MARSBUGS: The Electronic Astrobiology Newsletter Volume 7, Number 21, 5 June 2000. Editors: Dr. David J. Thomas, Biology and Chemistry Division, Lyon College, Batesville, AR 72503-2317, USA. dthomas@lyon.edu Dr. Julian A. Hiscox, School of Animal and Microbial Sciences, University of Reading, Reading, RG6 6AJ, United Kingdom. J.A.Hiscox@reading.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 from the official Marsbugs web page at http://www.lyon.edu/webdata/users/dthomas/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 from 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) LARGEST METEORITE FIND IN CANADIAN HISTORY University of Calgary press release 2) ARCTIC ASTEROID! By Tony Phillips 3) LAST CHANCE TO BECOME A STUDENT SCIENTIST WITH RED ROVER GOES TO MARS Planetary Society release 4) WORKSHOP ANNOUNCEMENT: CONCEPTS AND APPROACHES FOR MARS EXPLORATION JPL release 5) THIS WEEK ON GALILEO JPL release 6) NEW GALILEO IMAGES OF IO By Ron Baalke 7) STARDUST STATUS REPORT JPL release --------------------------------------------------------------------- LARGEST METEORITE FIND IN CANADIAN HISTORY University of Calgary press release http://www.ucalgary.ca/unicomm/NewsReleases/meteor2.htm 31 May 2000 Outdoorsman Jim Brook and scientists at The University of Western Ontario (UWO) and the University of Calgary (U of C) have recovered the largest meteorite fall in Canadian history. Analysis shows the meteorite is composed of a very rare material, making it among the most scientifically significant meteorite finds worldwide. The meteorites fell on the morning of January 18, 2000 in a remote area between Atlin, British Columbia and Carcross, Yukon Territory. A week later on January 25th, a nearby resident, Jim Brook, found the first meteorite fragments while driving homewards on the ice of Taku Arm in Tagish Lake. Jim Brook describes his discovery, "I was watching closely for meteorites and suspected their identity as soon as I saw them, although I had been fooled several times by wolf droppings. It was obvious what they were as soon as I picked one up, because rocks aren't found on the ice, and I could see the outer melted crust. I was very happy and excited." Darkness soon ended additional meteorite hunting that day, but Jim was back the next morning, collecting several dozen of the space rocks. Since that find, U of C and UWO researchers, working with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), have made several trips to the area to collect samples of the very fragile meteorites and to map the fall area. To date, 500 fragments have been found and hundreds have been recovered from the site - many still encased in ice. "This is the find of a lifetime," says Peter Brown, meteor scientist in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at The University of Western Ontario and co-leader of the meteorite recovery investigation. "The size of the initial object, the extreme rarity and organic richness of the meteorites combined with the number we have uncovered make this a truly unique event." "Of all the times I dreamed of finding meteorites, I never thought of finding them like this," says Alan Hildebrand (left), planetary scientist in the Department of Geology and Geophysics at the University of Calgary and the other investigation co-leader. "One day while I was picking pieces of meteorite out of porous ice I thought that the experience must be a bit like sampling on the surface of a comet. We believe these to be the most fragile meteorites ever recovered." Initial analysis by Michael Zolensky, a meteoriticist at NASA's Johnson Space Center showed the meteorites were a type of carbonaceous chondrite--a rare, organically rich, charcoal-like class of meteorites. Zolensky says that his work and that of colleagues "provides indications that the meteorites are unique carbonaceous chondrites with hints of relation to the CI chondrites." Carbonaceous chondrite meteorites make up about three per cent of meteorite finds. The possible chemical class of this fall constitutes less than 0.1 per cent of all meteorites recovered to date, and represents the most primordial samples known from the early solar system. While the possibilities have researchers very excited, the meteorites' true significance remains to be fully understood. However, Jim Brook's careful collection of pristine meteorites from the icebox of a Canadian winter and subsequent frozen storage has opened brand new doors for meteorite researchers around the world. The Nomenclature Committee of the Meteoritical Society has officially designated the name Tagish Lake Meteorite for the fall specimens. Using eyewitness and photographic data gathered during the field investigations, and observations from two US Department of Defense satellite systems, the trajectory and velocity of the fireball were determined. The ability to calculate this is a relatively new development in meteorite science--essentially allowing researchers to determine a meteorite's pre-fall size, orbit and origin in space. "There have only been four previous meteorites for which accurate orbits are known and no orbits for a carbonaceous chondrite have ever been secured," says Brown. "The entire process of recovery of the material and determination of where it comes from makes this the scientific equivalent of an actual sample-return space mission--at a thousandth of the cost." "The Tagish Lake fall is the largest ever recorded over land by the satellite systems," notes Hildebrand. "The recovery of hundreds of meteorites allows studies which will precisely constrain the meteorite's size when it entered the Earth's atmosphere. Calibrating the satellite observations for such a large object will help us understand all the fireballs that the satellites record around the globe, in effect creating a global fireball camera system. These observations will increase our knowledge of both the hazards and opportunities created by the Earth-crossing asteroids and comets." In the same spirit with which hundreds of eyewitnesses described their observations and donated photographs and videos to the investigation, and the U.S. Department of Defense quickly supplied satellite data, the two universities and Jim Brook have agreed to immediately make available some of the rare meteorite to researchers. Forty grams of once water-soaked (but now dried) meteorite fragments are now available on a proposal basis to interested researchers. Work descriptions and sample requirements (to a maximum length of one page) should be sent to hildebra@geo.ucalgary.ca for consideration before June 30, 2000. Material for analysis will be provided to all successful proposals within 30 days barring unanticipated circumstances. Backgrounder January 18, 2000 - The fireball - A spectacular meteor crosses the Yukon Territory into northern British Columbia at 08:43 PST. Eyewitnesses reported a brilliant, multicolored fireball that lit up the countryside. Sizzling sounds and peculiar smells that remain to be adequately explained accompanied the fireball. Ground shaking detonations followed a few minutes after the meteor's passage when its sound arrived at the land surface. The fireball and its explosions were so stunning that local residents were concerned about the safety of their children and friends. The fireball was also observed by satellites in Earth orbit, maintained by the U.S. Department of Defense (D of D). These observations established an asteroid weighing 200 tonnes and approximately five metres across had impacted the Earth's atmosphere. Data from D of D satellites were available within hours of the event, the quickest any such data have been released after a bolide event by the D of D. January 19, 2000 - Airbourne sampling - From information gathered via email and press reports, Peter Brown, meteor scientist at The University of Western Ontario, discusses with Dr. Michael Zolensky of NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC) the possibility of arranging an ER- 2 aircraft sampling flight over the area to attempt to recover small airborne particles. A series of two flights is approved, but technical problems ground a first flight and only one air photo/air sampling flight is performed on January 21, 2000. Analysis of particles from this air-sampling mission are ongoing. January 26, 2000 - Meteorites discovered - While Jim Brook was driving south on the ice of Taku Arm, Tagish Lake, British Columbia, he noticed small dark rocks on the ice. He suspected that these were meteorites from the fireball. He carefully collected the rocks, covering his fingers with clean plastic and placing the meteorites in plastic bags. Brook uncovered almost one kilogram of this material during a total of only a few hours of searching on the lake ice late on January 25 and early on January 26. Snow blankets the area on January 27 ending recovery opportunities. February 7, 2000 - Rare meteorite type confirmed - Zolensky receives two samples from Brook with transportation arranged by the Geological Survey of Canada. He confirms their suspected identification as carbonaceous chondrites. Counting of short-lived cosmogenic nuclides begins immediately at JSC. February 16 - 28, 2000 - Fireball investigation and field search - An initial field investigation is led by Brown and Hildebrand to the fall area. Eyewitnesses of the fireball across the Yukon and northern B.C. are interviewed, and video and photographic stills of the long-lasting dust cloud left by the fireball are gathered. An initial path through the atmosphere is calculated. The lake area and adjacent forest along Taku Arm, Tagish Lake, where the initial meteorites were recovered is searched in an effort to recover more pristine material. However, the heavy snow cover proves insurmountable. The decision is made that, if more meteorites are present, they probably can't be found until the spring melt arrives. April 6-15, 2000 - Second expedition - Additional fireball data are gathered. From the information obtained during the first field investigation a more accurate path has been derived for the fireball trajectory. With velocity data from satellite observations, calculations were performed as to where meteorites of various sizes would have fallen to narrow the potential search area. April 15-19, 2000 - Spring thaw accelerates - Searching of the fall area begins again despite continued snow cover. Snow depths decrease during these five days as temperatures increase. Searching bare spots on land yields no meteorites. April 20, 2000 - Meteorites found - The first meteorites are found and a race against time begins. The Taku Arm lake ice would soon melt and ever changing conditions complicated field work. In the first few days less than 10 meteorites were recovered per day. These meteorites were absorbing sunlight and rapidly sinking through the meter-thick ice. The recovery team wondered how much longer meteorites could be found and retrieved. Then searching conditions improved and totals found soared, reaching a high of 94 meteorites in one day. May 8, 2000 - Unsafe conditions and an exhausted team - The ice in the fall region had become unsafe, and recovery efforts stop. Approximately 500 meteorites had been found on Taku Arm in a strewn field 16 kilometres long and three kilometres wide. Thousands more fell on the ice and the surrounding hills and mountains, but none have yet been found on land. Approximately 200 meteorites were recovered totaling five to 10 kilograms in mass, but most of this material remains frozen and a tonne of meteorite-bearing ice is now in storage. A field effort consisting of 234 person field days is now over. This recovery effort is believed unique in the history of meteoritics. May 28, 2000 - Meteorites "drown" - Jim Brook reports that the ice of Taku Arm is now gone. Field recovery participants February 16-28, 2000: Mr. Andrew Bird (U of C - Geology and Geophysics) Mr. Jim Brook Dr. Peter Brown (UWO - Physics and Astronomy) Dr. Alan Hildebrand (U of C - Geology and Geophysics) Mr. Mike Mazur (U of C - Geology and Geophysics) Ms. Tina Mazur-Rubak (U of C - Educational Psychology) April 6-May 8, 2000: Mr. Jim Brook Dr. Peter Brown (UWO - Physics and Astronomy) Ms. Margaret Campbell (UWO - Physics and Astronomy) Mr. Robert Carpenter (UWO - Earth Sciences) Mrs. Heather Gingerich (UWO - Earth Sciences) Ms. Erika Greiner (UWO - Earth Sciences) Mr. Mike Glatiotis (U of C - Geology and Geophysics) Dr. Alan Hildebrand (U of C - Geology and Geophysics) Mr. Philip McCausland (UWO - Earth Science) Mr. Mike Mazur (U of C - Geology and Geophysics) Dr. Howard Plotkin (UWO - Philosophy) Ms. Doreen Stangel Dr. Edward Tagliaferri (Aerospace Corporation - Los Angeles, CA) Terminology Carbonaceous Chondrites: A rare class of meteorites that have suffered exposure to water on their original parent body surfaces in space. This meteorite group is among the most primitive material in the solar system, having generally escaped from high-temperature processing. Carbonaceous chondrites are also unique in that they contain significant carbon, primarily in the form of organic compounds similar to those found in living organisms on Earth. Amino acids, for example, have been identified in carbonaceous chondrites, including a large number which do not occur naturally on Earth. These meteorites are metal-poor and water rich, in contrast to almost all other meteorite classes. Satellite Systems: The U.S. Department of Defense maintains two satellite systems that can detect fireballs caused by asteroidal and cometary fragments entering Earth's atmosphere. One system consists of visible light sensors which 'stare' continuously at the Earth; they have high temporal resolution of transient flashes and measure the total energy released at visible wavelengths. A second system of detectors is sensitive in the infrared (IR) and scan across the visible face of the Earth at intervals; the IR detectors can provide location and velocity information for fireballs. Map of Tagish Lake, BC, and location of meteorites: http://phobos.astro.uwo.ca/~pbrown/mets.jpg The Canadian Meteorite Catalogue: http://www.geo.ucalgary.ca/cdnmeteorites/ --------------------------------------------------------------------- ARCTIC ASTEROID! By Tony Phillips From NASA Space Science News http://spacescience.com/headlines/y2000/ast01jun_1m.htm 1 June 2000 On January 18, 2000, residents of Western Canada were surprised when a fireball as bright as the Sun streaked across the morning sky. Exploding with an estimated yield of 5-10 thousand tons of TNT, the brilliant meteor attracted the attention of defense satellites, seismic monitoring stations, and just about anyone who happened to be standing outdoors within 700-800 km of the dazzling meteor's path. "People described it as coming over the mountains, over their heads, and then disappearing over the horizon," says Dr. Peter Brown of the University of Western Ontario. "It was very long-lasting and unusual. We estimate that this object was about 7 meters across and 200 to 250 metric tons. This wasn't your average meteoroid--it was basically a C-class asteroid detonating in the atmosphere over the Arctic!" The first fragments of the object were discovered in January by a local resident near the spot where the meteorite hit. "He was driving his truck across a frozen lake [Tagish Lake] when he noticed some black rock on the snow-covered ice," recounted Brown during a recent presentation at the NASA/Marshall Space Flight Center. "Fortunately, we had been in contact with him beforehand [because he lived near the expected fall-zone] so he knew how to collect the samples. He placed them in clean plastic bags and kept them continuously frozen--they've never been touched by human hands. He found several dozen pieces after looking for 90 minutes." "The fragments have been positively identified as carbonaceous chondrites," says Brown. "This is very important. Carbonaceous chondrites are the most pristine, organically-rich meteorites known. The ones that we find soon after a fall are even better than Antarctic meteorites, which have been sitting out for a long, long time--in some cases 10,000 years or more. This is the first time a meteorite has fallen in a cold arctic area and been quickly recovered." In April, 2000, Brown and a team of scientists returned to the icy lake to look for more fragments that might have been uncovered as the snow began to melt with the coming of Spring. "We were out on the lake on April 20 when we came across a hole in the snow with dark material at the bottom. It looked like wolf droppings but it was actually a carbonaceous chondrite! We spent days harvesting and came out with over 400 fragments. The biggest single piece was 200-300 grams; the total mass collected was 5-10 kilograMs. The only reason that we were able to recover these things is that they were frozen on ice. Water turns these carbonaceous chondrites into mush--it looks like a black organic sludge when you add water." Even though the fireball streaked across the sky in a fiery-looking blaze, the fragments were probably ice-cold when they hit the ground, said Brown. "The outer layers were hot [due to friction with the atmosphere], but carbonaceous chondrites are very porous and don't conduct heat very well," he explained. The inside of the object was still frozen by the icy cold of space when the pieces reached the ground. These are the only freshly fallen meteorite fragments ever recovered and transferred to a laboratory without thawing. Keeping the fragments continuously frozen minimized the potential loss of organic materials and other volatile compounds in the fragments. "This is the first carbonaceous chondrite found just after landfall since the Murchison meteorite in 1969. This will be the first time ever that we can use modern techniques to study one of these. People are going to want to look for fullerenes and amino acids. This meteorite was 6% carbon, by weight; other carbonaceous chondrites are only 2%. It's very rich in carbon compounds." Carbonaceous chondrites, which comprise only about 2 percent of meteorites known to have fallen to Earth, are typically difficult to recover because they easily break down during entry into Earth's atmosphere and during weathering on the ground. "They are rare because they are so very fragile," continued Brown. "You need an incoming meteorite that's huge--something that can afford to lose hundreds of metric tons as it blazes through the atmosphere and still deposit many kilograms on the ground." The fragments--lumps of crumbly rock with scorched, pitted surfaces-- resembled partly used charcoal briquettes: black, porous, fairly light--about the same density as lightweight pumice. Brown and colleagues are trying to compute an accurate orbit for the meteorite to discover where it came from. "The data we have now indicates the object followed a low-inclination orbit coming from the asteroid belt," says Brown. "Its incoming velocity was 15-16 km/s--if we can pinpoint the velocity with a precision a few hundred m/s, we might be able to tell which asteroid family this object came from. So far we know that the object has a typically asteroidal orbit, though it is remotely possible that it might be related to short-period comets." Although the Yukon meteor was spectacular, Brown notes that it didn't add much to the amount of extraterrestrial material that falls to Earth every day. "Daily the Earth is bombarded by 80 to 100 metric tons of microscopic space dust (in the form of 10-5 gm particles)," said Brown. "Thus, the Yukon meteorite was only 2 or 3 days worth of space dust." The Nomenclature Committee of the Meteoritical Society has officially designated the name Tagish Lake Meteorite for the Yukon fall specimens. --------------------------------------------------------------------- LAST CHANCE TO BECOME A STUDENT SCIENTIST WITH RED ROVER GOES TO MARS Planetary Society release http://www.planetary.org/UPDATES/news/2000/pr-051100.html 11 May 2000 Time is running out. The Planetary Society's Red Rover Goes to Mars program will soon select Student Scientists to join the space science team of an actual Mars mission. Students worldwide, ages 9 to 15 years old, can enter contests to become Student Scientists or Student Navigators on the Red Rover Goes to Mars Team. Red Rover Goes to Mars, a joint educational program with the LEGO Company, is the first time individuals from the general public will be allowed to be part of a planetary exploration mission. Children have two opportunities to participate--as Student Scientists or as Student Navigators. Children who apply to become Student Scientists can also apply to become Student Navigators. The deadline to enter the Student Scientist Selection Essay Contest is June 15, 2000. The deadline to enter the Student Navigator Journal Contest is November 15, 2000. Student Scientists will work with actual data from the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft currently in orbit around Mars, as well as with data from the Viking mission, to pick a landing site for a future sample return mission to Mars. They will then travel to Malin Space Science Systems in San Diego, California to create the commands for the MGS Mars Orbiter Camera to take a high-resolution picture of the landing site they have chosen. A full-scale Mars terrain will be constructed based upon the work of the Student Scientists and from children around the world who submit their drawings in a yet-to-be- announced contest. Student Navigators will explore that simulated Mars terrain with a robotic vehicle. "Students are doing science and engineering--real science--when they explore the real martian surface, and they are doing real engineering when they build their own rover and try to direct it on a remote landscape," said Bill Nye the Science Guy, member of The Planetary Society's Board of Directors. "When human explorers eventually do go to Mars, they will use robotic vehicles to explore the planet's surface, so the robotic vehicles with Red Rover Goes to Mars will give students an excellent sense of how to investigate an alien terrain." Originally, Red Rover Goes to Mars was designed to allow students to be part of the Mars Surveyor 2001 mission, which included a lander, the Marie Curie rover and a robotic arm. That lander mission has been cancelled. Despite that cancellation, the Red Rover Goes to Mars project is moving forward in its new revised format. However, contest parameters were originally designed for the anticipated Mars Surveyor 2001 mission. Complete rules and judging criteria can be obtained from The Planetary Society by visiting the web site at http://planetary.org or by calling the Society at (626)793-5100. The Red Rover Goes to Mars program is an outgrowth of the Red Rover, Red Rover program--a joint development of The Planetary Society, the Center for Self-Organizing and Intelligent Systems at Utah State University, Visionary Products, Inc., and the LEGO Company. Using computers linked through the Internet, students teleoperate robotic rovers built from LEGO Dacta components. 400 Red Rover, Red Rover sites are already established in classrooms and science centers worldwide. Red Rover Goes to Mars is sponsored by The Planetary Society and the LEGO Company, with Liberte Yogurt of Canada, Science Magazine, and the AAAS Directorate for Education and Human Resources, in cooperation with NASA, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Malin Space Science Systems, ASU Mars K-12 Education Program, and Visionary Products, Inc. The LEGO Company has been a principal partner with The Planetary Society in the development of Red Rover, Red Rover. For more information or to arrange interviews, please contact Susan Lendroth at (626)793-5100 ext. 214 or by e-mail at tps.sl@planetary.org. --------------------------------------------------------------------- WORKSHOP ANNOUNCEMENT: CONCEPTS AND APPROACHES FOR MARS EXPLORATION JPL release http://cass.jsc.nasa.gov/meetings/robomars/robomars.1st.html 31 May 2000 Convener: Scott Hubbard, NASA Headquarters Hosted by: Lunar and Planetary Institute Sponsors: NASA Headquarters, Lunar and Planetary Institute Date/Location: July 18-20, 2000; Houston, Texas Purpose and scope NASA's Space Science Enterprise is openly considering all facets of its Mars Exploration Program starting with the 2005 opportunity and carrying through 15 years and beyond. In order to cast a wide net for capturing ideas and potential participants for missions, mission elements, and experiments that fit within the broadly defined scope of this program, NASA is sponsoring a two-and-a-half-day workshop to be held at the Lunar and Planetary Institute (LPI), which is housed in the Center for Advanced Space Studies, 3600 Bay Area Boulevard, Houston, Texas. The dates for this workshop are July 18-20, 2000. The workshop is open to scientists, engineers, technologists, and other colleagues from academia, NASA centers, federal laboratories, the private sector, and international partners. The intent of the workshop is to provide an open forum for presentation, discussion, and consideration of various concepts, options, and innovations associated with a strategy for Mars exploration. This strategy not only highlights "life, climate, and resources," calling for "following the water" as part of a "quest for life," but also includes studies of the martian environment as it relates to short- and long-term human presence. Ideas are sought in three broad areas, each of which will be considered in depth by associated working groups during the workshop: 1. Specific mission elements (the "WHAT" groups), including experiments and instrumentation to conduct the basic research (e.g., geology/geophysics, biology) to be conducted in the timeframe under consideration. Discussion in this area will focus on key scientific objectives associated with "following the water" and the "quest for life," and will assess relative timing of suites of scientific activities. Also included in this category is the topic of planetary biocompatibility in its broadest sense, i.e., environmental characterization (soil, dust, atmosphere, radiation, etc.), as well as long-term human sustenance (living off the land utilizing in situ resources). 2. Specific mission concepts (the "HOW" group) that describe approaches to key program objectives such as robotic sample return, in situ analysis, deep subsurface access and sampling, and global reconnaissance including surface or atmospheric mobility. 3. Specific architectures (the "WHEN" group) for the Mars Exploration program that integrate mission concepts (specifically those that validate critical phases and elements of future potential science and human missions) into a time-phased sequence with specific definition of mission approaches, experiments, and expected results. The objective of the workshop is to identify the most compelling approaches in the three categories listed above using a set of selection criteria that balance science content, development risk, affordability, and overall program integration. This identification will be accomplished using assessments from the working groups as well as by a team of NASA-designated reviewers who will be present at the workshop. Concepts that emerge from the workshop will be input to NASA's overall planning for robotic exploration of Mars. The workshop format will consist of brief oral presentations of concepts in any of the above three categories, with the presentations being given in the appropriate working group sessions. These presentations will be given by authors of contributed abstracts. All the ideas presented will be considered and evaluated in the working group, which will in turn bring consensus concepts forward to plenary meetings of the workshop. Working groups associated with mission elements and overall concepts will meet on all three days of the workshop, while the working group on specific program architectures will meet only the final two days. Members of the architecture working group will be assigned to participate in one of the other two working groups on the first day of the workshop. The preliminary program provides additional details on the meeting format. Call for abstracts Those wishing to attend this workshop must submit a brief abstract (no more than two pages) indicating which of the topical areas the idea belongs in and outlining the idea. These abstracts are to be submitted electronically to the LPI using the electronic abstract submission form. Read and follow the instructions below for preparation and submission of your abstract. If you have any questions regarding abstract preparation or submission, please contact the LPI at 281-486-2161, -2188, or -2164 (or send an e-mail message to publish@lpi.usra.edu). Preparation of abstracts Abstracts should not exceed two pages (including figures, tables, and references), and should be submitted electronically to the Lunar and Planetary Institute by Wednesday, June 14, 2000, 6:00 PM EDT. Abstracts can be submitted in any of the following formats: PDF; PostScript; Microsoft Word for PC or Mac; Rich Text Format (RTF); WordPerfect 7 or 8 for PC. Templates and detailed instructions for formatting and submitting your abstract are provided. Please proof your abstract carefully before submitting; revisions will not be accepted. The electronic abstract submission form is only supported by Netscape Navigator (version 2.0 or higher) and Internet Explorer (version 4.0 or higher). If you are using any other browser, you will not be able to electronically submit your abstract. Please contact your systems administrator for assistance in downloading and installing one of these browsers on your machine. Electronic transmission of files is not always instantaneous; gateways can temporarily be shut down, local routers can fail, network traffic can be very heavy, etc. Because your abstract file must be received at the LPI by the deadline, it is in your best interest to submit early to allow for possible delays in transmission. The server will be very busy on the day of the deadline. Please do not wait until the last minute to access the system; access to the Web form will terminate at the time of the deadline, so it will not be possible to submit a late abstract to this meeting. Speakers' information Dual slide and overhead projectors will be available for presentations during the plenary sessions. Single slide and overhead projectors will be available for contributed oral presentations during the working group sessions. For questions regarding audio- visual support, please contact LeBecca Simmons using the contact information given at the end of this announcement. Participation While we hope to accommodate all possible ideas, the workshop venue is limited to roughly 185-200 participants. If the number of abstracts exceeds this limit, a NASA-designated program panel will review the abstracts and develop the final workshop attendee list. The attendee list will be posted on this Web site on June 30, 2000. In order to encourage broad participation, industry and government laboratories (including NASA centers) will be asked to limit participation to individuals presenting ideas/concepts. University research groups are encouraged to send principal investigators as their representatives, and to recognize that the limited attendance will prevent student participation. Participants are encouraged to arrive at the Institute at 7:30 AM on Tuesday, July 18, to pick up name badges and a copy of the compiled volume of contributed abstracts. A continental breakfast will be served at 7:30 AM each morning of the meeting for the convenience of attendees. The workshop sessions will begin at 8:00 AM. Local accommodations and maps We have provided a list of local area hotels with their current room rates. A map of the local area that indicates the location of these hotels in relationship to the Lunar and Planetary Institute is also provided to assist you with your travel plans. Parking at the Institute is limited. A shuttle will be operating throughout the workshop to take people from a park-and-ride location at the University of Houston-Clear Lake to the Institute. The park- and-ride map shows the location of this parking lot. Please arrange with your colleagues to car pool from the local hotels to avoid the need to use the "spill-over" parking and shuttle service available from the nearby University parking lot. Contact information For further logistical information, contact LeBecca Simmons (phone 281-486-2158; fax 281-486-2160; e-mail simmons@lpi.usra.edu). For information on preparing or submitting an abstract, contact Renee Dotson (phone 281-486-2188; fax 281-486-2125; e-mail dotson@lpi.usra.edu). For further program information contact Dr. Ramon P. DePaula at NASA Headquarters (phone 202-358-4692; e-mail rdepaula@mail.hq.nasa.gov). Schedule June 14, Electronic abstract submission deadline, 6:00 PM EDT. June 30, Participant list posted on web site. July 18-20, Workshop at the Lunar and Planetary Institute in Houston, Texas. --------------------------------------------------------------------- THIS WEEK ON GALILEO JPL release 29 May - 4 June 2000 The Fields and Particles instruments continue their extended survey of the Jovian magnetosphere this week as the spacecraft moves outward from the heart of the Jupiter system. Two engineering activities are performed during the week. On Tuesday, the spacecraft performs a small turn to keep its radio antenna pointed to Earth. On Wednesday, the spacecraft performs standard maintenance on its propellant lines and thrusters. The Fields and Particles instruments are comprised of the Dust Detector, Energetic Particle Detector, Heavy Ion Counter, Magnetometer, Plasma Wave instrument and Plasma Detector. These instruments are mounted on the spinning section of the spacecraft so they can make measurements while sweeping through a 360-degree view of space. The Dust Detector is built to determine the velocity, mass, charge and flight direction of dust particles in the Jovian system. The Energetic Particle Detector, on the other hand, measures the energy, composition, intensity and angular distribution of ions and electrons. The Heavy Ion Counter is designed to provide data on particle collisions with ionized sulfur and oxygen atoms trapped in the Jovian magnetic field. The next two instruments are mounted on an 11-meter (36-foot) boom to minimize interference from other electronics on the spacecraft. The Magnetometer senses magnetic fields in the spacecraft's immediate environment, while the Plasma Wave instrument measures electrostatic and electromagnetic components of waves generated by plasma particles. Finally, the Plasma Detector measures the composition, energy, temperature, and three-dimensional distribution and bulk motions of low-energy plasma ions in the spacecraft's immediate vicinity. Plasma is a highly ionized gas, consisting of almost equal numbers of free electrons and positive ions. The Fields and Particles survey continues for nearly the next three weeks. This will allow Galileo to extend its typical survey of the inner magnetosphere through the outer magnetosphere and into the solar wind beyond the magnetosphere. This activity is part of Galileo's preparation for joint activities with the Cassini spacecraft. In October of this year, joint observations by the two spacecraft will begin in earnest, with Cassini's closest approach to Jupiter occurring in late December. For more information on the Galileo spacecraft and its mission to Jupiter, please visit the Galileo home page at one of the following URL's: http://galileo.jpl.nasa.gov http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo --------------------------------------------------------------------- NEW GALILEO IMAGES OF IO By Ron Baalke 31 May 2000 Eleven new Io images taken by the Galileo spacecraft have been released in parallel with the 2000 Spring Meeting of the American Geophysical Union (AGU) being held in Washington, DC, this week. The images include 3D images of Zal Patera/Zal Montes "plateau" and Tvashtar Catena, color image of Zal Montes "south", high resolution images of Chaac, sulfur dioxide map of Chaac, changes in thermal emission in the Prometheus, temperature map of Pele, extremely high resolution over layered terrain east of Isum, Shamshu Mons and Patera, and Hot Lava in western Tvashtar Catena. The images are available on NASA's Planetary Photojournal home page at http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/PIADBSearch.pl?NewReleases --------------------------------------------------------------------- STARDUST STATUS REPORT JPL release 2 June 2000 There were eight Deep Space Network (DSN) tracking passes during the past week. All subsystems onboard the spacecraft are performing normally. Trajectory Correction Maneuver #3 (TCM-3) was successfully executed last week, and provided a velocity change of 1.869 meters/second. An attempt was made to maintain carrier lock on the downlink signal from the spacecraft during the maneuver. Even though the maneuver attitude was at the edge of the Medium Gain Antenna's (MGA) beam width, the DSN was unable to detect the carrier signal. There will be two additional TCMs prior to the Comet Wild-2 encounter in 2004 to control the spacecraft flyby distance. These TCMs will be executed with the Sample Return Capsule (SRC) heat shield in the open position since the Aerogel collector will be deployed for dust collection at the comet encounter. The heat shield was open during TCM-3, successfully demonstrating that TCMs can be performed in this configuration. After TCM-3 the SRC heat shield was successfully returned to its cruise position (unlocked). The SRC will remain in this configuration until July 2001 when the next interstellar dust collection period begins. Twenty-eight Navigation Camera images were successfully taken with 21 of the 28 images played back over a 70 meter DSN station. The remaining images will be downlinked over the next month. These images will provide additional data on the camera's sensitivity. For more information on the Stardust mission--the first ever comet sample return mission--please visit the Stardust home page at http://stardust.jpl.nasa.gov. --------------------------------------------------------------------- End Marsbugs, Volume 7, Number 21