MARSBUGS: The Electronic Exobiology Newsletter Volume 3, Number 13, 18 October, 1996. Editors: David Thomas, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID, 83844-3051, USA, thoma457@uidaho.edu. Julian Hiscox, Microbiology Department, BBRB 17, Room 361, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294-2170, USA, Julian_hiscox@micro.microbio.uab.edu. MARSBUGS is published on a weekly to quarterly basis as warranted by the number of articles and announcements. Copyright of this compilation exists with the editors, except for specific articles, in which instance copyright exists with the author/authors. E-mail subscriptions are free, and may be obtained by contacting either of the editors. Contributions are welcome, and should be submitted to either of the two editors. Contributions should include a short biographical statement about the author(s) along with the author(s)' correspondence address. Subscribers are advised to make appropriate inquiries before joining societies, ordering goods etc. Back issues may be obtained via anonymous FTP at: ftp.uidaho.edu/pub/mmbb/marsbugs. The purpose of this newsletter is to provide a channel of information for scientists, educators and other persons interested in exobiology and related fields. This newsletter is not intended to replace peer-reviewed journals, but to supplement them. We, the editors, envision MARSBUGS as a medium in which people can informally present ideas for investigation, questions about exobiology, and announcements of upcoming events. Exobiology is still a relatively young field, and new ideas may come out of the most unexpected places. Subjects may include, but are not limited to: exobiology proper (life on other planets), the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI), ecopoeisis/ terraformation, Earth from space, planetary biology, primordial evolution, space physiology, biological life support systems, and human habitation of space and other planets. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ INDEX 1) OCTOBER SPACEVIEWS AVAILABLE by Jeff Foust 2) INTERESTING WEB SITES PERTAINING TO SPACE AND BIOLOGY by John Bray 3) MARS PROGRAM GEARS UP FOR SAMPLE RETURN MISSION By Mark Whalen 4) NEW PHOTOS OF MARS METEORITES by Ron Baalke 5) LIVE FROM MARS UPDATE 6) SPACE SIMULATION CONFERENCE 7) EXPERTS TO DETAIL FUTURE MOON & MARS EXPLORATION PLANS ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ OCTOBER SPACEVIEWS AVAILABLE by Jeff Foust The October issue of SpaceViews, an online publication of space science, technology, and policy, is now available. This month's issue includes: * An interview with David Kelsey, co-star of TV's "The Cape" * The NSS's new Mars policy * Life on Mars: what difference does it make? * Book reviews from rocket history to future Moon settlements * Space-related news including Shannon Lucid's return, the new National Space Policy, and the outcome of H.R. 3936 * and more! Look for articles on space and political campaigns, space artifacts in the Smithsonian's 150th anniversary tour, and reports on recent space conferences in future issues. The October issue is available on the Web at http://www.seds.org/spaceviews/9610/ Visit the SpaceViews Web site at http://www.seds.org/spaceviews/ For more information on the publication, including how to get a free e-mail subscription. Any questions or comments about SpaceViews can be directed to the editor, Jeff Foust, at jeff@astron.mit.edu. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ INTERESTING WEB SITES PERTAINING TO SPACE AND BIOLOGY by John Bray For more information on life in extreme environments, such as what we might find on Mars, Europa, Titan, etc, check out the Astrobiology Web at: http://www.reston.com/astro/extreme.html Also.. Live camera pointed at the Mars Pathfinder assembly in progress. Just hit the "reload" button in the browser to grab a new image. Here is the URL followed by the text that appears on the page. http://mpfwww.jpl.nasa.gov/mpf/shutter.htm Most of the time, this image is taken from a KSC facility camera mounted on the ceiling of the SAEF-2 clean room. Near the top-center of the image is the Mars Pathfinder lander which is sitting on its assembly work cart. Depending on when you look, the petals may be open or closed. The Sojourner Rover is now mounted on the inside of one of these petals. Except for one large opening, the lander and Rover work area is surrounded by an inner clean room. You can see two of the walls and the ceiling of this room in the picture. This room controls the flow of biologically clean air much like a flow bench provides laminar airflow conditions during component assembly. The lander must be kept biologically clean so that terrestrial microbes do not contaminate the landing site at Mars. Many of the people you see in the white suits are people from JPL who have been living at the Cape for the past month or so. Some of them wear electronic ear pieces and microphones so they can keep in constant communication with the system test conductor in an adjacent room called the system test complex (STC). This room contains electronics that provide support power to the lander and the rover when necessary. It also houses electronics racks that support lander/ground communication. The cables that go to the STC can be seen running from the lander on the floor near the bottom of the image. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ MARS PROGRAM GEARS UP FOR SAMPLE RETURN MISSION By Mark Whalen [from The JPL Universe] Excitement about the exploration of Mars has never been higher, both inside and outside of JPL. The speculation and arguments posed for centuries by scientists and scholars about the possibility of life on the Red Planet have been revived with the announcement in August of possible evidence found in an ancient meteorite in Antarctica. At JPL the implications could be huge. "There's no question in my mind that Mar's exploration will play an even more important role in JPL's future than we had imagined even as little as a year ago," said Dr. Daniel McCleese, manager of the Earth and Space Sciences Division 32. "We can say that with confidence." It is not, however, as if the Mars Surveyor program has proceeded without direction, needing the boost provided by the Mars meteorite discovery, McCleese was careful to point out. He said that the path currently traveled by the program has been the right one all along. "I think we've had enough time since the announcement of the Mars meteorite studies to evaluate the Mars program JPL has been pursuing," McCleese said. "A broad consensus is that if we were to invent a program today, without any of the past studies we've done on how Mars should be explored, you would probably come up with a program that looks very much like Mars Surveyor." This spring, McCleese led a NASA team studying the feasibility of returning scientifically significant samples from Mars as early as the 2005 mission, within the budget that's already been allocated by Congress for the Mars Surveyor program. McCleese's team reported to the agency that a sample return mission launched in 2005 could be accomplished within Mars Surveyor's present budget of approximately $100 million per year plus launch costs. "We also said, however, that the program would become very lean," McCleese said. "The amount of money available requires reducing the number of launches per opportunity from the baseline of two vehicle launches to one. Also, we judged that extra money would be needed for technology development for a rover that we wanted to send as a precursor to the sample return. "This was considered by NASA to be fairly good news; that it looked as if we could come pretty close to making it within the budget." With the announcement of possible evidence of past life in the ALH84001 meteorite, McCleese's team, called the Mars Expeditions Strategy Group, regrouped and focused its efforts on a program to find evidence of life, if it exists, on the surface of Mars. The group worked closely with JPL's Mars Program Office and the Advanced Projects Design Team ("Team X"), which provided analyses of the costs of quicker sample return missions than originally proposed. Together, they developed strategies to implement three different program options--called "paced," "accelerated," and "aggressive"--as suggested by NASA Administrator D Daniel Goldin. "Goldin asked for these options because of the interest by the White House and the nationwide enthusiasm for exploration of Mars, possibly at a greater rate than we're able to do under the Mars Surveyor program," McCleese noted. The "paced" approach proposes a launch in 2005, with a sample returned to Earth by 2008. The "accelerated" option proposes a 2003 launch, with a sample return by 2006, while the "aggressive" option would launch a Mars surface "field geologist" rover to Mars in 2001 as well as return a sample by 2006. Each option includes visiting three different sites, or environments, on Mars and returning a sample from each site. The group described the scientific objectives and approach for the search for life on Mars, as well as the need for evolving technologies, costs and the rate at which each option would be accomplished. The recommendations were developed at a late-August meeting of 30 scientists, technologists and engineers from NASA and several universities. That group met again Sept.19-20 to confirm a report it had begun to create at the previous meeting. "We also evaluated and modified the implementation strategies that JPL's Mars Program Office had created over the prior several weeks " McCleese said. "Now we have an outline of elements identified for each of the three sample return options Goldin suggested." The group's findings were presented Sept. 30 to NASA's Solar System Exploration Subcommittee, which advises the agency on solar system exploration planning. McCleese said that sample return missions to Mars, whether or not they will be stepped up from the original 2005 target for the first launch, would not fundamentally change the overall goals of the Mars Surveyor program, but would be an extension of those goals with a stronger emphasis on life than on the program's other goals of studying climate and resources. "We are charged by Dan Goldin with designing a program to understand the origin and evolution of life on the planet--if it ever existed within the context of the evolution of Mars itself," McCleese said. "We are interested in studying the planet through robotic means. And our robots are intended to explore the planet's geochemistry, geology, and climate. In so doing, we will determine which samples are most scientifically productive to return to the Earth." McCleese outlined the plan for the study of the global character of the planet--its geochemistry and evolutionary processes at the surface and in the interior. Noting that one of the fundamental requirements for life is water, he said the search will be conducted by looking at three environments: * Ancient ground water environments. Early in the planet's history, liquid water appears to have been widespread beneath the surface. The energy provided by impacts and volcanism could have created warm ground water circulation systems favorable for the origin of life. * Ancient surface water environments. Also during early Martian history, liquid water was apparently released from subsurface aquifiers, flowed across the surface and pooled in low-lying regions. Solar irradiance would have provided biologically useful energy. * Modern ground water environments. Life may have formed at any time, including recently, in habitats where subsurface water or ice is geothermally heated; it also may have survived from an earlier epoch in such places. These environments may be accessed by exploring the ejecta from rather modern impacts, such as meteors striking the surface within the last 100 million years; by investigating material accumulated in ancient water outflow channels; and by coring. McCleese said the debate on ALH4001 will continue for years, "so we do not consider that to be evidence yet. We consider it to be hopeful and suggestive--that the environment on Mars might have been conducive to the development of life." If further analysis of the Mars meteorite determines that life was not present, that would not halt studies of the planet. "We are equally interested in in understanding why life did not form if it didn't," McCleese said. "Is life unique to the Earth? We propose to study each environment so that we can understand this possible dichotomy with Earth: is Mars a planet that has undergone the same kind of evolutionary processes as Earth has, or is it completely different?" Just as critical to getting a spacecraft to Mars, gathering samples of its surface, and returning it to Earth will be sample analysis done in laboratories on Earth. "The experiments we need to do with samples are not practical to do on the surface of Mars," McCleese noted, adding that analysis of samples "figures very prominently in our exobiology goals as they refer directly to possibly prebiotic components, or some day, perhaps, fossils." In that regard, McCleese expressed concern that a too highly aggressive approach might result in a program "that is not scientifically motivated, but is motivated simply by the desire to get things into space and on the planet." "We could very well disappoint ourselves in that we might not be able to locate the sites where life-related samples may come from, because we might not have adequate sensors onboard the rovers, adequate mobility of the rovers or the skill needed in acquiring and handling the samples to get back relevant samples. "In a laboratory on Earth, you're wholly dependent on the quality of the work done on Mars, particularly on the quality of the returned samples. A 'grab' sample--one selected without care--is exceedingly risky if we are searching for the markers of life." Whichever options are followed, confirmation that life never evolved on Mars, even in its simplest forms, would not be met with disappointment in some circles or a lull in Mars exploration as it was with the Viking missions of the mid-'70s. "Clearly, finding fossil evidence on Mars would motivate an aggressive program of exploration," McCleese said. "But it's my view that the discovery that may one day motivate aggressive exploration of Mars has already happened." "Broadly speaking," McCleese added, "the Mars meteorite findings have already heightened public interest in exploring deeper questions, like the origins of life in the universe," he said. "This goal may rise to the top of the list of planetary exploration objectives." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ NEW PHOTOS OF MARS METEORITES by Ron Baalke I've added some new photos of Mars meteorites to my Mars Meteorite home page: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/snc/ The new photos include Zagami, Chassigny, Nakhla, Lafayette, ALH 84001, ALHA 77005 and QUE 94201. I have photos of 11 of the 12 known Mars meteorites, and the one I'm missing is Yamato 793605. I would appreciate it if someone can help me find a photo of this meteorite. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ LIVE FROM MARS UPDATE UPDATE # 4 - October 9, 1996 PART 1: Teacher's Guide is here PART 2: Live chats with NASA folk; a NetDay96 celebration PART 3: Connecting with other teachers PART 4: News about the spacecraft TEACHER'S GUIDE IS HERE Hooray for the hardworking PTK Teacher's Guide team. After weeks of non-stop work (literally!), the Teacher's Guide is completed and at the printer. If you've ordered a physical copy (see http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/mars/ teachers/materials.html), expect it soon. The shipping date is Saturday, October 12. For those who can't wait, or who prefer their Teacher's Guides free and online, wander to http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/mars/teachers/tg. Over the next days and weeks, you'll see this area fill in with the complete guide. By the end of the month, there will be an Adobe Acrobat version of the document available online; this version will preserve ALL of the formatting from the original. LIVE CHATS WITH NASA FOLK; A NETDAY96 CELEBRATION In many places, this coming Saturday (October 12) is a time for volunteers to materialize at schools around the United States and install network cabling. This wonderful ritual is called NetDay. In support of the activity, NASA is organizing a full day of content to go with all of the connectivity. The idea is to help the NetDay folks get a glimpse of how schools bust down walls to connect with exciting resources. Called "NetDay & Beyond", it features three separate tracks: 1) chats with network experts to help resolve connectivity issues 2) a stream of K-12 Internet videos, including a PTK summary tape 3) chats with experts, discussing neato, space and environmental topics have a few bright-eyed NASA folks sharing their insights about the planet and our upcoming missions there. A few lively PTK teachers would sure help show the nation and world why networks are so vital for schools. Please consider joining us. To learn more, visit the "NetDay & Beyond" pages at http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/netday96 or go straight to the chat rooms at: http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/netday96/rooms/class.html CONNECTING WITH OTHER TEACHERS A big part of Live From Mars is the connections that form between people. Not only connections between students and NASA experts, but bonds between teachers and with LFM staff. If you are not a part of these conversations, you may be missing something of great value. Not only can other teachers help you figure out things, they can be a sounding board for your brainstorms. As well, the LFM team is easily influenced. Your ideas may sway the entire direction of the project (as past history demonstrates). There are two different ways to participate: chats and discuss-lfm Every week, two hourly chats are regularly scheduled. Each Thursday at either noon or 3:00 PM Pacific (schedule alternates), folks gather in the chatroom for an hour. Also, each Wednesday at 11:00 AM Pacific, a special homeschool forum is hosted by master homeschooler Gayle Remisch, from London, Ontario, Canada. For more info, see the WebChat section of http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/mars/events/interact.html In addition, discuss-lfm offers teachers an opportunity to send more composed messages. Last month, LFM people contributed over 175 gems in the vigorous discussion. Many people channel this information direct to their mailboxes. If 175 messages is too many for you (it is for me), an option exists for a digest. The digest sends just one daily message with all of the day's traffic gathered together. To participate, send an email message to: listmanager@quest.arc.nasa.gov In the message body, choose one of the lines below to send subscribe discuss- lfm subscribe discuss-digest-lfm If you prefer, you may also take part in the discuss-lfm group via the Web. In that case, point your browser to: http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/mars/discuss-lfm-lwgate.html NEWS ABOUT THE SPACECRAFT As of today (October 9), the Mars Global Surveyor is 28 days from its first try at launching, while the Mars Pathfinder is 55 days away. The key thing to understand at this stage is that all of the project folks are going batty trying to do all of the things that need doing. So it is very difficult to obtain up-to-date information. In this news vacuum, we'll share some reports about the various tests that have been happening over the past months. Mars Pathfinder Anthony Spear, Mars Pathfinder Projet Manager Over the summer, The Flight Operations Team wrapped up the final phases of development of their operating system used to monitor and control the flight system in cruise to Mars, Entry/Descent/Landing and for surface operations. They have participated in tests, controlling the flight system test sequence with their operations sequences planned for flight use. Also they have received and analyzed telemetry data on their work stations including rover data and lander and rover camera imaging. These are rather realistic "dress rehearsals" for the real thing when they take over right after launch. Mars Global Surveyor Status Glenn E. Cunningham, MGS Project Manager The Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft completed its solar thermal vacuum testing which is a major milestone in preparing the spacecraft for launch. In this two-week-long test, the spacecraft was placed in a large vacuum chamber that represents the environment that the spacecraft encounters in deep space. The chamber has a simulated solar source, targets that represent Mars, and very cold walls that represent the cold of deep space. During this test, all the thermal environments that the spacecraft experiences during its mission are tested, and compared to the thermal design requirements and thermal models. The MGS came through this test better than any spacecraft I can remember. Then the final preparations were made to ship the spacecraft from its assembly location at Lockheed Martin Astronautics in Denver, Colorado, to its launch site. The spacecraft was flown to Cape Canaveral, Florida, in a C-17 aircraft in mid-August. At the "Cape", the spacecraft was tested to assure that it survived shipment without problems. [The items in this list were planned in August. I suspect that many items here are already completed] Also, a final checkout with the Deep Space Tracking network will be made, the propellants will be loaded, and the final weight and center of gravity will be determined. Then, it will be attached to the third stage of the launch vehicle and both will be transported to the launch pad to be mated with the first and second stages of the Delta II that will already be there waiting. In the mean time, everything is being made ready to control the spacecraft after its November launch. All of the software that will be used process and display spacecraft telemetry data, send commands to the spacecraft, navigate the spacecraft, and analyze the spacecraft's performance was delivered in its launch ready form on the first of July. The small teams of engineers and scientists that will provide the mission controlling functions have begun the process of training to use the procedures that will be employed after launch. The various stages of the launch vehicle are already at the "Cape" undergoing their readiness testing. We are have been involved in a series of checkpoints or reviews to assure the project managers that everything is ready for launch. These reviews include the remote (from JPL) science centers where the payload instruments will be controlled, the readiness to ship the spacecraft, the readiness of the launch site to receive the spacecraft, and the readiness of all aspects of the flight operations system. Several reviews after the spacecraft is at the launch site will assure that the launch vehicle is ready to receive the spacecraft, and finally, in early November, that all systems are go for launch! Everyone on Mars Global Surveyor is very pleased with the way the spacecraft testing has progressed with out significant problems, and with how well the flight operations and ground data system preparations have been completed on schedule. To catch up on back issues, please visit the following Internet URL: http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/mars/updates To subscribe to the updates-lfm mailing list (where this message came from), send a message to: listmanager@quest.arc.nasa.gov In the message body, write these words: subscribe updates-lfm CONVERSELY... To remove your name from the updates-lfm mailing list, send a message to: listmanager@quest.arc.nasa.gov In the message body, write these words: unsubscribe updates-lfm If you have Web access, please visit our "continuous construction" site at http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/mars ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ SPACE SIMULATION CONFERENCE On behalf of my colleagues planning the 19th Space Simulation Conference, I encourage you to attend. The Conference will be held at the Radisson Plaza Lord Baltimore Hotel in Baltimore during the week of October 28 - 30, 1996. Our program includes forty papers from the USA, Canada, Europe, and Israel. Attendance normally encompasses representatives of the major Western aerospace organizations and companies. We are planning a uniquely interesting as well as a most informative conference for our technical community. Our keynote speakers will be General Malcolm R. O'Neill, USA (Ret), retiring head of BMDO, and Mr. Tom Coughlin, Space Programs Manager at JHU/APL. The details of the Tutorial and complete Program, as well as registration information can be found at our home page: http://members.aol.com/envtest/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ EXPERTS TO DETAIL FUTURE MOON & MARS EXPLORATION PLANS Will a 21st century Moon become a site for business, tourism, as well as scientific study? What plans are now being drawn to explore the planet Mars for martian life, but also transform the Red Planet into a second home for humanity? International Space Enterprises (ISE) and the National Space Society (NSS) announce the Third Annual International Lunar and Mars Exploration Conference, to be held in San Diego, California on November 17-20. Focused on lunar exploration the previous two years, this year's conference will feature a special session on the possibility of life on Mars. Aerospace entrepreneurs will present innovative plans for corporate sponsorship of low cost Moon and Mars missions, commercial space tourism, and beaming solar energy to Earth from space. Details on the 1997 launch of the Lunar Prospector robotic craft to the Moon and the X-33 reusable launch vehicle, a stepping stone to affordable access to Earth orbit will also be presented. Experts from industry, entrepreneurial firms, universities and NASA will review the promise of a rejuvenated space agenda for the 21st century in up- to-the-minute talks and discussion. A special feature of this year's event will be a half day session entitled Life on Mars: Past, Present and Future, offering several lectures and dramatic presentations addressing NASA's recent discovery of indications of possible life on Mars. The session will be led by Dr. Robert Zubrin, Chairman of the NSS Executive Committee and noted advocate of human voyages to the Red Planet. Dr. Zubrin will speak on the need to send humans to Mars and will sign copies of his just-released book, The Case for Mars--The Plan to Settle The Red Planet and Why We Must. The conference, to be held at the beautiful Hyatt Islandia Hotel on San Diego's Mission Bay, will convene many of the world's leading lunar and planetary scientists and engineers. In a unique public demonstration, ISE will invite conference participants to view and operate the robotic Mars Seeker, a new prototype of a rover ISE hopes to deliver to Mars on a commercially financed, international voyage. The Mars Seeker prototype will be the centerpiece of a permanent interactive exhibit at NASA's Kennedy Space Center beginning in December. To register for the conference, or for more information, please contact: Greg Nemitz of ISE [phone: (619) 637-5773, fax: (619) 637-5776]; via e-mail: isehq@aol.com] or call the National Space Society at (202) 543-1900. THIRD ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL LUNAR & MARS EXPLORATION CONFERENCE 17-20 November 1996; San Diego, California Registration Rates & Form: Regular Conference Registration* By 20 October 1995 $275.00 After 20 October 1995 $350.00 Special Registration (NSS Members Only)* By 20 October 1995 $175.00 After 20 October 1995 $250.00 * Includes welcome reception & both luncheons "DINNER AT MOON BASE" BANQUET (not included in conference registration fee) Conference attendees $65.00 General public $75.00 Form of payment: Check (payable to National Space Society) Credit card Type: Visa MC Amex Number _______________________________ Expire Date: _________________________ To register by phone, call (619) 637-5773, or fax with credit card info to (619) 637-5776. Name ______________________________________ Affiliation________________________________ Mailing Address____________________________ City, State, Zip___________________________ Daytime Phone______________________________ Fax________________________________________ Email______________________________________ Or print, and mail with payment to: International Space Enterprises 4909 Murphy Canyon Road, Suite 220; San Diego, CA 92123 Call Hyatt Islandia Hotel - (800) 233-1234 to reserve rooms at special $105.00 rate (single or double) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ End Marsbugs Vol. 3, No. 13.