MARSBUGS: The Electronic Astrobiology Newsletter Volume 5, Number 25, 4 December 1998. Editors: Dr. David Thomas, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID, 83844-3051, USA. Marsbugs@aol.com or davidt@uidaho.edu. Dr. Julian Hiscox, Division of Molecular Biology, IAH Compton Laboratory, Berkshire, RG20 7NN, UK. Julian.Hiscox@bbsrc.ac.uk 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. While we cannot copyright our mailing list, our readers would appreciate it if others would not send unsolicited e-mail using the Marsbugs mailing list. The editors do not condone "spamming" of our subscribers. Persons who have information that may be of interest to subscribers of Marsbugs should send that information to the editors. E-mail subscriptions are free, and may be obtained by contacting either of the editors. Article 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 and Adobe Acrobat PDF files suitable for printing may be obtained via anonymous FTP at ftp.uidaho.edu/pub/mmbb/marsbugs or at the official Marsbugs web page at http://members.aol.com/marsbugs/marsbugs.html. 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. Astrobiology 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 and astrobiology (life on other planets), the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI), ecopoeisis and terraformation, Earth from space, planetary biology, primordial evolution, space physiology, biological life support systems, and human habitation of space and other planets. ------------------------------------------------------------------ CONTENTS 1) THE FROSTY PLAINS OF EUROPA By Tony Philips 2) SECOND ELEMENT OF INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION TO BE LAUNCHED European Space Agency release 52-98 3) 1998 MARS SURVEYOR PROJECT STATUS REPORT By John McNamee ------------------------------------------------------------------ THE FROSTY PLAINS OF EUROPA By Tony Philips From NASA Space Science News 3 December 1998 As Galileo returns new images of Europa, NASA scientists prepare to study samples from a potentially similar environment here on Earth. The large Jovian moon Europa may be hiding liquid water beneath its frozen crust. We won't know for sure until robotic explorers one day venture below the surface of that icy moon in search of oceans and possibly life. For now we must learn what we can from surface photos of Europa, like this one captured by the Galileo spacecraft, and from studies of a mysterious subterranean lake here on Earth. [Galileo image of a region of Europa] Above: North is to the lower left of the picture and the sun illuminates the surface from the upper left. The image, centered at 40 degrees north latitude and 225 degrees west longitude, covers an area approximately 800 by 350 kilometers (500 by 220 miles). The resolution is 230 meters (250 yards) per picture element. The picture above is a mosaic of images from Europa's southern hemisphere. The brown, linear ridges extending across the scene are thought to be frozen remnants of cryo-volcanic activity. "Cryo-volcanoes" (cold volcanoes) occur when liquid or partially frozen water erupts onto the Europan surface, freezing instantly in the extremely low temperatures so far from our sun. [A closer view of icy ridges and water ice on Europa] Left: A closer view of the volcanic ridges and areas of blue that scientists believe are frozen water on Europa. A geologically older, smoother surface, bluish in tone, underlies the ridge system. The blue surface is composed of almost pure water ice, whereas the composition of the dark, brownish spots and ridges is not certain. One possibility is that they contain mineral salts in a matrix of high water content. Europa's frosty 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 it's possible that warmth from a tidal tug of war with Jupiter and neighboring moons could be keeping large parts of Europa's ocean liquid. Tidal friction from Jupiter is also thought to be responsible for volcanic activity on Europa's neighbor Io, and for a similar underground ocean on Callisto. The next best thing to being there… Many scientists would love to travel to Europa to study conditions there first-hand, but regular flights to Jupiter probably won't begin for some time. Meanwhile, there is an environment right here on Earth with significant similarities to Europa and Callisto, a place called Lake Vostok. Below: In 1993 altimetric and radar data were used to trace this outline of Lake Vostok, located about 1000 miles from the South Pole. [Image] In 1974 a team of scientists conducting airborne research passed over the Soviet research station Vostok in Antarctica. Their sounding instruments detected an expanse of water beneath the ice roughly the size of Lake Ontario. Although Antarctica records some of the coldest temperatures on Earth, Lake Vostok is buried under four kilometers of ice. The ice sheet acts as a blanket, shielding the lake from cold temperatures on the surface. It is also thought that geothermal heat helps keep the water liquid. Earlier this year Richard Hoover of NASA's Marshall Space Sciences Lab and Dr. S. S. Abyzov of the Russian Academy of Sciences examined ice cores from above Lake Vostok for evidence of microbiotic life, using an Environmental Scanning Electron Microscope. What they found surprised them. "We've found some really bizarre things - things that we've never seen before," said Richard Hoover of NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center. "There are all sorts of microorganisms in the ice. Some are readily recognizable as cyanobacteria, bacteria, fungi, spores, pollen grains, and diatoms, but some are not recognizable as anything we've ever seen before," Hoover said. [klingon] Above, right: One of the more exotic forms Hoover and Abyzov found in the deep ice. Many of these microbes will undoubtedly fall into known categories when identifications are made. Hoover is about to begin new studies of the deep ice microorganisms in collaboration with Academician Mikhail V. Ivanov, Director of the Institute of Microbiology of the Russian Academy of Sciences to search for microorganisms in very deep samples of Vostok ice. Extremely deep ice samples from just 100 meters above the surface of the lake were obtained earlier this year by Russian scientists from the St. Petersburg Mining Institute and The Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute. The samples, which are about 400,000 years old, are due to arrive at the Marshall Space Sciences Lab in January 1999 for analysis with the ESEM. According to Richard Hoover, "These are the deepest samples ever obtained, and the deepest that ever will be obtained until new technology allows us to actually penetrate the surface of Lake Vostok without contaminating it." Although scientists are anxious to know what lies within the pristine waters of the lake itself, they are contenting themselves for now with ice from above. "Lake Vostok is an incredibly precious resource," Hoover continued, "and it would be a colossal mistake to take samples before we are absolutely sure we can do so without contaminating the waters." Lake Vostok is clearly a valuable new laboratory for astrobiologists, and they intend to proceed very, very carefully. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA manages the Galileo mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, DC. ------------------------------------------------------------------ SECOND ELEMENT OF INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION TO BE LAUNCHED European Space Agency release 52-98 1 December 1998 The second element of the new International Space Station is set to be launched on Thursday 3 December aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, less than two weeks after the first element was placed in orbit by a Russian Proton launcher from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan (on 20 November). The two elements will be connected together in space to create the foundation for the new Space Station. More than 100 elements will be added over the next five years, requiring a total of 45 assembly flights using the Space Shuttle and two types of Russian launchers. Europe, as one of the five partners in the International Space Station (together with the United States, Russia, Japan and Canada), will take part in 19 of the 45 planned assembly flights. In addition to supplying much technical and scientific equipment, ESA is contributing two major elements--the multi-purpose Columbus laboratory and a vehicle to be launched by Europe's Ariane 5 to transport supplies to the Space Station. The first element of the Space Station in orbit, the Russian-built control module named Zarya, has been circling the Earth since its launch on 20 November while flight controllers checked out the performance of its systems in preparation for the arrival of the second element. The second element, a U.S.-made connecting module named Unity, will be carried into orbit in Endeavour's cargo bay. It has six docking ports and will serve as the basic building block to which all future U.S. modules will be attached. On the third day of the flight, Endeavour will catch up with Zarya and, using the Shuttle's robotic arm, the astronauts onboard will capture Zarya and join it to Unity. Two crewmembers will then perform three "spacewalks" on subsequent days to complete the connections between the two modules. Endeavour will then separate and return home, leaving the new and as yet unpiloted station in orbit. Endeavour's crew of six will include Russian cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev. On the day before the final spacewalk, he and another crewmember will enter Unity-Zarya through the Shuttle's docking mechanism for the first time to transfer spare equipment and complete assembly work. Krikalev will return to the Space Station in early 2000 when the first crew of three moves into the new station. Endeavour is scheduled to be launched at 03:59 EST (09:59 Central European Time) on 03 December. The exact launch time will be determined during the final hour of the launch countdown as NASA and Russian mission controllers identify Zarya's exact orbital position. For further information, visit: http:/www.estec.esa.nl/spaceflight ------------------------------------------------------------------ 1998 MARS SURVEYOR PROJECT STATUS REPORT By John McNamee, Mars Surveyor 98 project manager 30 November 1998 Mars Climate Orbiter: Launch -10 days The orbiter was transported to Launch Pad 17A (SLC 17A) and stacked successfully on the Delta launch vehicle. Mars Polar Lander: Launch -34 days Electrical testing to close various open items was conducted successfully. For more information on the Mars Surveyor 98 mission, please visit our web site at http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msp98 ------------------------------------------------------------------ End Marsbugs Vol. 5, No. 25