MARSBUGS: The Electronic Astrobiology Newsletter Volume 7, Number 29, 25 July 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://welcome.to/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. 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) RESEARCH CRITICALLY NEEDED FOR MANNED SPACE EXPLORATION By Emil Venere 2) SPACE “BUGS” TO TEST ALIEN MICROBE THEORY University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute release 3) NASA POSTPONES MARS 2003 ANNOUNCEMENT NASA note N00-34 4) MARS “COLONISTS” UNDAUNTED BY BAD LUCK, PUNISHING WEATHER By Richard Stenger 5) GENE TRANSFER IN SPACE--SOYBEAN EXPERIMENT COULD BE A SMALL STEP TOWARD EDIBLE VACCINE By A. J. S. Rayl 6) CASSINI WEEKLY SIGNIFICANT EVENTS JPL release 7) THIS WEEK ON GALILEO JPL release 8) ISS STATUS REPORTS JSC releases 9) MARS GLOBAL SURVEYOR STATUS REPORT JPL release 10) STARDUST STATUS REPORT JPL release --------------------------------------------------------------------- RESEARCH CRITICALLY NEEDED FOR MANNED SPACE EXPLORATION By Emil Venere Purdue University release 18 July 2000 If the nation is serious about the manned exploration and development of space, then more attention must be focused now on research to study how weightlessness and reduced gravity would affect everything from power production to plumbing, says a recently published report funded by NASA. The research is critical for the development of space-related technologies, says the report, published by the National Academy of Sciences and written by a committee of scientists and engineers appointed by the academy’s National Research Council. “There are certain scientific and engineering problems of a fundamental nature that need to be addressed before these technologies can be developed,” says the committee’s chairman, Raymond Viskanta, the Goss Distinguished Professor of Engineering at Purdue University. “It is recommended that this research should be done now because it will take years to develop the needed technologies.” Viskanta will discuss the report in a keynote lecture on August 9, during the Fifth Microgravity Fluid Physics and Transport Phenomena Conference in Cleveland. The report was published in June. It recommends that NASA create a new research program aimed specifically at understanding the effects of low-gravity in key areas that include power generation, propulsion, fire suppression, manufacturing, construction, food production and life-support systems. “For example, seemingly mundane components such as piping, valves and bearings will have to be adapted to the altered structural forces and loads in reduced- and variable-gravity environments,” the report says. Technologies will be needed to manufacture and repair failed parts in the microgravity of space and in the low gravity of other planets, moons and asteroids. Workers will have to build structures and operate mining and processing facilities. “If a component fails and you need to replace it, how do you, for example, weld something together or manufacture in space?” asks Viskanta, a professor of mechanical engineering. Other technologies will be needed for the very survival of humans in space. “If an electrical fire starts, how do you extinguish it?” Viskanta asks. “You are going to spray something on it with a fire extinguisher, and this may affect the environment in which the astronauts are living and breathing. The particles, very fine droplets, behave differently in gravitational environments than they do in space.” The report recommends that NASA take advantage of the International Space Station as a platform on which to conduct research for technologies that will be important for the human exploration and development of space. The 12-member committee began meeting three years ago and worked on preparing the report for more than a year, writing 30 drafts before a final version was completed. The conference, from August 9 to 11 at the Sheraton City Centre Hotel in Cleveland, is organized by NASA’s Glenn Research Center and the National Center for Microgravity Research on Fluids and Combustion. The conference is sponsored by NASA’s Office of Life and Microgravity Science Applications. For a copy of the report, the media may contact Bob Ludwig at the National Academy of Sciences, (202) 334-2138, bludwig@nas.edu. Related web sites: * NASA Fluid Physics Web page http://microgravity.grc.nasa.gov/6712/fptp.html * NAS report, Microgravity Research in Support of Technologies for the Human Exploration and Development of Space and Planetary Bodies. http://books.nap.edu/catalog/9452.html Contacts: Emil Venere, (765) 494-4709, evenere@uns.purdue.edu Raymond Viskanta, (765) 494-5632, viskanta@ecn.purdue.edu --------------------------------------------------------------------- SPACE “BUGS” TO TEST ALIEN MICROBE THEORY University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute release 21 July 2000 The theory that microbial life once came to Earth on a meteorite from another planet will be tested on July 26 when a NASA rocket carries into space special microorganisms from research at the University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute (UMBI). The tiny space pioneers will be riding an apogee, or suborbital, flight path similar to the historic 1961 flight of astronaut Alan Sheppard. The passengers this time will be four dime-size cultures, each holding about 100 million cells of the microbes that will be exposed to space vacuum and solar radiation for 10 minutes. For the first time, scientists with UMBI’s Center of Marine Biotechnology (COMB) and NASA will also study the direct effects on living cells of the sun’s extreme ultraviolet, or EUV, radiation that does not penetrate the Earth’s atmosphere. “We routinely look for DNA repair systems in extreme microbes called Archaea that might be useful in biotechnology or medical research,” says Jocelyne DiRuggiero, the project leader at COMB. “And, in this case, we may also want to know what kind of lesions EUV can cause to the DNA of these microorganisms.” Archaea are microbes that typically live in extreme conditions, such as high temperature, pressure, sulfur, methane or radiation. The space-going microbes are known to survive high temperatures and some radiation. NASA’s Joseph M. Davila, principal investigator for the flight, says, “Exposure to direct UV particles from the sun is not a well known field. We know a bit about short gamma rays, but with EUV, not much is known at all about how to be protected from these fields.” Part of a four-year, $400,000 partnership with NASA, the UMBI experiment is “hitchhiking” on the latest launch of the Solar EUV Rocket Telescope and Spectrograph, or SERTS, explains DiRuggiero, Since 1997, fast, slender 19-foot sounding rockets carrying SERTS have helped NASA study sun activity and “cross-calibrate” data from the more sophisticated solar instruments aboard their SOHO satellite, Davila notes. He says the microbe experiments may expand into orbital missions on a space shuttle. “First, we are trying to demonstrate that this kind of work will yield interesting results and we want to try our instruments (on the SERTS flight).” The first microbes to be tested on the SERTS do not yet have a biological name, but their training regimen has been rigorous, according COMB research professor Frank Robb. “We thought this strain was a good candidate. We found it living in the sediments of Potts hot springs in Yellowstone National Park, where it was exposed to steamy plumes, alternating with hot, dry conditions.” Back at the COMB laboratories in Baltimore, MD, Renu Nandakumar, post-doctoral researcher, isolated the heat-loving strain and grew it up into cultures. She found that the strain survived gamma rays and a hard, or space-like, vacuum. Robb and DiRuggiero say the strain showed robust qualities, making it the right stuff for the SERTS flight. Next Dennis Spencer, a high school student at Baltimore Polytechnic, whose summer internship at COMB included preparing such microbial cultures, hand carried them on an airplane to White Sands. A second microbe, a radiation resistant [bacterium], Deinococcus radiodurans, extensively studied by the Department of Energy, also will be on the launch as a control in the experiment. The COMB researchers helped NASA engineers retrofit the SERTS instruments with microbe sample holders that were later shake tested to simulate the flight. The main NASA mission is to run experiments to study the sun’s outmost atmosphere, called the solar corona. For experiment updates, link to http://orpheus.nascom.nasa.gov/serts/. For more on COMB research on Archaea, or extremophiles, link to http://www.umbi.umd.edu/~comb/. COMB investigates one of the world’s largest Archaea research collections. The launch will be featured on a live webcast at http://www.wsmr.army.mil/videos/web/mainweb.html. Contact: Steve Berberich 410-385-6315 410-385-6321 fax berberic@umbi.umd.edu --------------------------------------------------------------------- NASA POSTPONES MARS 2003 ANNOUNCEMENT NASA note N00-34 21 July 2000 The Mars 2003 press conference originally scheduled for 2:00 PM EDT Monday, July 24, 2000, has been postponed. Dr. Edward Weiler, Associate Administrator, Office of Space Science, Washington, DC, said making the decision was much more complex and difficult than anticipated and that it will take perhaps one to two weeks longer than planned to make the final decision. Contact: Donald Savage Headquarters, Washington, DC Phone: 202-358-1547 Additional articles on this subject are available at http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0007/22mars2003/ http://www.cnn.com/2000/TECH/space/07/21/mars.2003.preview/index.html --------------------------------------------------------------------- MARS “COLONISTS” UNDAUNTED BY BAD LUCK, PUNISHING WEATHER By Richard Stenger From CNN 21 July 2000 Battered buildings. Freezing rains. Endless sunlight. Despite facing such hardships, scientists simulating life on Mars have pushed the limits of red planet science on a barren island in the Arctic. Taking part in their first research expedition to Devon Island, a Canadian hinterland with haunting similarities to Mars, a handful of Mars Society members are trying to salvage their primary mission this week. The group had planned to construct and live in a prototype Mars habitat. But their hopes were dashed earlier this month when a fifth and final cargo airdrop by a U.S. Marines cargo plane damaged part of the structure. Get the full story at http://www.cnn.com/2000/TECH/space/07/21/mars.research.station/index. html. An additional article on this subject is available at http://www.msnbc.com/news/431335.asp?cp1=1. --------------------------------------------------------------------- GENE TRANSFER IN SPACE--SOYBEAN EXPERIMENT COULD BE A SMALL STEP TOWARD EDIBLE VACCINE By A. J. S. Rayl From The Scientist 24 July 2000 The astronauts’ repair of the international space station captured media attention during the space shuttle flight in May. But inside the orbiter, a life science experiment took another small step toward creating a technology that may eventually save thousands of lives around the world. The latest trial in a study ongoing for two years, the experiment involved a gene transfer in soybeans that the researchers hope will lead to edible vaccines, among other products, in the not-too-distant future. The Wisconsin Center for Space Automation and Robotics (WCSAR) at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and Producers’ Natural Processing (PNP), a West Lafayette, IN, biotech company, are directing the study; it is part of the first wave of research projects in NASA’s drive to commercialize space. Get the full story at http://www.the- scientist.com/yr2000/jul/rayl_p20_000724.html. --------------------------------------------------------------------- CASSINI WEEKLY SIGNIFICANT EVENTS JPL release 13-19 July 2000 The most recent spacecraft telemetry was acquired from the Goldstone tracking station on Wednesday, 07/19. The Cassini spacecraft is in an excellent state of health and is operating normally. The speed of the spacecraft can be viewed on the “Where is Cassini Now?” web page at http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/cassini/today/. Activities completed in the current C21 sequence include resetting of the AACS Fault Protection Log pointer, a Reaction Wheel momentun unload, clearing of the High Water Marks, the continuation of the Magnetospheric Imaging Instrument (MIMI) functional test, Radio and Plasma Wave Science (RPWS) checkout of Instrument Extended Blocks (IEB) to be used at Jupiter and Periodic Instrument Maintenance (PIM), the Magnetometer Subsystem (MAG) Boom Alignment Test, a Radio Science (RSS) UltraStable Oscillator (USO) Calibration/ Characterization, and RSS HGA Boresight Calibration. The USO Cal was four hours in length and provides the Radio Science Operations Team with information on the health and status of the on-board USO. Because the character (i.e., the output frequency) of the USO will change over time, this data is crucial to both the Operations and Science Teams. The Imaging Science Subsystem/Visual and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (ISS/VIMS) ground system Level 5 Preliminary Design review was held. No significant issues or concerns were identified. Very preliminary analyses of the recently returned C20 science data allowed the RADAR Operations Team to generate a new IEB, of about 11.5 hours duration. The block was successfully run through the RADAR testbed. This IEB will be used in the C22 sequence activity on September 29. The Instrument Operations Team presented an E-kernel capability tutorial at the Cassini Design Team Meeting. The E-kernel, which is part of the Navigation Ancillary Information Facility (NAIF) suite of Spacecraft, Planet, Instrument, C-matrix (pointing), and Events (SPICE) kernels will provide an archive of Cassini ancillary data, including science plan, sequences, and experimenter’s notebook. The Spacecraft Office successfully completed the end to end test of the command files for the Command and Data System Flight Software upload and checkout. The tests were run in system mode in the Integration and Test Lab. The tests completed nominally and all command files were validated. This is the final run through of the command files prior to uplink beginning on July 29. --------------------------------------------------------------------- THIS WEEK ON GALILEO JPL release 24-30 July 2000 Galileo is about 815 million kilometers (507 million miles) from Earth this week, continuing its trek around Jupiter, the solar system’s largest planet. The spacecraft spends the week playing back science data that is stored on its onboard tape recorder. This week’s data set was acquired during Galileo’s May flyby of Ganymede, the largest of Jupiter’s moons. Data playback is limited only by the amount of time scheduled for Galileo’s use of the Deep Space Network’s 70-m (230-foot) diameter radio antennas. That diameter is just about the same length as a Boeing 747 jumbo jet. Those are some pretty big ears! The Deep Space Network (DSN) consists of three communications facilities placed at longitudes approximately 120 degrees apart around the world. The facilities are located at Goldstone, in California’s Mojave Desert; near Madrid, Spain; and near Canberra, Australia. This strategic placement permits constant observation of a spacecraft as the Earth rotates. Galileo’s schedule this week includes daily “tracks” from Goldstone and Canberra, averaging just over 6 hours from each location. On Sunday, Galileo also gets about 5-1/2 hours at the Madrid radio antenna. This week’s playback schedule includes an observation by the Fields and Particles instruments, one by the Plasma Wave instrument (PWS), and two by the Solid-State Imaging camera (SSI). Continuing from last week, the Fields and Particles instruments are first on this week’s schedule with portions of a 60-minute high-resolution recording of the plasma, dust, and electric and magnetic fields surrounding Ganymede. Ganymede is the only planetary moon that is known to have its own internally-generated magnetic field, and thus, its own magnetosphere. The data taken during this observation will allow scientists to obtain a more complete understanding of the unique interactions between the magnetospheres of Ganymede and Jupiter. Next, PWS returns an observation dedicated to the detection of chorus emissions within Ganymede’s magnetosphere. A chorus signal is seen in the electromagnetic fields measured by PWS. The chorus signal is present when plasma is being accelerated by a particularly efficient type of wave-particle interaction. Scientists hope to understand more about Ganymede’s unique magnetosphere by detecting and analyzing chorus emissions. Toward the end of the week, data from the two SSI observations are processed, packaged, and transmitted to Earth. These observations are part of a set of five designed to provide scientists with information regarding how different features and terrains came to exist on Ganymede’s surface. The younger terrain types examined in this set of observations are believed to have been created by processes internal to Ganymede, but the roles of volcanic vs. tectonic processes are not yet clear. The first mosaic of images captures smooth bright terrain and grooved terrain that may be partially surrounded, or “engulfed” by the surrounding terrain. The second observation looks at a transition region between bright and dark terrain. 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 --------------------------------------------------------------------- ISS STATUS REPORTS JSC releases 19 July 2000 The International Space Station (ISS) and Zvezda service module continue their orbital ballet with all systems on both spacecraft in excellent shape leading toward a planned docking at 8:53 PM Eastern Time, July 25. Since the last report, Zvezda’s secondary computer system was tested to verify its ability to receive commands from the ground and to notify the Mission Control Center here in Korolev that it received those commands. The Regul system has two identical “sets” and both now have proven to be in excellent shape. Yesterday aboard the ISS, the Zarya control module performed two small correction burns lasting five seconds each, which raised the station’s orbit by about two miles (3.3 km). Each was about two miles per hour, or one meter per second. The engine firings were part of a two-orbit simulation of all events leading to the actual docking. The first occurred at 10:59 PM EDT Monday and the second was at 12:25 AM EDT Tuesday. The simulation of docking night activities included testing the automatic docking system called Kurs. Though full data analysis from the test still is ongoing, Russian flight controllers reported that both the prime and secondary systems operated as expected. The next scheduled rendezvous maneuver is by Zvezda and is scheduled for 10:24 PM EDT. This will be the first correction burn performed by the module after the two major altitude adjust burns that occurred five days ago. Russian “ballistics” engineers are continuing to refine the planned duration and velocity change, but it is presently designed to be about 15 seconds in duration with a change in velocity of about 10 miles per hour, or 4.5 meters per second. Today, while Zvezda and the ISS are out of communications range, Russian and American flight controllers will conduct a simulation for the docking of the next vehicle with the station--the first Progress M1 supply spacecraft. Engineers presently are at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, loading the Progress with supplies and equipment destined for use by the first resident crew of the ISS scheduled to arrive in the fall. The Progress will be launched on a Soyuz rocket. It presently is scheduled to be launched about August 6 with docking two days later. The crew of the next space shuttle to visit will unload the Progress scheduled for mid September. Tomorrow, controllers will review telemetry data on the battery current in each of the five onboard powerplants. Each produces electricity for use by equipment onboard. This energy is obtained by the twin solar arrays, which gather the Sun’s energy and transfers it to the batteries. On Friday, a docking test will be performed that includes conducting a mechanical capture test of Zvezda’s docking mechanism. This test will verify the operation of the software and mechanical systems associated with docking. As of noon EDT Monday, Zvezda had completed 120 orbits of the Earth since its launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome on July 12. The next Mission Control Center status report will be issued Friday, July 21. 21 July 2000 With its days flying alone in orbit coming to an end, the Zvezda service module nears completion of systems checkouts in preparation for docking to the International Space Station. The linkup remains scheduled for 8:53 PM Eastern Time next Tuesday, July 25th, as the two spacecraft fly high above the Russian Federation within the coverage area of ground communication stations. Another in a series of rendezvous maneuvers was completed late Wednesday when Russian flight controllers sent commands to Zvezda’s computers to fire its engines for 15 seconds, raising the perigee, or low end of its orbit, by 13 miles (21 kilometers). The correction burn occurred at 10:47 PM EDT Wednesday and changed the velocity by 10 miles per hour (4.4 meters per second), placing the service module in a 224 by 180 mile orbit (361 by 290 km). The next two rendezvous burns for Zvezda are scheduled tonight about 30 minutes apart at 9:22 and 9:54 PM Eastern. The first will raise both sides of the orbit to 234 by 185 miles and the second will raise the low end by another 23 miles, to 208 statute miles. Also tonight a docking test will be performed that includes conducting a mechanical capture test of Zvezda’s docking mechanism. This test will verify the operation of the software and mechanical systems associated with docking. It also will include positioning the module in the proper docking position with the solar arrays positioned parallel to the module. This position minimizes perturbations to the arrays at the time of docking. At present, one additional Zvezda orbit correction burn is scheduled for Sunday evening, Eastern Time. After that, the rendezvous is managed by the Zarya control module, which becomes the active vehicle, performing up to three rendezvous and correction maneuvers en route to the final approach and docking Tuesday night. Yesterday, controllers tested the camera on Zvezda that will view the ISS on approach. They also reviewed telemetry data from Zvezda’s five batteries. Each battery captures energy from the module’s solar arrays for use by onboard electronic equipment. As of Noon EDT Friday, Zvezda had completed 151 orbits of the Earth since its launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome July 12. The next Mission Control Center status report will be issued Monday, July 24. 24 July 2000 The International Space Station’s newest module, Zvezda, has completed all of its planned maneuvers and now awaits the arrival of its permanent home in space as the Zarya control module takes over the remaining rendezvous tasks. The updated docking time is 8:44 PM Eastern Tuesday. With one day remaining in its solo flight, Zvezda now becomes the passive vehicle and the ISS will perform a series of orbital burns to eventually move within range of Zvezda as the two spacecraft move within range of Russian ground tracking stations. In preparation for docking, Russian flight controllers sent commands to Zarya’s computer to extend its docking probe in anticipation of the docking. Telemetry verified it to be in the proper position and ready for the capture of Zvezda. Zvezda’s final three rendezvous and correction burns took place Friday and Saturday night, placing the module in a 224 by 180 mile orbit (361 by 290 km). Rendezvous burn 3 occurred at 9:44 PM Friday (43 seconds). Rendezvous burn 4 took place at 10:20 PM (8 seconds). Combined, the two burns raised the overall orbit of Zvezda by 25 miles. The last jet firing, a 9-second correction burn, raised the perigee, placing the module in the desired orbit for tomorrow night’s docking. Upon full team agreement, the go will be given to proceed and the automatic docking sequence will continue after a station-keeping period at 30 meters. If all goes well, the two will dock permanently while flying high above Russia. Tuesday night’s sequence of events includes: · Activation of Zarya’s Motion Control System · Maneuver of Zvezda to the docking position · Activation of Zvezda’s rendezvous system · Securing the solar arrays · Activation of ISS (Zarya’s) automatic docking system (Kurs) · Docking and verification that hooks and latches are closed Immediately after docking, the solar arrays will begin tracking the sun again and Zarya’s Motion Control System will be deactivated. Within a few days after docking, the critical transfer of attitude control of the ISS will be switched from Zarya’s computers to those on Zvezda. NASA Television coverage of the docking begins at 8:00 PM EDT Tuesday and can also be viewed on the agency’s Human Spaceflight web site at http://spaceflight.nasa.gov. As of Noon EDT Monday, Zvezda had completed 200 orbits of the Earth since its launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome July 12. The next Mission Control Center status report will be issued after docking Tuesday night. For more information, call the Johnson Space Center Newsroom at 281/483-5111. --------------------------------------------------------------------- MARS GLOBAL SURVEYOR STATUS REPORT JPL release 19 July 2000 Launch / Days since Launch = November 7, 1996 / 1351 days Start of Mapping / Days since Start of Mapping = April 1, 1999 / 475 days Total Mapping Orbits = 6103 Total Orbits = 7706 Recent events The spacecraft continues to operate nominally in performing the beta- supplement daily recording and transmission of science data. The mm052 sequence executed successfully from 00-195 (7/13/00) through 00-197 (7/15/00). The mm053 sequence has performed well since it started on 00-198 (7/16/00). It terminates on 00-201 (7/19/00). The mm054 sequence, successfully uplinked on 00-200 (7/18/00), begins executing on 00-202 (7/20/00). Spacecraft health All subsystems report nominal health. Uplinks There have been 12 uplinks to the spacecraft during the last week, including new star catalogs and ephemeris files, MOC turn-on commands, instrument command loads, and the background sequences cited above. There have been 4739 command files radiated to the spacecraft since launch. Upcoming events The mm055 background sequence will be uplinked 00-203 (7/21/00). --------------------------------------------------------------------- STARDUST STATUS REPORT JPL release 21 July 2000 The Stardust spacecraft is currently 254 million kilometers from Earth, and traveling at a velocity of 70,556 kilometers/hour relative to the Sun. The spacecraft has traveled over 965 million kilometers since its launch on a Delta 2 rocket on February 7, 1999. There [were] two Deep Space Network (DSN) tracking passes during the past week. All subsystems onboard the spacecraft are performing normally. Flight sequence SC020 became the active sequence on July 17. Preparations for turning on the Navigation Camera (NAVCAM) Charge Couple Device (CCD) heater are in progress. As a precaution, on July 25, the heater will be turned on for 40 minutes, (to keep it below 0°C) in a test to monitor the temperature rise. The full camera warm-up is scheduled for August 1. The heater will remain on for approximately one week and images will be taken periodically. Stardust presentations were well received at the COSPAR Scientific Assembly on July 17. 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 29.