MARSBUGS: The Electronic Exobiology Newsletter Volume 5, Number 4, 3 March, 1998. Editors: David Thomas, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID, 83844-3051, USA, thoma457@uidaho.edu or Marsbugs@aol.com. Julian Hiscox, Division of Molecular Biology, IAH Compton Laboratory, Berkshire, RG20 7NN, UK. Julian.Hiscox@bbsrc.ac.uk or Marsbug@msn.com 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) EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION by David J. Thomas 2) CURRENT STATE OF KNOWLEDGE IN KEY AREAS OF ASTROBIOLOGY from the Ames Astrobiology Home Page 3) ASTROBIOLOGY AT NASA from the Ames Astrobiology Home Page 4) NASA ASTROBIOLOGY ACADEMY, AMES RESEARCH CENTER from the Ames Astrobiology Home Page 5) DETAILED IMAGES FROM EUROPA POINT TO SLUSH BELOW SURFACE from the Brown University News Bureau 6) MARS SURVEYOR 98 PROJECT STATUS REPORT by John McNamee 7) CD-ROM TO CARRY NAMES TO MARS from the "JPL Universe" 8) CASSINI SIGNIFICANT EVENT REPORT JPL release 9) DUST AND SOIL EXPERIMENT CHOSEN FOR MARS 2001 MISSION JPL release 10) MARS SOCIETY FOUNDING CONVENTION by the Mars Society ------------------------------------------------------------------ EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION by David J. Thomas Greetings fellow exobiology enthusiasts. Last week, while I was searching the web for new and interesting things, I came across the Astrobiology Page on the Ames Research Center home page. I had not visited the Ames page for quite some time, and the Astrobiology page was new to me. I have included three article from that page in this issue of Marsbugs, and I strongly encourage everyone to visit the site (http://astrobiology.arc.nasa.gov). The life sciences aspect of space exploration appears to be becoming more prominent, both in the public's eye and in the interests of professional sciences. Ames Research Center is not the only place studying astrobiology. Labs at Goddard, Dryden and Marshall space centers are also involved in astrobiology. I recently returned from a visit to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory where an astrobiology program is just getting started. With the current and near-future missions to Mars, Titan and Europa, I think the field of astrobiology is going to become more and more prominent. Only time will tell what the future will hold, but it looks to be exciting. ------------------------------------------------------------------ CURRENT STATE OF KNOWLEDGE IN KEY AREAS OF ASTROBIOLOGY from the Ames Astrobiology Home Page Formation and Diversity of Planetary Systems Fundamental to understanding the distribution of life in the cosmos is understanding the formation and diversity of planetary systems, which are the retinues of planets and satellites of different mass and composition orbiting stars of different luminosities. The conditions under which these systems form and evolve will determine the diversity of habitable environments in space and in time. Understanding planetary phenomena will rely on three key approaches: direct, multi-wavelength observations of planetary systems across the entire range of formative and mature stages; theoretical studies of the behavior of multiple, complex, and interacting processes under diverse conditions; and laboratory and astronomical measurements of primitive materials preserved since the formative stages of our own system. A consensus theory of planetary formation is generally in hand: gradual accumulation of solids within a primarily gaseous, flattened circumstellar accretion disk, which itself is a byproduct of the formation of its parent star from a dense, rotating interstellar cloud of gas and dust. However, this theory has been studied in only a very narrow range of initial conditions, possibly important physics has been neglected, and it has little or no predictive capability. For example, recent discoveries of giant planets in circular orbits very close to solar-type stars were unexpected and are still not completely understood. There are, as of this writing, eight new giant planets known to orbit solar-like stars; at least one of these orbits within the "habitable zone" of its parent star. These new data provide not only a challenge to the current theoretical paradigms, but clear direction as to parts of parameter space in which both theoretical models and observations of extrasolar systems need more exercise. Furthermore, given the wide range of conceivable environments, we might ask "what makes a planet habitable?" (An associated question is "habitable for what kind of organism?") Advances in technology are enabling not only new observations of these mature (if unanticipated) extrasolar planetary systems, but also of "protoplanetary nebulae" within which the planetary formation process is still ongoing. These observations are capable of telling us the extent, mass, gas and solid content, and thermal structure of the material from which planets form. In order to comprehend the new, surprising diversity of planetary systems, we must continue to study the early stages of planetary formation under a range of conditions, as well as to establish the full range of ultimate outcomes of the process. In addition to observations of remote extrasolar planetary systems from ground and space, we are fortunate to have in hand, or accessible by spacecraft, actual material which survives from the days of the early accumulation of our own planets. So-called "primitive material" preserves clues as to the materials from which, and the processes by which, planets formed. To be found in these primitive materials are presolar grains which carry clues as to the variety and number of stellar precursors of our own system, complex organic material which might preserve the signature of interstellar chemistry, once-molten silicate "chondrules" with composition, size, and mineralogy diagnostic of the pre- accretionary environment, and, in one recent case, suggestive evidence for past life on another planet. Origin of Life The occurrence of organic compounds in interstellar clouds, planets of the outer solar system, comets and meteorites suggests a chain of astrophysical processes which link the chemistry of interstellar clouds with the prebiotic evolution of organic matter in the solar system and on the early Earth. Although there is no record of the evolutionary pathway from this simple organic matter to present-day life on Earth, the main steps along this pathway can be deduced from basic physical and chemical principles, environmental conditions on the early Earth, and the cellular biology and phylogeny of contemporary organisms. There is compelling evidence that cellular life existed on Earth 3.56 billion years ago. Recently, a persuasive argument was made that terrestrial life was already present toward the end of the period of heavy bombardment of the early Earth by asteroids and comets from 4.0 to 3.9 billion years ago. This implies that ancestors of contemporary life emerged rather quickly, on a geological time scale, and perhaps also survived the effects of large impacts. Such catastrophic events would have strongly favored survival of thermophilic organisms which thrive at high temperatures. This scenario is consistent with the phylogenetic record, which indicates that the last common ancestor was thermophilic. This record also supports the view that life might have arisen first near marine hydrothermal vents. The possibility remains, however, that the first common ancestor lived at moderate temperatures and only later adapted to thermophilic conditions, in which case ocean surfaces and near-shore shallow environments might have spawned life. All present-day forms of life are cellular, with lipid bilayer membranes forming the primary barrier that separates the interior of a cell from the external environment. It has been proposed that similar, encapsulating structures (vesicles) made of simple membrane-forming material could have self-assembled in the protobiological environment. The presence of such membrane- forming material in carbonaceous meteorites is consistent with this idea. Furthermore, recent experiments showed that vesicular lipid bilayer structures can grow by spontaneous addition of membrane-forming material from the surrounding medium, and can encapsulate both ions and macromolecules. Besides separating intracellular components from the diluting effect of the environment, cell membranes also provide a barrier for separating charges, a fundamental process in bioenergetics. From phylogenetic data we infer that the earliest cells probably used chemical rather than photochemical energy sources. It has also been proposed that membranes helped stabilize the secondary structure of peptides (protein precursors) having appropriate sequences of polar and nonpolar amino acids. Some of these peptides may have been capable of performing basic protocellular functions, such as catalysis, signaling, and energy transduction, without requiring the existence of separate molecules capable of storing and transmitting genetic information (i.e., nucleic acids). Alternatively, it has been postulated that there was a time in protobiological evolution when RNA played a dual role as both genetic material and a catalytic molecule ("the RNA world"). However, this appealing concept encounters significant difficulties. RNA is chemically fragile and difficult to synthesize abiotically. The known range of its catalytic activities is rather narrow, and the origin of an RNA synthetic apparatus is unclear. Therefore, it may be more likely that RNA and proteins co-evolved in protocells, rather than evolving independently. The co-evolutionary process leading to division of cellular functions between these molecules, however, is not at all clear. Understanding the emergence of life requires studies that extend beyond the origin of biopolymers and cellular structures. All these components necessarily assembled into auto-catalytic, self-reproducing systems capable of evolution and selection. Based on theoretical arguments, it has been suggested that sets of mutually catalytic molecules can reproduce and evolve without templating, resulting in a primitive metabolism without a genome. However, only a limited number of experimental studies have been performed in this area. The recent discovery of organic, possibly even biogenic, material in a martian meteorite (ALH84001) opens the exciting possibility of extending the search for the origin of life to places beyond the Earth. Although current findings on ALH84001 are inconclusive regarding possible life on Mars, future exploration might lead to fundamentally new insights into prebiotic chemistry and protobiological evolution, the record of which is lost on the Earth. Interactions Between Earth and Its Biosphere The history of life on Earth was directed, at least in part, by changes in the surface environment. Today we are experiencing rapid environmental changes of our own making, and our biosphere must adapt and, perhaps eventually, evolve to a different state. Environmental change surely has occurred in the past, but can studies of our past help to predict our future? Also, to the extent that rocky planets have followed similar evolutionary paths, at least during the early chapters of their history, can studies of our own biosphere assist us in our search for extraterrestrial life, past or present? The processes which modified the environment vary widely both in their magnitude and time scales. For example, the increase in solar luminosity, the declining rates of comet and meteorite impacts, the exchange of volatile materials between Earth's mantle and crustal reservoirs, and the stabilization of continents have all exerted dominant controls on the surface environment. However, because these processes themselves evolved very slowly, they required 108 to 109 year time scales to cause global changes. The effects of plate tectonics, erosion, sedimentation, and glaciation acted more quickly, causing changes over 104 to 108 year time scales. Faster still have been the effects of ocean and climate dynamics and ocean-atmosphere-biosphere interactions, which can vary on 1 to 104 year time scales. Already, human activity has dramatically altered patterns of erosion, sedimentation, climate patterns, species biodiversity, primary productivity and ocean-atmosphere-biosphere exchange. These changes are happening over a few decades. In the earlier "natural" world, such changes would have required typically thousands to millions of years to occur. How will plants, animals and the microbial world respond to such rapid change? Microorganisms are supremely adapted for coping with change. Should global conditions deteriorate, the small size of microbes allows them to "hide" in niches. Small cell size imparts a high surface/volume ratio, which allows rapid rates of chemical exchange with the cell's surroundings. Thus microbes can rapidly exploit favorable conditions. The diverse biochemistry of microbes permits them not only to survive, but even to prosper under environmental extremes. Already by 3.5 billion years ago, widespread microbial communities accommodated large meteorite impacts, UV irradiation, desiccation, wide excursions in temperature and salinity, and a long menu of chemical substrates as sources of energy and organic matter. For example, our early biosphere adapted to major changes in volcanism, coastal environments, atmospheric composition, and the oxidation state of the oceans and atmosphere. On the other hand, microorganisms can themselves contribute to environmental change by, for example, affecting rates of erosion and sedimentation or by influencing the atmosphere's inventory of reactive gases. Microbes responsible for infectious diseases evolve to circumvent medical treatments, thereby continually challenging human populations. In contrast with the bacteria, plants and animals are much larger, more complex and highly specialized. They typically depend upon a more limited suite of nutrients and a relatively narrow range of conditions for their survival. Accordingly, environmental change, human-induced or otherwise, can more easily trigger catastrophe within ecosystems which sustain these complex eukaryotic organisms. Modern challenges to the biosphere include rising atmospheric levels of CO2, SO2, CH4, CO, and N2O due to fossil fuel burning and agriculture (causing greenhouse climate effects as well as direct biospheric effects), declining ozone levels (leading to increased ultraviolet radiation), invasions of foreign species, and land use changes whose effects include the following: soil salinization, overgrazing, increased soil erosion, altered energy balance, loss of biodiversity, species extinctions, declines in food and fisheries, and chemical pollution. While large meteorite impacts, such as the one which marks the Cretaceous/Tertiary boundary, were perhaps more severe than modern human-induced changes, impacts still serve as useful models for the effects of catastrophic change on the biosphere. For example, the severe "winter" which had been predicted to follow a large impact alerted us to the "nuclear winter" which might follow thermonuclear war. Also, impacts remind us that catastrophism probably does play at least a limited, but still important, role in the long-term evolution of our biosphere. The role of impacts in evolution was perhaps most pronounced during the earliest stages of Earth's history, when impact rates were much higher. Sustaining Life in Space Because life evolved and developed on the Earth, it is uniquely adapted to function on this planet. To sustain life beyond the Earth's biosphere for prolonged periods of time will require a better understanding of the processes underlying biological adaptation and the interactions among organisms and their environments. The relationships among the behavioral, structural, and genetic bases of survival remain to be elucidated. Adaptability in biological systems is a given, but the limits of adaptability and the issue of irreversibility of adaptive changes are major concerns. A concerted effort in enhancing our knowledge of biological adaptation, and developmental and evolutionary biology, will be needed if we are to sustain terrestrial life beyond the Earth's biosphere. Electromagnetic radiation and gravity are two fundamental environmental variables that dramatically affect biological systems. On Earth, gravity is effectively constant in magnitude and direction, and the natural radiation environment has modest variability. These physical variables are difficult to control in space, and consequently can severely limit our ability to sustain life beyond the surface of the Earth. How the radiation environment beyond the Earth affects biological systems is only partially understood. In space, galactic cosmic rays and particles from solar events can be lethal to terrestrial life forms. We have a very limited ability to predict solar events, and our understanding of shielding techniques to manage radiation risks is poor. Further, our ability to characterize the radio-biological effectiveness of various ionized and non-ionized particles, is limited. Space travelers beyond low Earth orbit must, therefore, monitor the Sun for solar storms as a matter of life or death. Clearly, the effects of various forms of radiation on RNA and DNA are issues of major concern. Currently we are ignorant of the relationships among chromosomal damage, chromosomal aberrations, and carcinogenesis. The direct effects of high energy particles on the nervous system are also poorly understood, as are biological mechanisms for the repair of radiation damage. Gravity profoundly affects many biological systems, both directly and indirectly. The cardiovascular, musculoskeletal, and neurovestibular systems all undergo dramatic changes in space, where organisms are deprived of terrestrial gravity. For example, fluids shift from the lower limbs and lower torso to the upper torso and the head; blood volume is reduced; anti-gravity muscles in the lower limbs and torso tend to atrophy; bones that formerly supported the organism against gravity become less dense and more fragile; vestibular-ocular reflexes are altered, and the nervous system re-calibrates itself to function in the absence of gravity. Although these changes are generally benign for functioning in space, they can seriously compromise an organism's ability to function in a new gravitational environment and upon return to the Earth. Humans currently use multiple countermeasures to minimize the effects of non-terrestrial environments on physiological systems for periods of more than one year. These countermeasures, which include training procedures, protective garments, physical exercise, conditioning devices, and various pharmacological agents, may be of only limited value to sustain life beyond the Earth's biosphere for prolonged periods of time that ultimately will include multiple generations. Artificial gravity, provided by continuous or intermittent centrifugation, lower-body negative pressure exercise chambers, or other techniques, may be necessary. Our experience with artificial gravity for humans in space is limited to a single, brief, Gemini flight experiment, and our current knowledge base is inadequate to assess the need for artificial gravity to sustain life beyond the Earth's biosphere. Critical psychological variables in small group interactions during prolonged isolation in a perpetually hostile environment away from the home society are not well understood. The interactions of gravity, radiation, and isolation in non- terrestrial environments have never been studied systematically. Thus, many fundamental questions in the life sciences will need to be answered before we can assure that terrestrial life forms can be sustained beyond the Earth's biosphere for prolonged periods. With current technology, we are able to maintain terrestrial life beyond the Earth for periods in excess of one year. To sustain terrestrial life beyond the Earth for longer periods, it is necessary to create a micro-environment that is similar to that on Earth, at least initially. This environment must provide an atmosphere with a ppropriate partial pressures of O2 and allow for gas exchanges to support metabolism; it must provide adequate liquid water, appropriate microorganisms, adequate gravity, food, thermal protection, and radiation protection; it must allow for the partial recycling of nutrients and waste-products; finally, it must be stable and reliably sustainable for an indefinite period of time. Human Exploration of Mars As described in the section above, we still lack much of the fundamental knowledge necessary to send humans on extended space journeys beyond the protection of the Earth's biosphere (including its magnetic field). Only modest progress is being made towards actually carrying out the life science experiments and technology tests needed to ensure that a crew arriving at Mars will be at a sufficient fitness level (albeit that fitness level needs definition) to assure their well being and the success of their mission. Thus, fully effective countermeasures to deal with long duration exposure to microgravity have not yet been demonstrated, and the appropriate shielding requirements to deal with extended exposure to heavy galactic cosmic rays have not been fully defined. However, these issues appear tractable if appropriate experiments are conducted on the International Space Station and if appropriate particle accelerator experiments are carried out. A program to extend human presence to Mars will inevitably have both exploration and what we may term habitability goals. If evidence that life once evolved on Mars is discovered, human explorers will provide much of the scientific capability needed (beyond robotic capabilities projected for the next several decades) to investigate how the pre-biotic seeds of microbial life evolved and subsequently prospered or perished. Theory, laboratory experimentation, subterranean terrestrial sampling and meteoritic evidence suggest that microbial life could have evolved on early Mars. Our present lack of direct knowledge about subterranean martian environments should make us cautious, therefore, about concluding (as seems common) that any such early life would inevitably have become extinct on a planet where present surface conditions are indeed extremely hostile. To answer questions about possible extant life we need to explore the subsurface below the cryosphere, which extends to kilometer depths, and into the warmer martian hydrosphere. Although a thorough exploration of the martian subsurface by robots alone is feasible in principle, the combined effects of great communication distances and intrinsically limited machine intelligence might well require postponement of such exploration for many generations. Therefore, some astrobiologists are considering whether human exploration of Mars may be legitimately identified as a real scientific priority as the only efficient and timely way in which we will be able to study, at first hand, a second sample of life (all terrestrial life being linked to a common ancestor). The consequences of the discovery of life, past or present, on Mars in the coming decades will have profound implications beyond just the intense interest of molecular biologists. (Likewise, although it will be much harder to disprove the case, the determination that Mars never evolved life would also have profound implications.) Scientists and non-scientists alike will immediately appreciate the improbability that humans are "alone" in our galaxy. The discovery of life on Mars will surely add priority to the search for life elsewhere in our solar system (e.g. in the subterranean oceans of Europa), to the search for Earth-like planets orbiting other stars in our galaxy, and to the search for extraterrestrial intelligence. More generally, the stimulation of such a discovery of martian life is also likely to lead us to a recognition that, having the technological means at hand, we can be on the verge of becoming a multi-planet civilization, with Mars as our second abode. Responsible NASA Official: Dr. Larry Caroff Webmaster: Ken Bollinger [Find out more about astrobiology from the NASA Ames Astrobiology web page at http://astrobiology.arc.nasa.gov/] ------------------------------------------------------------------ ASTROBIOLOGY AT NASA from the Ames Astrobiology Home Page Astrobiology is the scientific study of the origin, distribution, and future of life in the universe. Recent exciting discoveries have set the stage for NASA's astrobiology initiative: * We have analyzed complex organic chemistry in interstellar clouds of gas and dust and have discovered planets circling other stars. * On Earth, life has been found thriving in Antarctic rocks, in boiling hot springs, at the ocean depths, and deep underground. * We know that liquid water, the essential ingredient for life as we know it, once flowed on the surface of Mars and probably exists today below the icy crust of Jupiter's moon Europa. * A rock from the ancient martian crust has revealed tantalizing hints of fossil microorganisms that may have lived more than 3 billion years ago. * Life on Earth has been traced back 3.8 billion years to the period when heavy cometary bombardment brought life-giving water and organic chemicals while battering Earth with lethal quantities of impact energy. * We are discovering both the fragility and robustness of life, as we investigate the history of mass extinctions on our planet, subtle alterations in climate triggered by atmospheric changes, and the partial destruction of our protective shield of ozone. * While we celebrate the ability of astronauts to live and achieve wonderful feats of engineering in space, we ponder the implications of baffling physiological and chemical changes induced by the space environment. We are only beginning to probe the adaptability of life to conditions beyond our home planet Earth. NASA's Astrobiology Program NASA initiative in astrobiology is a broad science effort embracing basic research, technology development, and flight missions. It is conducted at several NASA Centers and in the academic and industrial communities, with a lead role assigned to NASA's Ames Research Center in Mountain View, California. This initiative involves: * Basic research, carried out by scientists in universities and other laboratories across the nation. These research programs are supported in response to peer reviewed proposals to carry our specific interdisciplinary studies. * Missions to space. These include biological aspects of the study of stellar nurseries in which planets form and organic molecules are synthesized, search for life on Mars, identification of habitable planets circling distant stars, and experimental studies of the adaptation and evolution of life in space. * Astrobiology Institute. The Institute, managed by Ames Research Center, is a national consortium of scientists focused on interdisciplinary research, while also training a new generation of researchers with the broad skills, intellect and enthusiasm to realize the future potential of astrobiology. Astrobiology will take advantage of the world-wide web and other information systems to share the excitement of exploration with the public. As with all NASA programs, there will be a strong educational component -- because we wouldn't dream of exploring the living universe without taking the kids along! Astrobiology Research Opportunities * How did life begin? Modern science is able to approach this question from many directions. How did life originate on Earth? What are the processes of self-organization that led to the formation of membranes and cells? How did the first living systems acquire the ability to metabolize and reproduce? Within 15 years, we expect to have the answers to many of these questions. * To understand life's beginnings, we need to place it in its cosmic context. Are there other habitable worlds besides the Earth, either in our solar system or far beyond it? What is the origin of the water and organic chemicals that are the raw materials for life? Several NASA missions, such as the Space Infrared Telescope Facility, the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy, and the Next Generation Space Telescope will answer many of these questions. * We seek to understand our place in the universe, and to answer the age-old question, "Are we alone?" If we find Earth-size planets circling distant stars, can we determine their potential for life? What features are key for recognizing habitable planetary systems? Within 15 years we should be able to study individual Earth-like planets if they exist around nearby stars. * The Earth was a very different place 3.8 billion years ago, the age of the oldest fossils. How have the Earth and its biosphere evolved and interacted? And what are the implications of the environmental changes happening today? Comprehensive monitoring of our planet by the Earth Observing System in combination with ongoing academic research efforts will provide many answers. * Is there life on Mars or in the ocean of Jupiter's moon Europa? Where on these bodies should we search for life and its fossils, and how can we recognize them? Will all life be much like us, or will it differ in exciting ways? Study of life in extreme Earth environments and retrieval of martian samples should answer some question within 10 years, while others may require human flights to Mars. * The first outposts of life are now in orbit, and within the next generation we may move outward to the planets. How will terrestrial life adapt and evolve in extraterrestrial environments? Can we study evolution experimentally in space or on other planets? Research on the Space Station will address these basic questions within the next decade. * How can we understand how physical factors such as gravity and radiation influenced our genetic history? What are the prospects for establishing stable ecosystems on Mars that can support long- term human presence on that planet? These questions are addressed by a combination of laboratory studies, experiments on the Space Station, and the unfolding of the NASA Integrated Mars Exploration Program. Responsible NASA Official: Dr. Larry Caroff Webmaster: Ken Bollinger [Find out more about astrobiology from the NASA Ames Astrobiology web page at http://astrobiology.arc.nasa.gov/] ------------------------------------------------------------------ NASA ASTROBIOLOGY ACADEMY, AMES RESEARCH CENTER from the Ames Astrobiology Home Page Program Description and 1998 Activities--June 21 to August 29 Introduction The NASA Astrobiology Academy is a unique summer institute of higher learning whose goal is to help guide future leaders of the U.S. Space Program by giving them a glimpse of how the whole system works. The success of the Space Program results from the interaction of government, academia, and the private sector, each playing a critical and different role in the 35 year old civil program. Responsibilities overlap, leaders migrate from one sector to another and interdependence changes with each new administration. NASA's Charter, written in the 1958 Space Act, gives it the main role of using and exploring space for the betterment of humankind. Congress and the President have both supported and restrained NASA as its programs have evolved. President John F. Kennedy's vision of putting a man on the moon within the decade included much more than the Apollo spectacular of newspaper fame. After Apollo's success, NASA has constantly sought to redefine its goals and fine tune its schedule every year seeking a budget to match its imagination. We have explored most of the planets, measured the solar system, flown humans in long term endurance missions and short term operational missions, invented new technology and trained Congress, teachers, students, businesspeople, and engineers, developing a whole new generation familiar with the expertise of the "Space Age." The NASA Ames Research Center The Ames Research Center (ARC), located at Moffett Field, California, in the heart of Silicon Valley, specializes in revealing new knowledge about the universe, planetary systems, and life and in creating new technologies that enable exciting new ventures in aeronautics and space exploration. Throughout its history, results from Ames research have significantly influenced national and international policy, enabled most of the major space missions of the past twenty years, and contributed science discoveries and engineering insights that have rewritten the textbooks. In the process of these endeavors, Ames has made numerous contributions to environmental protection, public health, and the nation's economic well-being. Ames is unique in having world class ground, airborne, and space flight research capabilities in aeronautics, astrophysics, earth sciences, exobiology, fluid dynamics, gravitational biology, thermal protection technology, computational chemistry, planetary atmospheres, space laboratories, information sciences, and spacecraft life support. As a result, Ames is the only NASA center to support all NASA Strategic Enterprises and acts as technical bridge to transfer skill, knowledge and technologies among the NASA Enterprises. This multidisciplinary synergy has created the world's only capability for the comprehensive study of astrobiology--life's origin, evolution, distribution in the universe and destiny, from the protection of our planet to the evolution of terrestrial life into space. Ames is the lead NASA Center for astrobiology and is also the lead NASA Center for understanding the effects of gravity on living things. Ames plays a major role in understanding the origin, evolution, and distribution of stars, planets, and life in the universe. One important activity is Ames' unique research in atmosphere and ecosystems science in support of Mission to Planet Earth and the protection of the global environment. In space technologies Ames is also the lead center in providing the thermal protection systems that are critical for future access to space and planetary atmospheric entry vehicles. Ames is NASA's Center of Excellence in Information Systems technologies, encompassing research in supercomputing, networking, numerical computing software, artificial intelligence, and human factors to enable bold advances in aeronautics and space. In aeronautics, Ames is the agency lead center in airspace operations systems, including air traffic control and human factors, and the lead center for rotorcraft technology. Ames also has major responsibilities in the creation of design and development process tools and in wind tunnel testing. About 1600 civil servants and over 2000 contractor personnel are employed at Ames. In addition, Ames is proud to host more than 500 graduate students, cooperative education students, post- doctoral fellows and university faculty members who work in collaboration with Ames' preeminent scientists and technologists. Ames is a pioneer in the application of the multidisciplinary approach in science, technology, and projects. That is, combining the perspectives, training, and technologies of a variety of discipline experts to attack problems of exceptional difficulty. Multidisciplinary approaches are flexible and tend to stimulate cutting edge concepts. Successful application of this technique requires a deep appreciation for the talents, skills, and insights of others and an ability to cross organizational lines to reveal hidden treasures of understanding. Today, more and more scientists and high tech industries are using this approach with remarkable results. It is in this spirit of shared discovery and the synthesis of diverse talents that Ames offers the Astrobiology Academy. Students will contribute to every aspect of successful multidisciplinary research on Earth, in the air, and in space, from the formulation of an idea to the procurement of goods and services necessary to develop it, through the management, marketing, and manufacturing necessary to turn a concept into a reality. The Astrobiology Academy One goal of the Academy is to provide insight into all of the elements that make the NASA missions possible, while at the same time assigning the student to one of our best researchers to contribute towards one of our missions. Each student will be hand picked by a series of gates--panels, interviews, etc., starting with their own State Space Grant Consortium who has selected and agreed to sponsor them. The Ames researchers have been selected through a highly competitive process for selecting only the best, the brightest, and the most innovative. The "match" between student (Research Associate) and researcher (Principal Investigator) will be done by mutual selection. About 50% of the working time and most of the social time of the students will be spent as a "group" or "team" in plenary sessions. This time will be devoted to exchange of ideas, on forays into the highest level of decision making, prioritizing, planning and executing our space missions. This will be done by interviews with leaders and motivators of the space program. Besides the domestic Ames experts, we will bring in leaders from the aerospace, high-tech, and genetic engineering firms in Silicon Valley; local, state, and national political decision makers; international partners; advocates and adversaries of space exploration. The other 50% of the working time will be spent in the laboratory of the selected Principal Investigator working on the technical project. Activities--June 21 to August 29 These dates were selected to give most students a breather before returning to school. We know this is a compromise, as no two schools have identical schedules. It is important that you all begin together and all end together. The success of this Academy depends not on us as much as all of the students. We do not accept people who are not able to attend this entire period. All students must be U.S. citizens or hold a "green card." Our intention is to assure that the students interact as a "team." We will always try to spark your leadership qualities. While we encourage the students to stay together as much as possible; we do not want you to feel trapped. All students will be housed at a local university with access to mass transit. This past Academy was housed at Stanford University. We plan several trips on the weekends. These include trips to the Jet Propulsion Laboratories, to the Desert Research Institute in Nevada, to Lawrence Livermore Laboratories, to the Dryden Flight Research Center, to Vandenburg Air Force Base and to other areas of interest in the West. Other weekend trips will be planned by the selected students when they arrive. Anyone with a car is encouraged to bring it to gain maximum flexibility. Each of the ten weeks will be a unique group experience, but at the same time the student will be working on a research project with Investigators in the Ames laboratories or on our flight projects. Every morning after breakfast at Ames the work starts at 8 a.m., lunch is at Ames, and dinner can be back at the student housing or at local eateries. The Astrobiology Academy Experience This past summer 11 student, interested in life, space, or Earth sciences, space technology, or space engineering came from all over the U.S., were selected for the 10 week session to share a unique experience resulting from their own ingenuity and free spirit. This coming summer we expect to host 15 students. Our goal is to 'guide' not instruct. Teaching and learning are not the same. Teaching is the orthodoxy of our universities and colleges; learning is the "ah-ha!" process of finding out and understanding. That is our objective: to foster curiosity, to spirit endeavor, and to inspire leadership. All of these elements make the Astrobiology Academy a unique experience. All that is missing are the unique individuals who can make these elements into a meaningful education. [Find out more about astrobiology from the NASA Ames Astrobiology web page at http://astrobiology.arc.nasa.gov/] ------------------------------------------------------------------ DETAILED IMAGES FROM EUROPA POINT TO SLUSH BELOW SURFACE from the Brown University News Bureau 2 March, 1998 The latest, most detailed pictures of the Jupiter moon Europa lend more support to the theory that slush or even liquid water lurks beneath the moon's surface. Those pictures were presented and discussed by scientists from Brown University and NASA during a press briefing today on the Brown campus. The most detailed images ever taken of the Jupiter moon Europa show more evidence for slush beneath the bright moon's icy surface, say planetary scientists from Brown University and NASA who have analyzed data recently transmitted from the Galileo spacecraft. Slightly smaller than Earth's moon but many times brighter, Europa's icy surface has intrigued scientists ever since the Voyager spacecraft missions flew through the Jupiter system in 1979. At -260° F, the moon's surface temperature could deep- freeze an ocean over several million years, but some scientists are beginning to think that warmth from a tidal tug of war with Jupiter and neighboring moons could be keeping large parts of Europa's ocean liquid. The latest images released today were taken in December 1997 by the Galileo spacecraft and just received on Earth. The new images provide three key pieces of evidence showing that Europa may be slushy just beneath the icy crust and possibly even warmer at greater depths. The evidence includes a strangely shallow impact crater, chunky textured surfaces like icebergs, and gaps where new icy crust seems to have formed between continent-sized plates of ice. Some of the new images focus on the shallow center of the impact crater known as Pwyll. Impact rays and debris scattered over a large part of the moon show that a meteorite slammed into Europa relatively recently, about 10-100 million years ago. The darker debris around the crater suggests the impact excavated deeply buried material. But the crater's shallow basin and high set of mountain peaks may mean that subsurface ice was warm enough to collapse and fill in the deep hole, says Brown graduate student Geoffrey Collins, a member of the Galileo research team. A subsurface ocean warm enough to be slushy also may explain the origins of an area littered with fractured and rotated blocks of crust the size of several city blocks, called "chaos" terrain. The new images show rough and swirly material between the fractured chunks, which may have been suspended in slush that froze at the very low surface temperatures, says Robert Pappalardo, a postdoctoral research scientist at Brown and a member of the Galileo research team. On a larger scale, large plates of ice seem to be sliding over a warm interior on Europa, much like Earth's continental plates move around on our planet's partly molten interior. The new images of Europa show that the darker wedge-shaped gaps between the plates of ice have many similarities to new crust formed at mid-ocean ridges on the Earth's sea floor, says Brown graduate student Louise Prockter, a member of the Galileo research team who has studied high-resolution sonar images of the Mid- Atlantic Ridge and has visited the Pacific Ocean floor in the research submersible vehicle Alvin. The new crust welling up between the separating plates on Europa was likely initially slushy ice or possibly liquid water that has frozen and fractured, Prockter says. "Together, the evidence supports the hypothesis that in Europa's most recent history, liquid or at least partially liquid water existed at shallow depths below the surface of Europa in several different places," says James Head, Brown University professor of geological sciences and a group leader of the Galileo research team. "The combination of interior heat, liquid water, and infall of organic material from comets and meteorites means that Europa has the key ingredients for life," Head says. "Europa, like Mars and the Saturn moon Titan, is a laboratory for the study of conditions that might have led to the formation of life in the solar system." Images are available at http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo and http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov. Background on Europa data from the Galileo Mission to Jupiter Water or ice? Liquid or slushy or frozen solid? Ever since the Voyager spacecraft missions flew through the Jupiter system in 1979, planetary scientists have wondered about the layer of ice surrounding the planet. Europa's blindingly bright ice surface makes it one of the brightest objects in our solar system. Recent Galileo spacecraft images have provided evidence that Europa had a liquid ocean underneath the frozen crust sometime in its history, but it is not clear if this ocean still exists. Of the various explanations proposed by scientists, most scenarios of Europa's evolution have the water layer freezing solid earlier in its history. The moon's surface is -260°F, which could freeze an ocean over several million years. But some scientists are beginning to think that the warming caused by a tidal tug of war with Jupiter and neighboring moons could be keeping large parts of the ocean liquid. Key images New stereo and very high resolution images of Europa just transmitted to Earth from the Galileo Europa Mission fly-by in December 1997 may help support the theory that water or slush may slosh beneath Europa's frozen crust. Detailed enough to see a truck-sized object on the surface, the new images are hundreds of times higher resolution than the best Voyager images and three to 20 times higher than earlier Galileo pictures. The Brown and NASA scientists point to three key pieces of evidence from the detailed images: * The subdued topography of the young impact crater Pwyll, whose rays cover a significant part of the surface of Europa; * Large plates of ice and iceberg-like structures called "chaos terrain"; and * Gaps between plates of ice known as "wedges" where new crust appears to have formed recently. Oceans and life "Together, the craters, chaos and wedges support the hypothesis that in Europa's most recent history, liquid or at least partially liquid water existed at shallow depths below the surface of Europa in several different places," says James Head, Brown University professor of geological sciences. "These and other data lend support to the hypothesis that Europa is warm and active today and potentially characterized by a global subsurface water layer or ocean. Europa, like Mars and the Saturn moon Titan, is a laboratory for the study of conditions that might have led to the formation and evolution of life. The combination of interior heat, liquid water, and infall of organic material from comets and meteorites means that Europa has the key ingredients for life, and it represents an exciting environment that is worthy of further detailed exploration." Crater evidence Rays and debris from the impact that formed Pwyll Crater radiate over a large part of the moon's surface. Galileo took pictures of the impact crater from two perspectives to determine the three- dimensional shape of the crater. Colleagues at the DLR (German Aerospace Research Establishment) converted these images into a colored map showing the depth of the crater and the height of its peaks. Unlike most young, deep impact craters, the floor of Pwyll is at the same level as the exterior, says Brown graduate student Geoffrey Collins. The central peaks of the crater are more than 2,000 feet high--four times higher than the Washington Monument-- and higher than the crater rim. This means that this young crater was warm and weak and collapsed during or very shortly after the meteorite impact, in contrast to craters formed in cold, stiff material. Debris that flowed from the violent impact is dark, suggesting excavation of different material from below the surface. All this suggests that water just beneath the surface was warm enough to be slushy in the moon's recent history. Chaos evidence The new images from Galileo help answer some questions about other areas of Europa that are littered with fractured and rotated blocks of crust the size of several city blocks (dubbed chaos terrain). These fractured ice chunks appeared to be either sliding on soft glacier-like ice below the surface or floating like icebergs in a more fluid material. The new images show that the material between the cracked and separated plates of crust is rough and swirly, says Robert Pappalardo, a postdoctoral research scientist at Brown. The pieces are immersed in what appears to be a slush that is now frozen solid. The very low temperatures at the surface of Europa (-260° F) mean that any water exposed at the surface would freeze immediately and might create this kind of texture. The rough chaos terrain, as well as the movement and rotation of the blocks, suggest that the crust was at least partially liquid at shallow depths. Wedges Evidence Other images are helping unravel more mysteries. Pieces of the moon's glaringly white crust are separated by wedged-shaped pieces of darker, newer crust, welling up from below, freezing and cracking. The separated pieces of white crust would fit back together like a jig-saw puzzle, suggesting that plate tectonic- like activity might be occurring on Europa to form the wedges. Composed of a set of narrow linear ridges and parallel grooves, the dark wedge has many similarities to new crust formed at mid- ocean ridges on the Earth's sea floor, says Brown graduate student Louise Prockter, who has studied high-resolution sonar images of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and has visited the Pacific Ocean floor in the research submersible vehicle Alvin. Like Earth, new crust seems to be welling up, separating, and replacing older crust. On Europa, the molten material solidifying on the surface was likely slushy ice or liquid water. Next Step To confirm the existence of such a layer, determine its depth and investigate its nature and global extent, further observations are planned for the Galileo Europa Mission, and other experiments are planned for a Europa Orbiter Mission to be launched in 2003, says Michael J. S. Belton of the National Optical Astronomy Observatory in Tucson, AZ, and team leader for the solid state imaging system. ------------------------------------------------------------------ MARS SURVEYOR 98 PROJECT STATUS REPORT by John McNamee 27 February, 1998 Orbiter and lander integration and test activities are proceeding on schedule with no significant problems. Acoustic testing of the orbiter was completed successfully on Feb 25. Orbiter electromagnetic compatibility testing will be conducted next week. Mechanical integration of the lander to the cruise configuration is in process. Installation of the landing legs, medium gain antenna, and solar arrays on the lander is complete and the vehicle will be encapsulated within the aeroshell next week. The lander spacecraft in full cruise configuration will be transported to the acoustics lab at Lockheed Martin on March 9. For more information on the Mars Surveyor 98 mission, please visit the following web site: http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msp98/ ------------------------------------------------------------------ CD-ROM TO CARRY NAMES TO MARS from the "JPL Universe" 20 February, 1998 NASA is inviting schoolchildren to be part of the Mars Polar Lander mission by submitting their names to the included on a CD- ROM that will fly onboard the spacecraft. Students who register online at http://comet.hq.nasa.gov/mars98 or http://spacekids.hq.nasa.gov/mars/home.htm will have their names recorded for the CD-ROM. In addition, they can view and print a special certificate that commemorates their participation in the event. The agency's goal is to collect 1 million names of schoolchildren from around the world for the CD-ROM. ------------------------------------------------------------------ CASSINI SIGNIFICANT EVENT REPORT JPL release 27 February, 1998 Spacecraft Status: The Cassini spacecraft is presently traveling at a speed relative to the sun of approximately 135,000 kilometers/hour (~83,000 mph) and has traveled approximately 343 million kilometers (~213 million miles) since launch on October 15, 1997. The most recent Spacecraft status is from the DSN tracking pass on Thursday, 02/26, over Canberra. The Cassini spacecraft is in an excellent state of health and is operating nominally, with the C6 sequence executing onboard. Inertial attitude control is being maintained using the spacecraft's hydrazine thrusters (RCS system). The spacecraft continues to fly in a High Gain Antenna-to-Sun attitude. It will maintain the HGA-to-Sun attitude, except for planned trajectory correction maneuvers, for the first 14 months of flight. Communication with Earth during early cruise is via one of the spacecraft's two low-gain antennas; the antenna selected depends on the relative geometry of the Sun, Earth and the spacecraft. The downlink telemetry rate is presently 40 bps. Spacecraft Activity Summary: On Friday, 02/20, the Solid State Recorder (SSR) record and playback pointers were reset, according to plan. This housekeeping activity, done approximately weekly, maximizes the amount of time that recorded engineering data is available for playback to the ground should an anomaly occur on the spacecraft. On Saturday, 02/21, Sunday, 02/22, and Monday, 02/23, there were no changes in spacecraft configuration. On Monday, 02/23, the mini-sequence containing Cassini's second Trajectory Correction Maneuver was approved for uplink to the spacecraft. On Tuesday, 02/24, the TCM2 mini-sequence was uplinked to the spacecraft. Also on Tuesday, the SSR record and playback pointers were reset, per plan, in preparation for the TCM. On Wednesday, 02/25, Cassini's second Trajectory Correction Maneuver (TCM) was performed at approximately Noon, PST. Because the magnitude of the needed trajectory correction was very small, the TCM2 maneuver was conducted using the spacecraft's hydrazine thrusters, rather than one of its main engines. Realtime data gave preliminary indications of a good burn; this result was confirmed later Wednesday afternoon using high-resolution telemetry played back from the SSR. The total change in spacecraft velocity (delta-V magnitude) was approximately 0.18 meters/sec, as planned. All spacecraft and ground components performed superbly. The TCM2 maneuver puts the spacecraft on target for its final adjustment (TCM3, scheduled for early April) prior to the 26 April flyby of Venus. On Thursday, 02/26, there were no changes to spacecraft configuration. Upcoming spacecraft events: Events for the week of 02/27 through 03/05 include: a reset of the SSR pointers (03/03), SSR Flight Software Partition Maintenance (03/04), and an adjustment of the PCA Panel HTR thresholds and unmasking of the 158bps telemetry mode (03/05). DSN Coverage: Over the past week Cassini had 14 DSN tracks occurring daily from Friday (02/20), through Thursday (02/26). In the coming week there will be 8 DSN passes. Nicole Rappaport has left the Science Office to take up duties on the Genesis Project at JPL. She will remain, however, as a Team Member on RSS. Two new people have been hired to work in the area of "science system engineering." Both have PhDs in the fields related to planetary science. Kevin Grazier received his PhD from UCLA, and Stuart Stephens received his PhD degree at Caltech. A presentation about the Cassini Mission (including the safety of the Earth swingby) was made by Reed Wilcox at the annual meeting of the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space Scientific and Technical Subcommittee (UNCOPUOS/STSC) in Vienna, Austria. During the meeting the STSC adopted a joint US/UK/Russia work plan that provides for a five year effort to develop a technical foundation for future UNCOPUOS deliberations on space nuclear power sources. The French delegation stated that within the scope of the work plan, consideration should be given to NPS safety issues (e.g., the possibility of releases) on surfaces of the moon and other planets. This concern could lead to public discussions of the controlled disposal of the Cassini RTGs later in the mission. ------------------------------------------------------------------ DUST AND SOIL EXPERIMENT CHOSEN FOR MARS 2001 MISSION JPL release 27 February, 1998 Potential hazards that the soil and dust of Mars might pose to human explorers will be studied by an instrument recently selected by NASA to fly on the Mars Surveyor 2001 lander spacecraft. The Mars Environmental Compatibility Assessment (MECA) was one of two experiments chosen by NASA this month from a field of 39 proposals for instruments to perform studies that will benefit eventual human exploration of the red planet. MECA will analyze the dust and soil of Mars to investigate potential hazards to human explorers. The instrument will examine dust and soil using an optical microscope provided by the Max Planck Institute for Aeronomy in Germany and the University of Arizona. In the experiment, soil will be mixed with water carried aboard the spacecraft to investigate such topics as the acidity or alkalinity of the soil; potential for oxidation; electrical conductivity; and the presence of potentially toxic dissolved ions on Mars. The experiment will also monitor the charge buildup on the instrument's digging arm to learn about electrostatic buildup. The 2001 Mars missions represent the first step in an agency initiative to fly experiments supporting NASA's Human Exploration and Development of Space program on robotic exploration missions carried out by NASA's Office of Space Science. The 2001 lander is scheduled to launch in April 2001, while its companion orbiter spacecraft is set to launch approximately one month earlier. NASA's Office of Life and Microgravity Sciences and Applications sponsors MECA. Dr. Michael Hecht of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory is project manager, Dr. Thomas Meloy of West Virginia University is principal investigator and John Marshall of NASA's Ames Research Laboratory is deputy principal investigator. ------------------------------------------------------------------ MARS SOCIETY FOUNDING CONVENTION by the Mars Society Mars Society Founding Convention to be held August 13-16, 1998 at the University of Colorado, Boulder CO. The purpose of the Mars Society will be to further the exploration and settlement of the Red Planet through: 1. Broad public outreach; 2. Support of aggressive mars exploration programs around the world; 3. Initiating Mars exploration on a private basis. Speakers include Mike Griffin, Robert Zubrin, Chris McKay, Carol Stoker, Kim Stanley Robinson and others. Conference Registration fee: $140 before 6/30/98, $180 thereafter. Send registration to the Mars Society address listed below, or fax the form from our web site, located at http://www.nw.net/mars CALL FOR PAPERS - Papers for presentation at the convention are requested dealing with all matters (science, engineering, economics, and public policy) associated with the exploration and settlement of Mars. Abstracts of no more than 300 words should be sent before 5/31 to mzubrin@aol.com, or mailed to: Mars Society P.O. Box 273 IndianHills, CO 80454 USA Help spread the word! Post this notice on your web site and forward it to your friends. ------------------------------------------------------------------ End Marsbugs Vol. 5, No. 4.