NASA's Deep Space Network tracking stations in Madrid, Spain and
Goldstone, CA, received the signal at 7:24 PM (PST). All systems performed
as expected and there were no problems reported with the Cassini spacecraft.
The Huygens probe, built and managed by the European Space Agency, was
bolted to Cassini and has been riding along during the nearly seven-year
journey to Saturn largely in a "sleep" mode. Huygens will be the first humanmade object to explore on-site the unique environment of Titan, whose
chemistry is assumed to be very similar to that of early Earth before life
formed. Huygens will tell us whether this assumption is correct.
"We wish to congratulate our European partners as their journey begins and
wish them well on their descent to Titan," said Robert T. Mitchell, Cassini
program manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA. "We
are very excited to see the probe off and to have accomplished this part of our
job. Now we're ready to finish our part—receiving and relaying the Huygens
data back to Earth."
"Today's release is another successful milestone in the Cassini-Huygens
odyssey," said Dr. David Southwood, director of science program for the
The European Space Agency's Huygens probe appears shining as it coasts
away from Cassini in this image taken on December 26, 2004, just two days
after it successfully detached from the Cassini spacecraft. Shown in white
boxes are known stars. The probe is the brightest item on the lower right.
The other dots are artifacts of the camera. Although only a few pixels across,
this image is helping navigators reconstruct the probe's trajectory and
pinpoint its position relative to Cassini. This information so far shows that
the probe and Cassini are right on the mark and well within the predicted
trajectory accuracy. This information is important to help establish the
required geometry between the probe and the orbiter for radio
communications during the probe descent on January 14. Image credit:
NASA/JPL.
Marsbugs: The Electronic Astrobiology Newsletter, Volume 11, Number 48, 29 December 2004
11
Cassini Mission Status Report
NASA/JPL release 2004-297, 28 December 2004
Updates on the Huygens probe release will be available at
http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov http://www.nasa.gov/cassini.
NASA's Cassini spacecraft successfully performed a getaway maneuver on
Monday, December 27, to keep it from following the European Space
Agency's Huygens probe into the atmosphere of Saturn's moon Titan. This
maneuver established the required geometry between the probe and the orbiter
for radio communications during the probe descent on January 14. The probe
has no navigating capability, so the Cassini orbiter had been placed on a
deliberate collision course with Titan to ensure the accurate delivery of the
probe to Titan.
The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European
Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. JPL, a division of the California
Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Cassini mission for NASA's
Science Mission Directorate, Washington, DC. JPL designed, developed and
assembled the Cassini orbiter. The European Space Agency built and
managed the development of the Huygens probe and is in charge of the probe
operations. The Italian Space Agency provided the high-gain antenna, much
of the radio system and elements of several of Cassini's science instruments.
The Huygens probe successfully detached from the Cassini orbiter on
December 24. All systems performed as expected. The European Space
Agency's Huygens probe will be the first human-made object to explore onsite the unique environment of Titan, whose chemistry is thought to be very
similar to that of early Earth before life arose.
Contact:
Carolina Martinez
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA
Phone: 818-354-9382
Additional articles on this subject are available at:
http://www.astrobio.net/news/article1353.html
http://www.astrobio.net/news/article1355.html
http://www.astrobio.net/news/article1358.html
http://www.astrobio.net/news/article1361.html
http://www.news.cornell.edu/Chronicle//04/12.16.04/Titan_probe.html
http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/titan_mysteries_041221.html
http://www.space.com/searchforlife/huygens_titan_041223.html
http://www.spacedaily.com/news/cassini-04zzzzzk.html
http://www.spacedaily.com/news/saturn-titan-04v.html
http://www.spacedaily.com/news/saturn-titan-04x.html
http://www.spacedaily.com/news/saturn-titan-04z.html
http://www.universetoday.com/am/publish/huygens_ready_release.html
http://www.universetoday.com/am/publish/radio_telescopes_huygens
http://www.universetoday.com/am/publish/jovian_moon_captured.html
http://www.universetoday.com/am/publish/huygens_detach_today.html
http://www.universetoday.com/am/publish/huygens_away.html
MARS EXPLORATION ROVERS UPDATES
NASA/JPL releases
Opportuniy Back on the Plains
NASA/JPL release, 21 December 2004
Even from afar, Cassini's cameras reveal a tremendous amount of detail in
the planet's rings. The punctuated detail in the C ring, the bright fine
structure in the B ring, the dark bands within the Cassini Division, the bland
nature of the outermost A ring, as well as knots in the twisted F ring, are all
visible. The moon Tethys (1,060 kilometers, or 659 miles, across) hovers
beyond the rings at the top. This image was taken from beneath the ring
plane in visible green light with the Cassini spacecraft wide angle camera on
November 1, 2004, at a distance of approximately 2.2 million kilometers (1.4
million miles) from Saturn. The image scale is 129 kilometers (80 miles) per
pixel. This image has been slightly contrast-enhanced to aid visibility. Image
credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute.
Next for Cassini is a flyby of Saturn's icy moon Iapetus on December 31.
Iapetus is Saturn's two-faced moon—one side is very bright, and the other is
very dark. One scenario for this striking difference is that the moon's surface
is being resurfaced by some material spewing from within.
The Cassini spacecraft has been in orbit around Saturn since June 30, 2004,
and has returned stunning pictures of Saturn, its rings and many moons. Titan
has already been the subject of two close flybys by Cassini. With 43 more
flybys planned and the in-situ measurements made by the probe, it is likely
only a matter of time before Titan's secrets begin to unfold.
Opportunity is approaching the heat shield that protected the rover from
frictional high temperatures during descent through the martian atmosphere
in January 2004. The spacecraft carrying the rover jettisoned the heat shield
just prior to landing. This orbital view shows the course the rover drove from
its landing to its 324th martian day, or sol (December 21, 2004), including the
historic path of Opportunity's six months of exploration inside Endurance
Crater. Opportunity drove 90.9 meters (298 feet) on sol 324, bringing its total
odometry to 1,997.8 meters (1.24 miles).
Image credit:
NASA/JPL/MSSS/OSU.
Opportunity examined tracks on its way to see its heat shield. After six
fruitful months exploring the interior of "Endurance Crater," the Opportunity
rover has successfully climbed out of the crater onto the surrounding flatland
of Meridiani Planum. Once out, the rover examined some of its own tracks
that it had laid down prior to entering the crater. It compared them side-byside with fresh tracks in order to observe any weathering effects in the
intervening 200 sols. Opportunity is now making its way toward an
engineering examination of its heat shield, which is located about 200 meters
(220 yards) from the edge of Endurance. Now that the vehicle is on the
relatively flat plain rather than tilted toward the Sun on the north-facing inner
slope of the crater, electrical output from its solar array has declined by about
Marsbugs: The Electronic Astrobiology Newsletter, Volume 11, Number 48, 29 December 2004
15 percent. Opportunity remains in excellent health as it begins a new phase
of exploration.
12
feet) to put the old rover tracks into the work volume of the robotic arm. Sol
318 was another remote-sensing sol, during which Opportunity imaged its
still-distant heat shield and conducted a miniature thermal emission
spectrometer observation of the tracks.
After the drive, both old and new tracks were directly in front of the rover.
On sol 319 Opportunity captured microscopic imager mosaics of both types of
tracks, then drove about 40 meters (131 feet) closer to the heat shield, which
will be examined carefully in future sols. Sol 319 ended on December 17.
Spirit Eats a Potato-Sized Rock
NASA/JPL release, 23 December 2004
NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity gained this view of its own heat
shield during the rover's 325th martian day (December 22, 2004). The main
structure from the successfully used shield is to the far left. Additional
fragments of the heat shield lie in the upper center of the image. The heat
shield's impact mark is visible just above and to the right of the foreground
shadow of Opportunity's camera mast. This view is a mosaic of three images
taken with the rover's navigation camera. Image credit: NASA/JPL.
Sol-by-sol summaries:
Sol 312 and 313 were planned in a single planning cycle. Opportunity was
still inside Endurance Crater. On sol 312 the plan began with backing up and
using the panoramic camera and miniature thermal emission spectrometer to
observe a rock target called "Wharenhui," which had been treated with the
rock abrasion tool on earlier sols. Subsequent commands were to turn crossslope, drive 7 meters (23 feet), turn upslope, and drive an additional 6 meters
(20 feet) uphill. Opportunity performed the drive perfectly, ending up
approximately 5 meters (16.4 feet) from the rim of Endurance Crater.
Opportunity's tilt went from 25 degrees pre-drive to 19 degrees post-drive.
Sol 313 was a restricted sol because results from the sol 312 drive were not
available for planning sol 313. That meant that no driving or robotic-arm
activities were permitted. So Opportunity performed about two hours of
observations using the panoramic camera and miniature thermal emission
spectrometer and then went to sleep in the early afternoon. The rover woke
up to support late-afternoon and early-morning communication relays by the
orbiting Mars Odyssey.
Sols 314 through 316 were planned in another single planning cycle. The plan
was to complete the egress from Endurance Crater on sol 315, so sol 314 was
another remote sensing sol. This would be the last full sol inside Endurance.
Opportunity spent about two and a half hours observing with the panoramic
camera and miniature thermal emission spectrometer. It also performed a
nighttime observation with the miniature thermal emission spectrometer just
before midnight. To ensure that Opportunity had adequate power, the earlymorning communication-relay session with Odyssey was canceled and
Opportunity went into a modified deep sleep after completing the late-night
observation.
Sol 315 was the big day for Opportunity. The rover was finally going to leave
Endurance Crater after spending 181 sols there! Opportunity was instructed
to drive 7 meters (23 feet) up and out of the crater. It was a textbook drive.
Everything went as planned and Opportunity had finally, successfully
completed a long and detailed series of observations inside Endurance.
Opportunity ended up on the plains of Meridiani ready to begin the next
chapter of its adventures.
Sol 316 was the third sol of a three-sol plan, and because Opportunity had
driven on sol 315, sol 316 was restricted to remote-sensing observations. The
rover performed about two hours of remote sensing and went to sleep. Out on
the plains, Opportunity went from a northerly tilt that is very good for solar
exposure, to a southerly tilt that is not so good for solar exposure. The tilt was
expected to be as high as 10 degrees, but Opportunity's actual tilt was about 5
degrees. Daily output from the solar panels went from 840 watt-hours in the
crater, to 730 watt-hours on the plains.
Since the team continues to be operating in restricted sol mode, sols 317 and
318 were planned together as a two-sol plan. For sol 317, the science team
elected to drive toward wheel tracks that Opportunity had made before
entering Endurance Crater. The rover backed up about 5 meters (16.4 feet),
performed some mid-drive imaging, and then continued another 10 meters (33
As NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit continues to explore the "Columbia
Hills" within Gusev Crater, scientists are planning to take a closer look for
layered rocks in a steep valley straight ahead before directing the rover to
turn south toward the summit of "Husband Hill." Two of the geologic
formations the six-wheeled robotic geologist has discovered during 2004 are
shown here. One is labeled "Columbia Hills material," representing bedrock
of the higher slopes and peaks, and one is labeled "transition zone material,"
representing rocks that are gradational in character and composition between
the hills to the east and the plains to the west. The map also shows Spirit's
line of travel through the rover's 344th martian day, or sol (December 21,
2004), beginning on the left edge at about the 182nd sol (July 7, 2004). Image
credit: NASA/JPL/MSSS/USGS/NMMNHS.
Spirit finished work at a rock called "Wishstone," then continued to make
slow progress up "Husband Hill". Wishstone is different than any rock Spirit
previously studied either on the plains or in the hills. Scientists and engineers
used the miniature thermal emission spectrometer to find similar rocks for
further study.
A potato-sized rock got caught in Spirits's right rear wheel on sol 339, causing
the wheel to stall and ending the drive for that sol. Small moves of the wheel
on subsequent sols dislodged the rock, but the rock remains close to the
wheel, so the team is planning small, careful steps to move the wheel away
from the rock so it will not become jammed again. Spirit remains in excellent
health.
Sol-by-sol summaries:
Atmospheric observations using the miniature thermal emission spectrometer,
navigation camera, and panoramic camera continue on a daily basis.
On sol 333, Spirit used the brush of the rock abrasion tool brush to scrub a
small section of Wishstone and took microscopic images of the spot. Spirit
then placed the alpha particle X-ray spectrometer on the spot for collecting
data overnight.
On sol 334, Spirit removed the alpha particle X-ray spectrometer and then
used the rock abrasion tool to drill into Wishstone. After taking more
microscopic images, Spirit placed the alpha particle X-ray spectrometer on the
hole for an overnight observation.
On sol 335, Spirit removed the alpha particle X-ray spectrometer from the
hole and replaced it with the Mössbauer spectrometer. Spirit also started a
Marsbugs: The Electronic Astrobiology Newsletter, Volume 11, Number 48, 29 December 2004
long series of Mössbauer observations that would last until the early morning
of sol 337.
13
wheel. The wheel is about one-third buried in the soft soil, making it difficult
for the rock to escape until the wheel gets out of the hole.
Sol 345 - Spirit successfully executed another small maneuver to get the right
rear wheel out of hole and get the rock out of the wheel, but more steps will be
required. The rover also used the panoramic camera and miniature thermal
emission spectrometer to acquire information about nearby targets. Sol 345
ended on December 22.
Additional information is available at
http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.html.
Additional articles on this subject are available at:
http://www.news.cornell.edu/releases/Dec04/Science.Breakthrough.deb.html
http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/opportunity_heatshield_041221.html
http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/rover_debris_041227.html
http://www.spacedaily.com/news/mars-mers-04zzzzzzzzm.html
http://www.universetoday.com/am/publish/opportunity_heat_shield.html
MARS EXPRESS: WALLS OF CANDOR CHASMA
ESA release
22 December 2004
In recent days, controllers directed NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit to
back up and turn to try to dislodge a potato-size rock from Spirit's right rear
wheel. The rock did not present a threat—it was sort of like having a pebble
stuck in your shoe—but the rover team was taking no chances that the rock
might work its way deeper inside the rover's wheel well. The rock can be seen
in the lower left side of this image, which Spirit took with its right rear hazard
avoidance camera on martian day, or sol, 345 (December 21, 2004). By the
following day, the rock had rolled out onto the martian sand. Image credit:
NASA/JPL.
On sol 337, Spirit stowed its robotic arm, then bumped backwards to take
final images of Wishstone and the rock abrasion tool hole. Spirit was
commanded to drive 15 meters (49 feet), but drove only about 6 meters (20
feet) due to experiencing slippage of up to 80 percent on uphill portions of the
drive.
On sol 338, Spirit drove 8 meters (26 feet) with 25 meters (82 feet) of
commanded motion. Spirit saw up to 95-percent slip on some of the drive
segments due to sandy terrain and the rover's tilt of 15 to 20 degrees.
On sol 339, the rover team attempted another 25-meter (82-foot) drive. This
was cut short at the start when the right rear wheel ingested a potato-sized
rock. The rock apparently jammed between the inner part of the wheel and
the drive mechanism, causing the drive current to exceed a pre-set limit,
resulting in a safe motor stall.
Sol 340 - Spirit made observations with the miniature thermal emission
spectrometer to seek other rock targets similar to Wishstone. Turning the
right rear wheel about 60 degrees successfully un-jammed the rock, but it
remained inside the wheel.
Sols 341, 342 and 343 were planned as a combined three-sol plan that
included observations with the miniature thermal emission spectrometer each
sol. On sol 341, Spirit used its microscopic imager and its Mössbauer
spectrometer to examine disturbed soil in front of the rover. It switched to the
alpha particle X-ray spectrometer overnight to gather more compositional
information about the same target. On sol 342, Spirit performed a mid-day
tool change back to the Mössbauer spectrometer. On sol 343, the rover
stowed the robotic arm and took images with the panoramic camera of targets
that had been observed with the miniature thermal emission spectrometer.
Spirit then performed a small maneuver but did not significantly change the
position of the rock in the wheel.
Sol 344 - Spirit performed more remote sensing and did a maneuver that lifted
the right rear wheel slightly out of a hole, but the rock remains partially in the
Perspective view of Candor Chasma, looking northwest.
These images, taken by the High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) on board
ESA's Mars Express spacecraft, show Candor Chasma—one of the largest
canyons in the Valles Marineris canyon system. The HRSC obtained image
data in orbit 360 with a ground resolution of approximately 40 meters per
pixel. The image was shows a region centered around 5° South latitude and
285° East longitude.
Traces of erosion can be observed at the canyon walls, which are similar to
erosional features observed on Earth in arid or alpine regions. The highstanding plateaus, which have an elevation of approximately six kilometers,
have a very flat surface and most likely consist of several layers of basaltic
lava. While it is unclear how the canyon system formed, it seems probable
that tension and fracturing of the upper crust produced a widening of the
canyon and subsequent lowering of the valley floor (a so-called tectonic
graben). It is also thought that Valles Marineris could be a possible rift, which
occurs when tensional fractures go deeper than the relatively elastic
lithosphere (or crust).
An alternative theory about the formation of the canyon system is the removal
of rock from the subsurface material, as a result of water activity, and
subsequent collapse of the surface. This process is analogous to the formation
of terrestrial karst landscapes. It could also be possible that large amounts of
ice under the surface melted and this meltwater formed the large outflow
channels in the north. As a result, the surface collapsed where substantial
amounts of ice were removed, forming the Valles Marineris system as we see
it today.
The color images were processed using the HRSC nadir (vertical view) and
three color channels. The perspective views were calculated from the digital
terrain model derived from the stereo channels. The 3D anaglyph image was
Marsbugs: The Electronic Astrobiology Newsletter, Volume 11, Number 48, 29 December 2004
created from the nadir channel and one of the stereo channels. Stereoscopic
glasses are needed to view the 3D image. Image resolution has been
decreased for use on the internet.
14
Additional articles on this subject are available at:
http://www.astrobio.net/news/article1360.html
http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/mars_vulcanism_041222.html
http://www.spacedaily.com/news/marsexpress-04zo.html
http://www.universetoday.com/am/publish/mars_volcanoes_active.html
MARS GLOBAL SURVEYOR IMAGES
NASA/JPL/MSSS release
16-22 December 2004
The following new images taken by the Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) on the
Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft are now available.
Layered Mesa Top (Released 16 December 2004)
http://www.msss.com/mars_images/moc/2004/12/16/
Wind Streaks among Flows (Released 17 December 2004)
http://www.msss.com/mars_images/moc/2004/12/17/
Trough near Stygis Catena (Released 18 December 2004)
http://www.msss.com/mars_images/moc/2004/12/18/
Northern Plains Crater (Released 19 December 2004)
http://www.msss.com/mars_images/moc/2004/12/19/
North Polar Dunes (Released 20 December 2004)
http://www.msss.com/mars_images/moc/2004/12/20/
North Polar Slope (Released 21 December 2004)
http://www.msss.com/mars_images/moc/2004/12/21/
Nearly-defrosted Dunes (Released 22 December 2004)
http://www.msss.com/mars_images/moc/2004/12/22/
Color view.
All of the Mars Global Surveyor images
http://www.msss.com/mars_images/moc/index.html.
are
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.
MARS ODYSSEY THEMIS IMAGES
NASA/JPL/ASU release
20-24 December 2004
Nighttime Lava Flows (Released 20 December 2004)
http://themis.la.asu.edu/zoom-20041220A.html
Arsia Mons Lava Flows at Night (Released 21 December 2004
http://themis.la.asu.edu/zoom-20041221A.html
Lava Flows and Fault in IR (Released 22 December 2004)
http://themis.la.asu.edu/zoom-20041222A.html
Overlapping Flows (Released 23 December 2004)
http://themis.la.asu.edu/zoom-20041223A.html
Filled Crater (Released 24 December 2004)
http://themis.la.asu.edu/zoom-20041224A.html
Map showing Candor Chasma in context.
Read the original news release at
http://www.esa.int/export/SPECIALS/Mars_Express/SEMVKC3AR2E_0.htm
l.
All of the THEMIS images are archived at http://themis.la.asu.edu/latest.html.
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
Marsbugs: The Electronic Astrobiology Newsletter, Volume 11, Number 48, 29 December 2004
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 48.
15