Marsbugs: The Electronic Astrobiology Newsletter
Volume 11, Number 28, 6 July 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
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.
Page 6
NIAC PHASE II PROJECTS SELECTED
From NASA's Institute for Advanced Concepts
BASIC RNA ENZYME RESEARCH PROMISES SINGLEMOLECULE BIOSENSORS
University of Michigan release
Page 6
EARTH SYSTEM PROCESSES 2 (ESP2) MEETING
ANNOUNCEMENT
By Lee Lump
HUMAN CONSUMPTION OF NET PRIMARY
PRODUCTION
NASA Earth Observatory release
Page 6
NEW ADDITIONS TO THE ASTROBIOLOGY INDEX
By David J. Thomas
Articles and News
Page 1
Page 2
Page 2
Page 4
Page 5
THE GOING GETS TOUGH FOR LIFE IN OTHER SOLAR
SYSTEMS
Royal Astronomical Society (UK) release
LIFE IN A DUSTY FORMALDEHYDE JAR
Based on an OSU report
Mission Reports
Page 6
CASSINI UPDATES
NASA and ESA releases
Page 12
MARS EXPLORATION ROVERS: KIDS, ROVERS AND
MARS
NASA/JPL release
Page 13
MARS GLOBAL SURVEYOR IMAGES
NASA/JPL/MSSS release
101 AMAZING EARTH FACTS
By Robert Roy Britt
Announcements
Page 5
EUROPEAN MARS AND PLANETARY CONVENTION
By Horia-Nicolai Teodorescu
Page 14
MARS ODYSSEY THEMIS IMAGES
NASA/JPL/ASU release
Page 5
PROGRAM FOR THE OXYGEN IN THE TERRESTRIAL
PLANETS WORKSHOP
Lunar and Planetary Institute release
Page 14
ROSETTA UPDATE #18: TESTING AVAILABILITY OF
MGA-S ANTENNA
ESA release
BASIC RNA ENZYME RESEARCH PROMISES SINGLEMOLECULE BIOSENSORS
University of Michigan release
29 June 2004
Research aimed at teasing apart the workings of RNA enzymes eventually
may lead to ways of monitoring fat metabolism and might even assist in the
search for signs of life on Mars, according to University of Michigan
researcher Nils Walter. His latest work was published online in the
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences June 24.
Walter and associates at U-M and colleague Xiaowei Zhuang and associates at
Harvard University, use techniques that allow them to study single molecules
of RNA enzymes, also known as ribozymes. Like the more familiar protein
enzymes, RNA enzymes accelerate chemical reactions inside cells.
Researchers want to learn how changes in ribozyme molecules affect their
activity, both to better understand how evolution has shaped ribozymes to
carry out their duties and to find ways of manipulating them for useful
purposes.
In the recent research, Walter's group combined a technique called singlemolecule fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) with mathematical
simulations to study a ribozyme involved in the replication of a tobaccoinfecting virus. Just as a protein enzyme is not a static structure, a ribozyme
also changes shape, cycling back and forth between its compact, catalytically
active form and its inactive, extended form. Single-molecule FRET allowed
the researchers to directly observe and measure how quickly the ribozyme
switched forms and how these rates changed when various parts of the
molecule were altered.
With the addition of mathematical simulations, the researchers also could
investigate how changing parts of the ribozyme molecule affected its ability to
catalyze chemical reactions. They were surprised to find that modifications
they made anywhere on the molecule—even far from the site where the
chemical reaction occurs—affected the rate of catalysis.
That's much like what is known to happen in protein enzymes, but until now
there was no evidence that ribozymes behaved similarly, said Walter, a Dow
Corning Assistant Professor of Chemistry.
"It's been known for a couple of years now that if you modify something on a
protein enzyme that you think is pretty far away from the catalytic core—
where the chemistry is actually happening—you see that the chemistry is
affected directly," Walter said. "This has led to the idea that there is a
network of motions that make a protein enzyme act as a whole. We are
proposing for the first time that this also happens with RNA enzymes."
Getting a grasp on how ribozymes work is important for answering
fundamental questions of biology, Walter said, but the work may also lead to
practical applications. In particular, Walter and U-M collaborators Robert T.
Kennedy, the Hobart H. Willard Professor of Chemistry and Pharmacology,
and Jens-Christian Meiners, assistant professor of physics and assistant
research scientist, Biophysics Research Division, are exploring their use as
biosensors. The idea is to selectively turn on a ribozyme molecule that
catalyzes a reaction to generate a product that gives off a specific fluorescent
signal only when a particular type of molecule binds.
"When you can do that on the single-molecule level, as we can do now, then
you have the smallest possible biosensor," Walter said. Such sensors could be
designed to detect important hormones like leptin, which is involved in fat
metabolism. With such a tool, "you could detect how a single cell makes
Marsbugs: The Electronic Astrobiology Newsletter, Volume 11, Number 28, 6 July 2004
leptin and ask how much the cell makes when the environment changes," he
said.
In another project, funded by NASA, the researchers hope to develop a
biosensor that could be sent to Mars to snoop around for amino acids or other
signs that life might once have existed on the planet.
"These projects are still in the development stage," Walter said. "But the
technology we are developing here to ask some fundamental biological
questions will ultimately help us learn how to design biological sensors with
many potential applications."
Related links
Nils Walter
http://www.umich.edu/~michchem/faculty/walter/
http://www.umich.edu/~rnapeopl/
PNAS paper, "Single-molecule enzymology of RNA: Essential functional
groups impact catalysis from a distance"
http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/abstract/0403575101v1
RNA enzymes
http://www.umich.edu/~rnapeopl/Walter(02b).pdf
Fluorescence resonance energy transfer
http://www.umich.edu/~rnapeopl/Walter(02).pdf
http://www.probes.com/handbook/boxes/0422.html
http://www.physics.uiuc.edu/People/Faculty/Selvin/articles/Nature2000.pdf
Contact:
Nancy Ross-Flanigan
Phone: 734-647-1853
E-mail: rossflan@umich.edu
Read the original news release at
http://www.umich.edu/news/index.html?Releases/2004/Jun04/r062904.
An additional article on this subject is available at
http://www.spacedaily.com/news/mars-life-04l.html.
HUMAN CONSUMPTION OF NET PRIMARY PRODUCTION
NASA Earth Observatory release
29 June 2004
2
plant life humans consume for food, fiber, wood, and fuel. By understanding
patterns of consumption, and how the planetary supply of plant life relates to
the demand for it, these results may enable better management of Earth's rich
biological heritage. Understanding the patterns of supply and demand is
critical for identifying areas of severe human impact on ecosystems and
planning for sustainable future growth. The details of this study appear in the
June 24, 2004, issue of Nature magazine.
Using data collected between 1982-98 by the NOAA Advanced Very High
Resolution Radiometer, the researchers calculated the total amount of carbon
absorbed by land plants each year and fixed in plant structures—a measure
referred to as "Net Primary Production," or NPP. Then the researchers used
computer models to estimate how much of Earth's land-based net primary
productivity is consumed by humans. They found that humans require 20
percent of the NPP generated on land every year. Of course, consumption
varies greatly by region and is influenced by three factors: population, per
capita consumption, and technology. For more details, please see the NASA
press release, entitled NASA Scientists Get Global Fix on Food, Wood, &
Fiber Use (http://www.gsfc.nasa.gov/topstory/2004/0624hanpp.html).
The maps above show human appropriation of land-based net primary
production. The shades in the top map represent billions of grams of carbon
consumed each year for a given location on Earth. Tan shows low values
while dark brown shows high values. The bottom map represents the
percentage of NPP consumed by humans each year for a given location. The
map reveals that in certain places—such as the northeastern United States,
much of Europe, the Middle East, as well as Southern and Eastern Asia—
humans consume far more of plants' net primary productivity than is locally
produced. Therefore, people living in these areas must import food, fiber,
wood, and fuel in order to meet their demands for products derived from
plants.
Read the original article at
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/NewImages/images.php3?img_id
=16586.
An additional article on this subject is available at
http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/plant_food_040629.html.
THE GOING GETS TOUGH FOR LIFE IN OTHER SOLAR SYSTEMS
Royal Astronomical Society (UK) release
30 June 2004
Though the star Tau Ceti is similar to the Sun, any planets it has are unlikely
to be havens for life, say a team of UK astronomers. Using submillimeter
images of the disk of material surrounding Tau Ceti, they found that it must
contain more than ten times as many comets and asteroids than there are in the
Solar System. With so many more space rocks hurtling around the star,
devastating collisions of the sort that could lead to the destruction of life
would be much more likely in the Tau Ceti system than in our own planetary
system.
Publication of the result in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
coincides with an exhibit "Hunting for Planets in Stardust" at the Royal
Society Summer Exhibition by the same science team from the UK
Astronomy Technology Centre in Edinburgh and the University of Saint
Andrews.
Tau Ceti, only 12 light years away, is the nearest sun-like star and is easily
visible without a telescope. It is the first star to be found to have a disk of
dust and comets around it similar in size and shape to the disk of comets and
asteroids that orbits the Sun. But the similarity ends there explains Jane
Greaves, Royal Astronomical Society Norman Lockyer Fellow and lead
scientist: "Tau Ceti has more than ten times the number of comets and
asteroids that there are in our Solar System. We don't yet know whether there
are any planets orbiting Tau Ceti, but if there are, it is likely that they will
experience constant bombardment from asteroids of the kind that is believed
to have wiped out the dinosaurs. It is likely that with so many large impacts
life would not have the opportunity to evolve."
NASA images courtesy Marc Imhoff and Lahouari Bounoua at Goddard Space
Flight Center.
In an effort to gauge human impact on ecosystems, scientists at NASA and the
World Wildlife Fund recently published estimates of how much of Earth's
The discovery means that scientists are going to have to rethink where they
look for civilizations outside our Solar System. Jane Greaves continues, "We
will have to look for stars which are even more like the Sun, in other words,
ones which have only a small number of comets and asteroids. It may be that
Marsbugs: The Electronic Astrobiology Newsletter, Volume 11, Number 28, 6 July 2004
3
hostile systems like Tau Ceti are just as common as suitable ones like the
Sun."
The James Clerk Maxwell Telescope (JCMT) was used to take the image of
the Tau Ceti dust disk. It is the world's largest single-dish submillimeter
telescope. It collects faint submillimeter signals with its 15 meter diameter
dish. It is situated near the summit of Mauna Kea on the Big Island of
Hawaii, at an altitude of approximately 4000 meters (14000 feet) above sea
level. Image credit: Nik Szymanek.
Artist's impression: For any planets orbiting Tau Ceti, the skies will be crisscrossed with comets and meteors will frequently strike the surface. Image
credit: David Hardy.
The reason for the larger number of comets is not fully understood explains
Mark Wyatt, another member of the team: "It could be that the Sun passed
relatively close to another star at some point in its history and that the close
encounter stripped most of the comets and asteroids from around the Sun."
The new results are based on observations taken with the world's most
sensitive submillimeter camera, SCUBA. The camera, built by the Royal
Observatory, Edinburgh, is operated on the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope
in Hawaii. The SCUBA image shows a disk of very cold dust (-210°C) in
orbit around the star. The dust is produced by collisions between larger
comets and asteroids that break them down into smaller and smaller pieces.
Notes
1.
Royal Society Summer Exhibition. The Royal Society Summer
Exhibition runs from 5 to 8 July and is open to the general public on
Monday 5 July, 6:00 PM - 9:00 PM; Tuesday 6 July, 11:00 AM - 4.30
PM; Wednesday 7 and Thursday 8 July, 10:00 AM - 4.30 PM.
2.
Observing Tau Ceti. Tau Ceti is in the constellation Cetus. Although it
is visible without a telescope, at this time of year it rises in the Southeast
at about 3:00 AM, just before the Sun, so is very hard to spot.
3.
The James Clerk Maxwell Telescope (JCMT). The JCMT is the world's
largest single-dish submillimeter telescope. It is situated near the
summit of Mauna Kea on the Big Island of Hawaii, at an altitude of
approximately 4000 meters (14000 feet) above sea level. It is operated
by the Joint Astronomy Centre, on behalf of the UK Particle Physics and
Astronomy Research Council, the Canadian National Research Council,
and the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research.
4.
SCUBA. SCUBA (the Submillimeter Common-User Bolometer Array)
is the world's most powerful submillimeter camera. It is attached to the
James Clerk Maxwell Telescope, and contains sensitive detectors called
bolometers, which are cooled to 60 milliKelvin, 0.06 degrees above
absolute zero (60 milliKelvin is about -273.1 degrees Celsius or -459.6
degrees Fahrenheit). SCUBA was built in the UK by the Royal
Observatory, Edinburgh, at what is now the UK Astronomy Technology
Centre.
5.
Images are available from http://www.pparc.ac.uk/Nw/tc_images.asp.
Contacts:
Dr. Jane Greaves, Astronomer, University of Saint Andrew
Phone: (+44) (0)7745 127391
E-mail: jsg5@st-andrews.ac.uk
Peter Barratt, Head of Communications, PPARC
Phone: (+44) (0)1793 442025
E-mail: peter.barratt@pparc.ac.uk
Eleanor Gilchrist, Public Relations Officer, Royal Observatory Edinburgh
Phone (mobile): (+44) (0)771 873 6971
Phone (office): (+44) (0)131 668 8379
E-mail: efg@roe.ac.uk
Image of the disc of dust particles around the star Tau Ceti, taken with the
submillimeter-wavelength camera SCUBA. The false colors show the
brightness of the disc. Its diameter is slightly larger than the Solar System.
Image credit: James Clerk Maxwell Telescope.
Douglas Pierce Price, James Clerk Maxwell Telescope
Phone: (+1) 808 969 6524
E-mail: outreach@jach.hawaii.edu
Additional articles on this subject are available at:
http://www.spacedaily.com/news/extrasolar-04q.html
Marsbugs: The Electronic Astrobiology Newsletter, Volume 11, Number 28, 6 July 2004
http://www.universetoday.com/am/publish/asteroids_tau_ceti_lethal.html.
LIFE IN A DUSTY FORMALDEHYDE JAR
Based on an OSU report
From Astrobiology Magazine
4
researcher Helen Roberts used that data to construct a new model of how such
reactions happen in space, and then used the model to predict how much
methyl formate would be found in the typical interstellar dust cloud.
3 July 2004
Scientists at Ohio State University have found that a formaldehyde-based
chemical is 100 times more common in parts of our galaxy than can be
explained. The finding could change ideas about how organic molecules form
in the universe, and how those molecules' critical interaction with dust causes
stars and planets to form. The scientists compared the results of experiments
from an international team of chemists to telescopic measurements of the
amount of methyl formate—a product of alcohol and formaldehyde—in the
swirling dust clouds that dot our Milky Way galaxy. On Earth, methyl
formate is commonly used as an insecticide.
Close-up of the large galaxy cluster Abell 2218.
NASA/ESA/Hubble.
Image credit:
Dust grain or IDP, interstellar dust particle. One
sugar-related building block of life, called ribose, is
simply five molecules of formaldehyde strung together,
and formaldehyde is easy to make where there is
carbon dioxide and light. Image credit: UWSTL, NASA
Hubble.
Based on telescope data, if the gaseous methyl formate condensed into liquid
form, a typical dust cloud would contain a thousand trillion trillion gallons of
the chemical. Interstellar dust clouds contain the chemical seeds of new stars
and planetary systems, explained Eric Herbst, Distinguished Professor of
Mathematical and Physical Sciences at Ohio State. Most people are probably
familiar with the dust cloud known as the Horsehead Nebula in the
constellation Orion.
While scientists have long known that hydrogen is the most common chemical
element in the universe, just 10 years ago Herbst—a professor of physics,
chemistry, and astronomy—and his colleagues discovered that there were also
large quantities of alcohol in dust clouds in space. The presence of methyl
formate suggests that other molecules may play a more prominent role in star
and planet formation than scientists ever suspected. Herbst reported the new
results June 23 at the International Symposium on Molecular Spectroscopy in
Columbus.
"Even using our best models of interstellar chemistry, we still don't fully
understand how these molecules could have formed," Herbst said. "Clearly,
something else is going on."
Three groups of chemists from the United States, Canada, and Norway had
previously conducted laboratory experiments to determine how alcohol and
other molecules produce methyl formate. Herbst and Ohio State postdoctoral
Red regions in the spiral arms represent infrared emissions from dustier
parts of the galaxy where new stars are forming. Image credit: NASA/JPLCaltech/S. Willner (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics).
Next, the Ohio State scientists consulted the radio spectrum of the dust clouds,
which gives them the unique chemical signatures of the different molecules
floating inside. The spectra showed that the average ratio of hydrogen
molecules to molecules of methyl formate was a billion to one. But the model
that Herbst and Roberts derived had predicted only a fraction of that amount.
"We calculated the ratio to be 100 billion to one, so the model must be
deficient," Herbst said.
Scientists will have to refine the models before they can truly know how stars
and planets form, he said.
According to accepted theory, gas molecules floating in these clouds must join
and nuclear reactions must begin before stars can form. Dust particles are key
to the process because they provide a surface for reactions to take place.
Marsbugs: The Electronic Astrobiology Newsletter, Volume 11, Number 28, 6 July 2004
5
Among their future goals, Herbst, Roberts, and their colleagues want to
determine exactly what space dust is made of and what the surface texture is
like, since both would affect chemical reactions—a task that amounts to
studying individual dust grains thousands of light years away.
Extended abstracts should be 4 to 6 pages long. Abstracts may be submitted
via e-mail. Paper acceptance will be based on the extended abstracts.
Accepted papers will be published in the Conference Proceedings, to be edited
and published with ISBN number.
Modeling such large, complex systems requires a great deal of computing
power, and measuring the actual amounts of chemicals in these faraway
clouds is difficult. Herbst said that supercomputers and telescopes are just
beginning to advance to the point where such things are possible. In the
future, he would like to form a consortium of researchers in molecular
astronomy to pool ideas and resources.
The papers will be evaluated by the International Program Committees and
the Scientific Committees of the Symposia. Accepted papers must be
presented by one of the authors at the conference. The Proceedings will
include only papers of registered authors. A registered participant can not be
co-author to more than 3 papers and principal author to more than 2 papers.
Read the original article at http://www.astrobio.net/news/article1056.html.
101 AMAZING EARTH FACTS
By Robert Roy Britt
From Space.com
5 July 2004 (reposted from 22 July 2003)
We live on a sphere of extremes and oddities. In fact it's not really a sphere,
but it is a wild planet, mottled with deadly volcanoes, rattled by killer
earthquakes, drenched in disastrous deluges. But do you know which the
worst were? Some of Earth's valleys dip below sea level. Mountains soar into
thin air. Can you name the lowest spot? The tallest peak? Do you know how
far it is to the center of the planet or what's there? Where are the planet's
hottest, coldest, driest and windiest places?
The following list of Earth's extremes and other amazing facts is presented in
Q&A format, so you can cover the answers to test your knowledge of the
home planet. Sources include the U.S. Geological Survey and the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, with other SPACE.com reporting.
Read the full article at
http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/101_earth_facts_030722-1.html.
EUROPEAN MARS AND PLANETARY CONVENTION
By Horia-Nicolai Teodorescu
30 June 2004
I am pleased to cordially invite you to participate in the European Mars and
Planetary Convention, EMC'04, 26-28 July 2004 hosted by the Technical
University of Iasi and "Al. I. Cuza" University of Iasi. There is no
participation fee in this Convention. The convention is supported by the
Romanian Ministry of Education and Science.
We will try to provide some local support for participants asking for it.
Among others, we can support for a limited number of foreign participants the
travel costs inside Romania (from Bucharest Otopeni Airport to Iasi and
back).
Accepted papers will be included in an edited volume published by a major
Romanian publisher. During the convention, an ARCHIMEDES meeting has
been planned. Also, one or several sessions will be organized by Mars
Society of Germany. Papers may be submitted until 21 July 2004. We are
looking for experienced scientists willing to help reviewing papers as
members of the Scientific Committee of EMC4. Please let me know if you
are willing to serve. Please check below for more information on EMC'04.
Additional
information
concerning
EMC4
is
available
at
http://www.etc.tuiasi.ro/EMC2004/EMC4_index.htm.
Paper submission
Submission of papers (minimum 4, maximum 15 pages) is welcomed on the
topics:

The Science of Mars

Mars Analogue Station

Mars Missions and Technology (unmanned)

Mars Missions and Technology (manned)

Astrobiology related to Mars

The Culture and Politics of Mars

Other topics related to Mars exploration and Mars-related science
All authors should also send a signed copyright transfer agreement for their
paper(s); to publish the papers, the organizers need to have the copyright of
the papers. Please send all the correspondence to the e-mail addresses:
To: hteodor@etc.tuyiasi.ro
cc: isidor@etc.tuiasi.ro
Please do not hesitate to contact us for any question or concern. Students and
young researchers with limited budget asking for a reduction or waiving of the
conference fee should contact the organizers. Participants from the Eastern
European countries are encouraged to apply for a reduced fee if they are not
supported by their organization. The reduced fee is 20 EUROS.
European Mars Society Chapters wishing to be specifically mentioned in all
the EMC4 materials as co-organizers of EMC4 are kindly asked to notify us.
I look forward to have your kind support in the organization of a very
successful European MS Conference, for the benefit of all the European
chapters of Mars Society.
Contact:
Professor Horia-Nicolai Teodorescu
Technical University of Iasi
Copou/Carol I nr. 11
Iasi 6600, Romania
E-mail: hteodor@etc.tuyiasi.ro
PROGRAM FOR THE OXYGEN IN THE TERRESTRIAL PLANETS
WORKSHOP
Lunar and Planetary Institute release
30 June 2004
The program for the Oxygen in the Terrestrial Planets Workshop (July 20-23,
Radisson Hotel, Santa Fe, New Mexico) is now finalized and can be viewed at
http://www.lpi.usra.edu/meetings/otp2004/.
Summary of the Program:
Tuesday AM, July 20: Methods and Techniques for Determining Redox State
Tuesday PM, July 20: Oxygen Isotopic Variations in the Inner Solar
System, Bob Clayton, University of Chicago, Keynote
Wednesday AM, July 21: Redox Variations Within the Inner Solar System,
Mini Wadhwa, Chicago Field Museum, Keynote
Wednesday PM, July 21: Oxygen Isotopic Variations within the Earth, Bob
Criss, Washington University, Keynote
Thursday AM, July 22: Geophysical Consequences of Redox State, Dave
Kohlstedt, University of Minnesota, Keynote
Thursday PM, July 22: Free Time
Friday AM, July 23: Early Accretion/Core Formation, Hugh O'Neill,
Australian National University, Keynote
Friday AM/PM July 23: Redox Variation in the Earth, Chris Herd, University
of Alberta, Keynote
Friday PM July 23: Evolution of the Hydrosphere-Atmosphere-Biosphere, Jim
Kasting, Penn State University, Keynote
More information about the workshop can be found at
http://www.lpi.usra.edu/meetings/otp2004/, along with a map giving
directions from the Albuquerque NM airport to the Radisson Hotel
(http://cass2.lpi.usra.edu/test/meetings/otp2004/otp2004.driving.html).
Marsbugs: The Electronic Astrobiology Newsletter, Volume 11, Number 28, 6 July 2004
6
http://www.geosociety.org/meetings/edinburgh/index.htm. In particular,
follow the Media Coverage link to see how well the meeting was
received.
NIAC PHASE II PROJECTS SELECTED
From NASA's Institute for Advanced Concepts
5 July 2004
2)
NIAC is pleased to announce the following projects have been selected to
receive NIAC Phase II awards for further development of revolutionary
advanced concepts:

N. M. Komerath, Georgia Institute of Technology, "Tailored Force
Fields: Phase 2"

Constantinos Mavroidis, Northeastern University, "Bio-Nano-Machines
for Space Applications"

Alexey Pankine, Global Aerospace Corp., "Sailing the Planets: Science
from Directed Aerial Robot Explorers"

John Slough, University of Washington, "The Plasma Magnet"

Paul Todd, Space Hardware Optimization Technology (SHOT), Inc.,
"Robotic Lunar Ecopoiesis Test Bed"
Propose a pre- or post-meeting field trip. Details will be posted on the
meeting web site shortly.
And, most importantly, we hope to see you in Calgary in August 2005.
There's no more beautiful place to be in the summer than the Canadian
Rockies; we give it three thumbs up! Please plan to extend your stay for field
trips, field work, or vacation.
Contacts:
Lee Kump, Chris Beaumont and Don Canfield
The Geological Society of America
3300 Penrose Place
Boulder, CO 80301-1806
Thanks to all who successfully completed a NIAC Phase I contract activity
report and submitted a Phase II proposal. Within the next month, all
investigators who submitted Phase II proposals will be receiving feedback
based on the peer review evaluations of their proposals. Thanks again to all of
you for your contributions to the possibilities of future aerospace endeavors.
NEW ADDITIONS TO THE ASTROBIOLOGY INDEX
By David J. Thomas
http://www.lyon.edu/projects/marsbugs/astrobiology/
Additional information about NIAC is available at http://niac.usra.edu/.
Terrestrial extreme environments articles
http://www.lyon.edu/projects/marsbugs/astrobiology/online_articles2.html
EARTH SYSTEM PROCESSES 2 (ESP2) MEETING
ANNOUNCEMENT
By Lee Lump
Geological Society of America release
6 July 2004
In slightly more than a year from now, the Geological Society of America and
the Geological Association of Canada will be hosting the second Earth System
Processes meeting. Chris Beaumont, Don Canfield and I have taken the reins
from the Ians (Dalziel and Fairchild) as co-chairs of this meeting, a follow-up
to the very successful ESP-1 meeting in Edinburgh, Scotland, 2001. Because
we know that August is a very precious time of year, we want to let you know
well in advance of the meeting so you could mark it on your calendars.
When and where?
Earth System Processes 2, Calgary, Alberta, Canada, August 8-11, 2005
6 July 2004
R. R. Britt, 2003. 101 amazing Earth facts. Space.com.
Evolution (biological, chemical and cosmological) articles
http://www.lyon.edu/projects/marsbugs/astrobiology/online_articles5.html
Ohio State University, 2004. Life in a dusty formaldehyde jar. Astrobiology
Magazine.
CASSINI UPDATES
NASA and ESA releases
Cassini Set to Ring Saturn Today
NASA/JPL release 2004-167, 30 June 2004
After nearly seven years of asking, "Are we there yet?" the Cassini-Huygens
mission is poised to enter Saturn's orbit this evening. "Getting into orbit
means we have a mission. If we don't get into orbit then we have a flyby and
that's not what we are here to do," said Dr. Dennis Matson, project scientist
for the Cassini-Huygens mission at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory,
Pasadena, CA. "We are confident that the Cassini team will get us there."
Although everything on the spacecraft is performing well, mission managers
caution that this is not a slam-dunk by any means. There are risks as with any
mission. One of those risks is the ring plane crossing.
Although this area has been mapped extensively and is believed to be safe,
there is still a risk of an impact to the spacecraft.
"There are three hold-your-breath moments for the mission," said Robert T.
Mitchell, program manager for the Cassini-Huygens mission at JPL. "The
first is when we see the signal coming back after we cross the ring plane in the
ascending direction. The second is an indication that the burn has begun at
7:36 PM Pacific time (10:36 PM EDT). And finally, the signal showing the
burn completion at the right time."
How can you be involved?
1)
Propose a session. You can help us ensure that this meeting is as
exciting as the first by proposing a session. GSA has made this as
painless as possible for you. To submit a proposal, please visit
http://www.geosociety.org/meetings/esp2/, and select the "Submit A
Proposal" button. The deadline for session proposals is September 15,
2004. As with ESP-1, the upcoming meeting focuses on interactions in
the Earth system, addressing problems in Ancient Earth Systems,
Modern Earth System Processes, and Earth System Futures. Please
discuss ideas for sessions with your students and colleagues, and submit
a session proposal well in advance of the September 15th deadline. For
those of you who did not attend the first Earth Surface Processes
meeting, you may wish to visit the following web site,
Another concern is weather that may affect the reception of the signal on
Earth. Weather on Earth will not change the outcome of the mission but it
will impact whether or not mission controllers will receive a signal during the
orbit insertion. Current weather predictions at the Canberra, Australia, station
of the Deep Space Network show possible high winds that could effect this
evening's operation of that antenna.
This evening at 7:11 PM PDT (10:11 PM EDT), Cassini will cross the ring
plane between Saturn's F and G rings. Its antenna will be oriented forward
and act as a shield against small particles. At 7:36 PM PDT (10:36 PM EDT),
the spacecraft will begin a critical 96-minute main engine burn. Once the
burn is complete the spacecraft will turn and send a signal back to Earth to
report how it is doing. Then it will point its cameras and other instruments at
the rings.
Marsbugs: The Electronic Astrobiology Newsletter, Volume 11, Number 28, 6 July 2004
"Orbit insertion is sort of like applying your brakes while driving your car
downhill," said Mitchell. "Although you've got your foot on the brakes, you
still pick up speed as a steep gravity pulls you in."
During the burn, the spacecraft will change its velocity by 626 meters per
second (1,400 miles per hour). Relative to Saturn, at burn start the spacecraft
speed is 24.26 kilometers per second (54,270 miles per hour) and at the end of
the burn the speed is 30.53 kilometers per second (68,293 miles per hour).
Mission managers expect periodic interruptions of the Doppler signal as
Cassini passes behind the rings.
The team that got the spacecraft to Saturn may be one of the most seasoned
teams to work on a large mission like Cassini, mostly due to the fact they have
flown the spacecraft for seven years. "We've had nearly seven years to iron
out the wrinkles," said Julie Webster, spacecraft team chief at JPL. "We are
ready. In many ways, the most exciting part of the journey is about to begin
because we don't know what lies ahead."
"We've been driving this bus for nearly 3.5 billion kilometers (2.2 billion
miles)," said Dr. Jeremy Jones, navigation team chief of the Cassini-Huygens
mission at JPL. "The trip has sort of been like a long car drive, and we can't
wait to get out there and explore the sites. In a sense the tour is just
beginning."
The arrival period provides a unique opportunity for scientists to observe
Saturn's rings and the planet itself. The spacecraft's closest approach to Saturn
during the entire mission is at 9:03 PM PDT. Its distance from the center of
Saturn will be 80,230 kilometers (49,850 miles) and 19,980 kilometers
(12,400 miles) from the cloud tops.
7
Julie Webster, Cassini-Huygens spacecraft team chief, said, "The spacecraft
has been an incredible joy to fly. We stand on the shoulders of people who
had 40 years of experience building and designing spacecraft."
Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun. It is the second largest planet in our
solar system, after Jupiter. The planet and ring system serve as a miniature
model of the disc of gas and dust surrounding our early Sun that eventually
formed the planets. Detailed knowledge of the dynamics of interactions
among Saturn's elaborate rings and numerous moons will provide valuable
data for understanding how each of the solar system's planets evolved.
Cassini traveled nearly 3.5 billion kilometers (2.2 billion miles) to reach
Saturn after its launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, FL, on October
15, 1997. During Cassini's four-year mission, it will execute 52 close
encounters with seven of Saturn's 31 known moons.
The first images are expected to return Thursday morning. Science
measurements gathered Wednesday are the closest ever obtained of Saturn.
Those measurements may reveal details of the gravitational and magnetic
fields that tell scientists about Saturn's interior.
Cassini-Huygens Enters Orbit around the Ringed Planet
ESA release 36-2004, 1 July 2004
After a seven-year cruise through the Solar System, the joint NASA/ESA/ASI
Cassini-Huygens spacecraft last night successfully entered orbit around
Saturn. The Cassini orbiter is now ready to begin its four-year survey of the
planet and its moons, while the Huygens probe will be prepared for the next
major mission milestone: its release toward the largest moon, Titan, in
December.
Cassini Spacecraft Arrives at Saturn
NASA/JPL release 2004-168, 30 June 2004
The international Cassini-Huygens mission has successfully entered orbit
around Saturn. At 9:12 PM PDT on Wednesday, flight controllers received
confirmation that Cassini had completed the engine burn needed to place the
spacecraft into the correct orbit. This begins a four-year study of the giant
planet, its majestic rings and 31 known moons.
"This is a tribute to the team at NASA and our partners at the European Space
Agency and the Italian Space Agency, to accomplish this feat taking place 934
million miles (1.5 billion kilometers) away from Earth," said Dr. Ed Weiler,
associate administrator for space science at NASA Headquarters, Washington,
DC. "What Cassini-Huygens will reveal during its tour of Saturn and its
many moons, including Titan, will astonish scientists and the public.
Everyone is invited to come along for the ride and see all this as it is
happening. It truly is a voyage of discovery."
Members of the Cassini-Huygens mission at NASA's Jet Propulsion
Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, broke into cheers and high-fives as NASA's Deep
Space Network confirmed receipt of the signal indicating successful entry into
orbit.
"We didn't expect anything less and couldn't have asked for anything more
from the spacecraft and the team," said Robert T. Mitchell, program manager
for the Cassini-Huygens mission at JPL. "This speaks volumes to the
tremendous team that made it all happen."
Dr. Charles Elachi, JPL director and team leader on the radar instrument
onboard Cassini, said, "It feels awfully good to be in orbit around the lord of
the rings. This is the result of 22 years of effort, of commitment, of ingenuity,
and that's what exploration is all about."
The mission will face another dramatic challenge in December, when the
spacecraft will release the piggybacked Huygens probe—provided by the
European Space Agency—which will plunge through the hazy atmosphere of
Saturn's largest moon, Titan.
"This was America's night. This was NASA doing it right," said Dr. David
Southwood, director of scientific programs for the European Space Agency.
"They really gave those of us in Europe a challenge. We've got six months to
go until we land on Titan. We're just praying that everything will go as well."
After becoming the first spacecraft to enter Saturn's orbit, Cassini sent back
this image of a portion of the planet's rings. It was taken by the spacecraft's
narrow angle camera and shows the dark, or unlit, side of the rings. Image
credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute.
"This shows international space co-operation at its best," said ESA's Director
of Science, Professor David Southwood, after confirmation of the orbit
insertion. "Few deep space planetary missions have carried the hopes of such
a large community of scientists and space enthusiasts around the world.
Congratulations to the teams in the U.S. and Europe who made this possible
and to all participants in the program, who have a lot to do over the years
ahead."
The Saturn Orbit Insertion was the last and most critical maneuver performed
by the spacecraft to achieve its operational orbit. If it had failed, the
spacecraft would have just flown past Saturn and got lost in the outer Solar
System.
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8
Actually bigger than Mercury, Titan features a hazy nitrogen-rich atmosphere
containing carbon-based compounds. The chemical environment on Titan is
thought to be similar to that of Earth before life, although colder (-180°C) and
lacking liquid water. The in situ results from Huygens, combined with global
observations from repeated fly-bys of Titan by the Cassini orbiter, are
expected to help us understand the evolution of the early Earth's atmosphere
and provide clues about the mechanisms that led to the dawn of life on our
planet.
The Cassini orbiter, the largest and most complex deep-space probe ever
launched, carries 12 science instruments developed by US and international
teams to conduct in-depth studies of Saturn, Titan, the icy moons, the ring
system and the magnetospheric environment. Two of the orbiter's instruments
were provided by Europe.
"More than twenty years have passed since Pioneer 11 and the Voyagers gave
us a first glimpse of Saturn, as they crossed this complex system in only a few
days," explained Professor Southwood, who is also principal investigator for
Cassini's magnetometer. "Now, with Cassini, we are here to stay, watch and
investigate. And with Huygens we will go even deeper and further, not only
plunging into an extraterrestrial atmosphere but also an atmosphere like the
early Earth's. This means we are traveling billions of years back into our own
past to investigate one of the Universe's best kept secrets: where we came
from."
Fresh Cassini Pictures Show Majesty of Saturn's Rings
NASA/JPL release 2004-169, 1 July 2004
This is one of the first images taken of Saturn's F ring by the Cassini
spacecraft after it successfully entered Saturn's orbit. It was taken by the
spacecraft's wide angle camera and shows the sunlit side of the rings. Image
credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute.
The first pictures taken by the Cassini spacecraft after it began orbiting Saturn
show breathtaking detail of Saturn's rings, and other science measurements
reveal that Saturn's magnetic field pulsed in size as Cassini approached the
planet.
Cassini-Huygens was launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on 15 October
1997, atop a Titan 4B/Centaur, the most powerful expendable launch vehicle
in the U.S. fleet at the time. To reach Saturn it had to perform a series of
gravity assist maneuvers around Venus (April 1998 and June 1999), Earth
(August 1999) and Jupiter (December 2000).
Last night, Cassini-Huygens approached Saturn from below the plane of its
rings. Using its high-gain antenna dish as a shield to protect its fragile body
from dust impacts, it first crossed the ring plane at 02:03 UT, some 158,500
kilometers from the centre of Saturn, in the gap that separates the F-ring from
the G-ring. About 25 minutes later, at 02:36 UT, the probe fired one of its
twin main engines for a 96-minute burn to enter orbit. The signal confirming
this ignition took 84 minutes to reach Earth, some 1500 million kilometers
from Saturn.
The burn went smoothly and reduced Cassini-Huygens' relative velocity to
Saturn while the probe passed only 19,000 kilometers from the planet's upper
clouds. After completion of the burn, the probe was tilted first toward Earth
to confirm insertion and then toward Saturn's rings in order to take close-up
pictures as it flew only a few thousand kilometers above them. This was a
unique opportunity to attempt to discriminate individual components within
the rings, as Cassini is not planned to come this close to them again. The
orbiter's instruments also took advantage of its proximity to the planet to make
an in-depth study of its atmosphere and environment. A second crossing of
the ring plane took place at 05:50 UT.
The probe is in perfect shape to begin its tour of the Saturnian system with at
least 76 orbits around the ringed planet and 52 close encounters with seven of
its 31 known moons. This tour actually began before insertion with a close
fly-by of an eighth moon, Phoebe, on 11 June. The primary target for CassiniHuygens will be the largest of these moons, Titan, with a first fly-by at an
altitude of 1200 kilometers on 26 October.
During the coming months, ESA's scientists will prepare for the release of
their main contribution to the mission, the Huygens probe, which will be
released on 25 December to enter the atmosphere of Titan on 14 January
2005. Built for ESA by an industrial team led by Alcatel Space, this 320
kilogram probe carries six science instruments to analyze and characterize the
atmosphere and its dynamics during its descent. If the probe survives the
impact on reaching the surface, it will also analyze the physical properties of
its environment after landing.
This image shows a close-up view of a density wave in Saturn's A ring. It was
taken by the narrow angle camera on the Cassini spacecraft after successful
entry into Saturn's orbit. The view shows the dark, or unlit, side of the rings.
Image credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute.
"For years, we've dreamed about getting pictures like this. After all the
planning, waiting and worrying, just seeing these first images makes it all
worthwhile," said Dr. Charles Elachi, Cassini radar team leader and director
of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA. "We're eager to share
these new views and the exciting discoveries ahead with people around the
world."
The narrow angle camera on Cassini took 61 images soon after the main
engine burn that put Cassini into orbit on Wednesday night. The spacecraft
Marsbugs: The Electronic Astrobiology Newsletter, Volume 11, Number 28, 6 July 2004
9
was hurtling at 15 kilometers per second (about 34,000 miles per hour), so
only pieces of the rings were targeted.
and speed of the Cassini spacecraft may be found on the "Present Position"
web page located at http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/operations/present-position.cfm.
"We won't see the whole puzzle, only pieces, but what we are seeing is
dramatic," said Dr. Carolyn Porco, Cassini imaging team leader, Space
Science Institute, Boulder, CO. "The images are mind-boggling, just mindboggling. I've been working on this mission for 14 years and I shouldn't be
surprised, but it is remarkable how startling it is to see these images for the
first time."
During the quiet period leading up to Saturn Orbit Insertion (SOI), members
of the Spacecraft Operations Office (SCO) monitored spacecraft real-time
telemetry on a continuous basis. All operations were nominal and per predict.
Monitoring continued through the pre-SOI critical commanding period and up
until the swap to low gain antenna-1 was commanded. From that time until a
scheduled "call home" after the burn, spacecraft performance was monitored
via the Radio Science Receivers (RSR). After the antenna swap, the
spacecraft was oriented so that the high gain antenna (HGA) could be used as
a shield, protecting Cassini from potential dust impacts as the spacecraft
performed its ascending ring plane crossing through the gap between the F
and G rings.
Some images show patterned density waves in the rings, resembling stripes of
varying width. Another shows a ring's scalloped edge. "We do not see
individual particles but a collection of particles, like a traffic jam on a
highway," Porco said. "We see a bunch of particles together, then it clears up,
then there's traffic again."
Other instruments on Cassini besides the camera have also been busy
collecting data. The magnetospheric imaging instrument took the first image
of Saturn's magnetosphere. "With Voyager we inferred what it looked like, in
the same way that a blind man feels an elephant. Now we can see the
elephant," said Dr. Tom Krimigis of Johns Hopkins Applied Physics
Laboratory, Laurel, MD, principal investigator for the magnetospheric
imaging instrument. The magnetosphere is a bubble of energetic particles
around the planet shaped by Saturn's magnetic field and surrounded by the
solar wind of particles speeding outward from the Sun.
Traveling at a speed of over 20 km/sec kilometers per second, the spacecraft
was reoriented for a 96-minute main engine burn. This slowed the spacecraft
by 626 meters per second and allowed it to be captured by the gravitational
pull of Saturn. During this time, five science instruments remained on
collecting data that will be unique in the lifetime of the Cassini mission.
Never again will Cassini travel as close to Saturn as it did at 9:03 PM PDT
when it reached closest approach of 19,980 kilometers from the cloud tops.
After completion of the burn, Cassini turned so that the HGA was aimed back
toward Earth for a 20-second burst of telemetry. This "call home" confirmed
for the flight team that the spacecraft was operating normally. Cassini then
turned away and began execution of a science observation sequence. Science
obtained at this time was key, in that the spacecraft was within 15000
kilometers from Saturn's main rings, ten times closer to the rings than at any
other point in the mission, and in a region of space that had not been
previously observed.
Unique post-SOI science activities included: measurement of the strength and
direction of the magnetic field by the Cassini Magnetometer (MAG), ring
observations by the Optical Remote Sensing Instruments, measurement of the
very sparse neutral molecules in Saturn's atmosphere by the Ion and Neutral
Mass Spectrometer (INMS), measurement of the charged particles by the
Cassini Plasma Spectrometer (CAPS), and detection of radio emissions
emitted by lightning strokes in Saturn's atmosphere by the Radio and Plasma
Wave Science instrument (RPWS). Science data playback began in the early
hours of Thursday July 1. Images are now available for viewing at:
http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov.
Saturn's magnetosphere is seen for the first time in this image taken by the
Cassini spacecraft on June 21, 2004. A magnetosphere is a magnetic envelope
of charged particles that surrounds some planets, including Earth. It is
invisible to the human eye, but Cassini's Magnetospheric Imaging Instrument
was able to detect the hydrogen atoms (represented in red) that escape it. The
emission from these hydrogen atoms comes primarily from regions far from
Saturn, well outside the planet's rings, and perhaps beyond the orbit of the
largest moon Titan. Image credit: NASA/JPL/John Hopkins University.
"During approach to Saturn, Cassini was greeted at the gate," said Dr. Bill
Kurth, deputy principal investigator for the radio and plasma wave science
instrument onboard Cassini. "The bow shock where the solar wind piles into
the planet's magnetosphere was encountered earlier than expected. It was as if
Saturn's county line had been redrawn, and that was a surprise." Cassini first
crossed the bow shock about 3 million kilometers (1.9 million miles) from
Saturn, which is about 50 percent farther from the planet than had been
detected by the Pioneer, Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 spacecraft that flew past
Saturn in 1979, 1980 and 1981.
The location of the bow shock varies with how hard the solar wind is blowing,
Kurth said. As the magnetosphere repeatedly expanded and contracted while
Cassini was approaching Saturn, the spacecraft crossed the bow shock seven
times.
Cassini Significant Events for 06/24/04 - 06/30/04
NASA/JPL release, 1 July 2004
The most recent spacecraft telemetry was acquired from the Canberra tracking
station on Wednesday, June 30th. The Cassini spacecraft is in an excellent
state of health and is operating normally. Information on the present position
A very significant event to occur immediately after SOI was the jettison of the
INMS cover. The cover was left on the instrument since launch until after the
SOI burn was complete. This was to prevent potential contamination of the
instrument by exhaust material from the long burn. Prior to jettison, INMS
was filled with argon to insulate and protect the interior walls. Team
members were able to confirm a successful jettison when sensors noted the
depletion of the argon gas. INMS was powered up at 3:39 SCET and is now
taking data for the first time in the mission.
ACS analysis of official port #1 products from Science Operations Plan
(SOP) implementation of tour sequences S31/S32 has been completed. The
teams are working off issues in preparation for preliminary port #2. Due to
SOI activities, the Project Briefing and Waiver Disposition meeting for the
SOP Update process of S04 was canceled. The handoff product will be
generated and delivered to the sequencing team next week. The Aftermarket
decision meeting for S06 was canceled since the number of changes requested
for this sequence was minimal.
System Engineering hosted a Phoebe lessons learned discussion this week.
The Phoebe flyby was the first time an IVP update was required. This activity
will be performed numerous times throughout the mission so the capturing of
information now will assist in future operations. Items on the agenda included
discussion of target motion compensation and live update, planning and
testing for the flyby beginning with the SOP Update process and including
operations readiness tests that were performed for Phoebe, overview and
recommendations for an end-to-end "once the dust settles" assessment of the
process, general lessons learned, and follow ups.
Cassini Exposes Puzzles about Ingredients in Saturn's Rings
NASA/JPL release 2004-170, 2 July 2004
Just two days after the Cassini spacecraft entered Saturn orbit, preliminary
science results are already beginning to show a complex and fascinating
Marsbugs: The Electronic Astrobiology Newsletter, Volume 11, Number 28, 6 July 2004
planetary system. One early result intriguing scientists concerns Saturn's
Cassini Division, the large gap between the A and B rings. While Saturn's
rings are almost exclusively composed of water ice, new findings show the
Cassini Division contains relatively more "dirt" than ice. Further, the particles
between the rings seem remarkably similar to the dark material that scientists
saw on Saturn's moon, Phoebe. These dark particles refuel the theory that the
rings might be the remnants of a moon. The F ring was also found to contain
more dirt.
10
presence is not a surprise because hydroxyl was discovered earlier from
Hubble Space Telescope observations, and these chemicals are both products
of water chemistry.
Cassini's examination of Saturn's atmosphere began while the spacecraft was
still approaching the planet. Winds on Saturn near the equator decrease
dramatically with altitude above the cloud tops. The winds fall off by as
much 140 meters per second (approximately 300 miles per hour) over an
altitude range of 300 kilometers (approximately 200 miles) in the upper
stratosphere. This is the first time winds have been measured at altitudes so
high in Saturn's atmosphere.
"We are finally defining the wind field in three dimensions, and it is very
complex," said Dr. Michael Flasar of NASA Goddard Space Flight Center,
Greenbelt, MD, principal investigator for Cassini's composite infrared
spectrometer. "Temperature maps obtained now that Cassini is orbiting
Saturn are expected to show more detail, helping us to unravel the riddles of
Saturn's winds above the cloud tops."
Early Friday (Pacific Time), Cassini imaged Saturn's largest moon Titan, one
of the prime targets for the mission. Titan is thought to harbor simple organic
compounds that may be important in understanding the chemical building
blocks that led to life on Earth. Although too cold to support life now, Titan
serves as a frozen vault to see what early Earth might have been like.
Scientists will receive the new data and images from Titan later Friday.
Cassini Provides New Views of Titan, Saturn's Largest Moon
NASA/JPL release 2004-171, 3 July 2004
The visual and infrared mapping spectrometer on the Cassini spacecraft has
found evidence for a material dubbed "dirt" in Saturn's rings. The
observations indicate that some type of sorting mechanism is concentrating
this unidentified material in the gaps between the rings. The images here
show the rings just after Cassini successfully entered Saturn's orbit. The
infrared reflectance image shows the brightness of scattered light transmitted
through the rings. The thicker parts of the rings block more light, while the
thinner parts, like the Cassini Division, let more light through. Assuming the
rings are made of boulders, they might appear as a multitude of tiny moons.
The water ice strength image shows the amount of water in the rings, which
appears to peak in the region of the A ring. The "dirt" image shows that the
so-called dirty material is most abundant in the thinnest parts of the rings: the
Cassini Division, in the Encke and in other small gaps. This material appears
remarkably similar to what Cassini measured on Saturn's moon, Phoebe.
Image credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona.
The Cassini spacecraft has revealed surface details of Saturn's moon Titan and
imaged a huge cloud of gas surrounding the planet-sized moon. Cassini
gathered data before and during a distant flyby of the orange moon yesterday.
Titan's dense atmosphere is opaque at most wavelengths, but the spacecraft
captured some surface details, including a possible crater, through
wavelengths in which the atmosphere is clear.
Another instrument on Cassini has detected large quantities of oxygen at the
edge of the rings. Scientists are still trying to understand these results, but
they think the oxygen may be left over from a collision that occurred as
recently as January of this year.
"In just two days, our ideas about the rings have been expanded
tremendously," said Dr. Linda Spilker, of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory,
Pasadena, CA, deputy project scientist for the Cassini-Huygens mission. "The
Phoebe-like material is a big surprise. What puzzles us is that the A and B
rings are so clean and the Cassini Division between them appears so dirty."
The visual and infrared mapping spectrometer onboard Cassini revealed the
dirt mixed with the ice in the Cassini Division and in other small gaps in the
rings, as well as in the F ring.
"The surprising fingerprint in the data is that the dirt appears similar to what
we saw at Phoebe. In the next several months we will be looking for the
origin of this material," said Dr. Roger Clark, of the U.S. Geological Survey,
Denver, CO, and a member of the Cassini science team.
Cassini's ultraviolet imaging instrument detected the sudden and surprising
increase in the amount of atomic oxygen at the edge of the rings. The finding
leads scientists to hypothesize that something may have collided with the
main rings, producing the excess oxygen.
Dr. Donald Shemansky of the University of Southern California, Los Angeles,
co-investigator for Cassini's ultraviolet imaging spectrograph instrument, said,
"What is surprising is the evidence of a strong, sudden event during the
observation period causing substantial variation in the oxygen distribution and
abundance." Although atomic oxygen has not been previously observed, its
Piercing the ubiquitous layer of smog enshrouding Titan, these images from
the Cassini visual and infrared mapping spectrometer reveals an exotic
surface covered with a variety of materials in the southern hemisphere. Using
near-infrared colors—some three times deeper in the red visible to the human
eye—these images reveal the surface with unusual clarity. The left image
shows a variety of surface features at a wavelength of 2.0 microns. The
darker areas are possibly regions of relatively pure water ice, while the
brighter regions likely have a much higher amount of non-ice materials such
as simple hydrocarbons. The middle image measured at a wavelength of 2.8
microns shows a very dark surface almost everywhere, as expected for a
surface of water ice and simple hydrocarbons. The image on the right, taken
at 5.0 microns, is similar to the left image, indicating dark icy regions and
brighter hydrocarbon-rich materials. A bright cloud of methane particles is
apparent in all three images near the south pole. It's persistence over an
extensive range of colors indicates that these cloud particles are large
compared to the typical haze particles surrounding the planet, suggesting a
dynamically active atmosphere near the South Pole. Color was used to
enhance the various wavelengths. Image credit: NASA/JPL/University of
Arizona.
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11
"Although the initial images appear bland and hard to interpret, we're happy to
report that, with a combination of instruments, we have indeed seen Titan's
surface with unprecedented clarity. We also look forward to future, much
closer flybys and use of radar for much greater levels of surface detail," said
Dr. Dennis Matson of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA,
project scientist for the international Cassini-Huygens mission.
Cassini's visible and infrared mapping spectrometer pierced the smog that
enshrouds Titan. This instrument, capable of mapping mineral and chemical
features of the moon, reveals an exotic surface bearing a variety of materials
in the south and a circular feature that may be a crater in the north. Nearinfrared colors, some three times redder than the human eye can see, reveal
the surface with unusual clarity.
This image acquired at a range of 344,000 kilometers (213,700 miles) shows
details at Titan's surface never seen before. The image shows only surface
brightness no topographic shading. The finest features are less than 10
kilometers (6 miles) across. In other areas the surface boundaries are less
distinct perhaps due to different geologic process or atmospheric effects.
There are some linear features that could be impact craters but the fact that
many features are linear suggests that other geologic processes are shaping
the surface. Image credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute.
Cassini's camera also sees through the haze in some wavelengths. "We're
seeing a totally alien surface," said Dr. Elizabeth Turtle of the University of
Arizona, Tucson. "There are linear features, circular features, curvilinear
features. These suggest geologic activity on Titan, but we really don't know
how to interpret them yet. We've got some exciting work cut out for us."
Shown here is a mosaic of Titan's south polar region
acquired as Cassini passed by at a range of 339,000
kilometers (210,600 miles) on July 2. These images were
acquired through special filters designed to see through the
thick haze and atmosphere. The surface features become
more blurry toward the limb, where the light reflected off
the surface must pass through more atmosphere before
reaching the camera. The bright spots near the bottom
represent a field of clouds near the south pole. There are
many strange dark and bright patterns on Titan's surface—
linear, sinuous and circular—whose origins are not yet
understood. The smallest features detected on the surface
are about 10 kilometers (6 miles) wide. Image credit:
NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute.
"At some wavelengths, we see dark regions of relatively pure water ice and
brighter regions with a much higher amount of non-ice materials, such as
simple hydrocarbons. This is different from what we expected. It's
preliminary, but it may change the way we interpret light and dark areas on
Titan," said JPL's Dr. Kevin Baines, Cassini science-team member. "A
methane cloud is visible near the south pole. It's made of unusually large
particles compared to the typical haze particles surrounding the moon,
suggesting a dynamically active atmosphere there."
This is the first time scientists are able to map the mineralogy of Titan. Using
hundreds of wavelengths, many of which have never been used in Titan
imaging before, they are creating a global map showing distributions of
hydrocarbon-rich regions and areas of icy material.
Since entering orbit, Cassini has also provided the first view of a vast swarm
of hydrogen molecules surrounding Titan well beyond the top of Titan's
atmosphere. Cassini's magnetospheric imaging instrument, first of its kind on
any interplanetary mission, provided images of the huge cloud sweeping along
with Titan in orbit around Saturn. The cloud is so big that Saturn and its rings
would fit within it. "The top of Titan's atmosphere is being bombarded by
highly energetic particles in Saturn's radiation belts, and that is knocking away
this neutral gas," said Dr. Stamatios Krimigis of Johns Hopkins Applied
Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD, principal investigator for the magnetospheric
imager. "In effect, Titan is gradually losing material from the top of its
atmosphere, and that material is being dragged around Saturn."
This mosaic of images taken by the Cassini spacecraft as it approached
Saturn shows the surface features of Titan, from the dark "H" on the left to the
bright observation area at the south pole on the right. Visible in the center is
the location where the spacecraft's Huygens probe will descend in January
2005. Image credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute.
Marsbugs: The Electronic Astrobiology Newsletter, Volume 11, Number 28, 6 July 2004
The study of Titan, Saturn's largest moon, is one of the major goals of the
Cassini-Huygens mission. Titan may preserve in deep-freeze many chemical
compounds that preceded life on Earth. Friday's flyby at a closest distance of
339,000 kilometers (210,600 miles) provided Cassini's best look at Titan so
far, but over the next four years, the orbiter will execute 45 Titan flybys as
close as approximately 950 kilometers (590 miles). This will permit highresolution mapping of the moon’s surface with an imaginXg radar instrument,
which can see through the opaque haze of Titan's upper atmosphere. In
January 2005, the Huygens probe that is now attached to Cassini will descend
through Titan's atmosphere to the surface.
Despite the views of the surface of Saturn's Titan moon provided
by the Cassini spacecraft, the moon remains inscrutable to the
human eye. Images taken with the narrow angle camera using red,
green and blue color filters were combined to create this view. In
true-color images taken in visible wavelengths, Titan's
photochemical smog, rich in organic material, gives the moon a
smooth, featureless, orange glow. Image credit: NASA/JPL/Space
Science Institute.
During the ring plane crossing, the radio and plasma wave science instrument
on Cassini measured little puffs of plasma produced by dust impacts. While
crossing the plane of Saturn's rings, the instrument detected up to 680 dust hits
per second. "The particles are comparable in size to particles in cigarette
smoke," said Dr. Don Gurnett of the University of Iowa, Iowa City, principal
investigator for the instrument. "When we crossed the ring plane, we had
roughly 100,000 total dust hits to the spacecraft in less than five minutes. We
converted these into audible sounds that resemble hail hitting a tin roof."
The spacecraft reported no unusual activity due to the hits and performed
flawlessly, successfully going into orbit around Saturn on June 30. The
engine burn for entering orbit went so well that mission managers have
decided to forgo an orbital-adjustment maneuver scheduled for today.
The Cassini-Huygens mission 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, manages the
Cassini-Huygens mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington,
DC. JPL designed, developed and assembled the Cassini orbiter. For the
latest images and more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission, visit
http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and http://www.nasa.gov/cassini.
Contacts:
Donald Savage
NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC
Phone: 202-358-1727
Carolina Martinez
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA
Phone: 818-354-9382
12
ESA Media Relations Division
Phone: +33(0)1.53.69.7155
Fax: +33(0)1.53.69.7690
Additional articles on this subject are available at:
http://www.astrobio.net/news/article1042.html
http://www.astrobio.net/news/article1043.html
http://www.astrobio.net/news/article1044.html
http://www.astrobio.net/news/article1045.html
http://www.astrobio.net/news/article1054.html
http://www.astrobio.net/news/article1055.html
http://www.astrobio.net/news/article1057.html
http://www.astrobio.net/news/article1058.html
http://www.astrobio.net/news/article1059.html
http://www.cnn.com/2004/TECH/space/07/01/signature.cassini.ap.ap/index.ht
ml
http://www.cnn.com/2004/TECH/space/07/01/saturn.rings/index.html
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2004/04jul_titanrevealed.htm?list52260
http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/cassini_update_040629.html
http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/cassini_esa_040629.html
http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/cassini_update_040630.html
http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/cassini_puzzles_040702.html
http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/titan_upclose_040703.html
http://www.spacedaily.com/news/cassini-04zf.html
http://www.spacedaily.com/news/cassini-04ze.html
http://www.spacedaily.com/news/cassini-04zh.html
http://www.spacedaily.com/news/cassini-04zk.html
http://www.spacedaily.com/news/cassini-04zl.html
http://www.spacedaily.com/news/cassini-04zp.html
http://www.spacedaily.com/news/cassini-04zq.html
http://www.spacedaily.com/news/cassini-04zr.html
http://www.spacedaily.com/news/cassini-04zs.html
http://www.spacedaily.com/news/cassini-04zt.html
http://www.spacedaily.com/news/saturn-magnetic-04b.html
http://www.spacedaily.com/news/saturn-titan-04k.html
http://www.spacedaily.com/2004/040701045540.cal199h7.html
http://www.spacedaily.com/2004/040701073317.212qwi7v.html
http://www.spacedaily.com/news/saturn-titan-04l.html
http://www.spacedaily.com/news/saturn-titan-04m.html
http://www.spacedaily.com/news/saturn-titan-04n.html
http://spaceflightnow.com/cassini/040629presoi.html
http://spaceflightnow.com/cassini/040629plasma.html
http://spaceflightnow.com/cassini/040630soi.html
http://spaceflightnow.com/cassini/040701pictures.html
http://spaceflightnow.com/cassini/040630mimi.html
http://www.universetoday.com/am/publish/cassini_will_arrive_today.html
http://www.universetoday.com/am/publish/titan_natural_colour.html
http://www.universetoday.com/am/publish/cassini_arrives_saturn_safely.html
http://www.universetoday.com/am/publish/saturns_rings_up_close.html
http://www.universetoday.com/am/publish/cassini_makes_first_titan_flyby.ht
ml
http://www.universetoday.com/am/publish/rings_pose_new_mysteries.html
MARS EXPLORATION ROVERS: KIDS, ROVERS AND MARS
NASA/JPL release
2 July 2004
Calling all students and kids—make sure to watch "Roving on the Red
Planet," a "kids-only" press conference about the Mars Exploration Rovers.
The show was originally webcast from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory on
Thursday, June 24, 2004, and is now ready to watch any time as an archive!
The 40-minute program features young engineers talking about the coolest
things the rovers can do! You'll get to see lots of rover images, animations
and video clips, and learn about the capabilities of the rovers. YOU can also
find out how to get involved with engineering and space exploration. A live
audience and e-mail link during the original show provided many interesting
questions for the panelists—check out the answers! For more information go
to http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery/video/webcast.html.
Marsbugs: The Electronic Astrobiology Newsletter, Volume 11, Number 28, 6 July 2004
This false-color composite panoramic camera image highlights mysterious
and sparkly dust-like material that is created when the soil in this region is
disturbed. NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit took this image on sol 165
(June 20, 2004) in "Hank's Hollow," using filters L2, L5 and L7. Image
credit: NASA/JPL/Cornell.
13
This enhanced-color panoramic camera image from the Mars Exploration
Rover Opportunity features three holes created by the rock abrasion tool
between sols 143 and 148 (June 18 and June 23, 2004) inside "Endurance
Crater." The enhanced image makes the red colors a little redder and blue
colors a little bluer, allowing viewers to see differences too subtle to be seen
without the exaggeration. When compared with an approximately true color
image, the tailings from the rock abrasion tool and the interior of the abraded
holes are more prominent in this view. Being able to discriminate color
variations helps scientists determine rocks' compositional differences and
texture variations. This image was created using the 753-, 535- and 432nanometer filters. Image credit: NASA/JPL/Cornell.
Daily MER updates are available at:
http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/status_spirit.html
http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/status_opportunity.html
Additional articles on this subject are available at:
http://www.astrobio.net/news/article1060.html
http://www.cnn.com/2004/TECH/space/06/09/marsrovers.ap/index.html
http://www.spacedaily.com/news/mars-mers-04zzzzze.html
http://www.spacedaily.com/news/mars-mers-04zzzzzf.html
http://www.spacedaily.com/news/mars-mers-04zzzzzg.html
MARS GLOBAL SURVEYOR IMAGES
NASA/JPL/MSSS release
24-30 June 2004
The following new images taken by the Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) on the
Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft are now available.
South Polar Erosion (Released 24 June 2004)
http://www.msss.com/mars_images/moc/2004/06/24/index.html
This image, from the panoramic camera, is an approximately true color
rendering of the slope of "Endurance Crater," which NASA's Mars
Exploration Rover Opportunity is currently exploring. Between sols 143 and
148 (June 18 to June 23, 2004), the rover's rock abrasion tool ground into
three targets: "London" in the "D" layer (top) is 4.5 millimeters (0.18 inches)
deep; "Virginia" in the "C" layer (middle) is 4.3 millimeters (0.17 inches)
deep; and "Cobble Hill" in the "B" layer (bottom) is 3 millimeters (0.12
inches) deep. The shadow from the rover's camera mast is visible in the lower
right corner of the image. This image was captured using the 601-, 535- and
482-nanometer filters. Image credit: NASA/JPL/Cornell.
Pits near Rhabon Valles (Released 25 June 2004)
http://www.msss.com/mars_images/moc/2004/06/25/index.html
Isidis Planitia Features (Released 26 June 2004)
http://www.msss.com/mars_images/moc/2004/06/26/index.html
Faulted Sedimentary Rocks (Released 27 June 2004)
http://www.msss.com/mars_images/moc/2004/06/27/index.html
Caterpillar Dunes (Released 28 June 2004)
http://www.msss.com/mars_images/moc/2004/06/28/index.html
Remnant Layered Rocks (Released 29 June 2004)
http://www.msss.com/mars_images/moc/2004/06/29/index.html
Marsbugs: The Electronic Astrobiology Newsletter, Volume 11, Number 28, 6 July 2004
Polar Dust Devil Streaks (Released 30 June 2004)
http://www.msss.com/mars_images/moc/2004/06/30/index.html
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
28 June - 2 July 2004
Martian Clouds (Released 28 June 2004)
http://themis.la.asu.edu/zoom-20040628a.html
Clouds over the North Pole (Released 29 June 2004)
http://themis.la.asu.edu/zoom-20040629a.html
Cloud-Ground Interaction (Released 30 June 2004)
http://themis.la.asu.edu/zoom-20040630a.html
Cloud Interactions (Released 1 July 2004)
http://themis.la.asu.edu/zoom-20040701a.html
Clouds and Dust Storms (Released 2 July 2004)
http://themis.la.asu.edu/zoom-20040702a.html
14
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.
ROSETTA UPDATE #18: TESTING AVAILABILITY OF MGA-S
ANTENNA
ESA release
28 June 2004
The reporting period covers the third week of Cruise 1 (18 to 25 June 2004).
The main activity was a first check for availability of the MGA-S antenna, in
order to select it in case of Survival Mode. The test, executed on 20 June, had
to be carried out with the 70m dish of DSN due to the orbital geometry and
the attitude constraints of the spacecraft, which put the MGA in a very
marginal condition from a link budget point of view. The test successfully
confirmed the availability of MGA-S, and the antenna was then selected in the
on-board software on 24 June for use in case of Survival Mode triggering.
In support of the investigations on the Star Tracker acquisition behavior
identified last week after having enabled the "dust settings" (see report #17) a
test has been proposed on the spacecraft and planned for 3 July. To prepare
for this test, Star Tracker B has been patched to the dust settings on 24 June
and put into tracking mode.
As planned, on 24 June the GSEP pointing bias has been reset to 60 degrees
above +X. Three New Norcia ground station passes were skipped, as planned,
on 19, 22 and 23 June. On 18 June a short TM monitoring pass was taken
only to check correct entry into GSEP. At the end of the last New Norcia pass
in the reporting period (DOY 177) Rosetta was at 57.1 million kilometers
from the Earth. The one-way signal travel time was 3 minutes 10 seconds.
Read the original report at http://sci.esa.int/sciencee/www/object/index.cfm?fobjectid=35503.
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
End Marsbugs, Volume 11, Number 28.