MARSBUGS: The Electronic Astrobiology Newsletter Volume 7, Number 39, 16 October 2000. Editors: Dr. David J. Thomas, Math and Science 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) CONFERENCE ON THE GEOPHYSICAL DETECTION OF SUBSURFACE WATER ON MARS NASA/LPI release 2) WHY LIFE IS NOT FOUND ON MARS' SURFACE By Lee Siegel 3) CASSINI WEEKLY SIGNIFICANT EVENTS JPL release 4) CASSINI SENDS COLOR IMAGE OF JUPITER JPL image advisory 5) THIS WEEK ON GALILEO JPL release 6) MARS GLOBAL SURVEYOR STATUS REPORT JPL release 7) STARDUST STATUS REPORT JPL release --------------------------------------------------------------------- CONFERENCE ON THE GEOPHYSICAL DETECTION OF SUBSURFACE WATER ON MARS NASA/LPI release http://cass.jsc.nasa.gov/meetings/geomars2001/ 12 October 2000 August 6-10, 2001 Lunar and Planetary Institute Houston, Texas Sponsors: Lunar and Planetary Institute, NASA Purpose and scope The search for subsurface water has become a primary focus of Mars exploration. Its abundance and distribution (both as ground ice and groundwater) have important implications for understanding the geologic, hydrologic, and climatic evolution of the planet, the potential origin and continued survival of life, and the accessibility of a critical in situ resource for sustaining future human explorers. For these reasons, a principal goal of the Mars science, astrobiology, and human exploration programs is to determine the three-dimensional distribution and state of subsurface H2O, at a resolution sufficient to permit reaching any desired volatile target by drilling. The three targets most often discussed are groundwater, massive deposits of near-surface ground ice (associated with the ponded discharge of the outflow channels or the relic of a former ocean), and ice-saturated frozen ground. Although the belief that Mars is water-rich is supported by a wide variety of geologic evidence, our ignorance about the heterogeneous nature and thermal evolution of the planet's crust effectively precludes geomorphic or theoretical attempts to quantitatively assess the current geographic and subsurface vertical distribution of ground ice and groundwater. For this reason, any exploration activity (such as deep drilling) whose success is contingent on the assumed presence of subsurface water must be preceded by a comprehensive high-resolution geophysical survey capable of assessing whether local reservoirs of water and ice actually exist. Terrestrial experience has demonstrated that the accurate interpretation of such data is likely to require the application of multiple geophysical techniques [e.g., see the summary of the Mars Deep Water Sounding Workshop, held at NASA Ames in January 1998]. In recognition of the high-priority and cross-discipline importance of this issue, a week-long conference on the geophysical detection of subsurface water (addressing both Earth and Mars) is planned for August 6-10, 2001, at the Lunar and Planetary Institute in Houston, Texas. The purpose of this meeting is to: * Clarify the reasons why a global geophysical reconnaissance for water on Mars is needed. * Identify the types of investigations (orbital, global surface network, and high-resolution local) best suited for determining both the state and three-dimensional distribution of subsurface water. * Assess the diagnostic limitations and potential environmental complications associated with such investigations. * Determine what other areas of Mars science would benefit from the acquisition of this proposed suite of geophysical data. Given the enormous base of experience that already exists in these areas within the terrestrial research and exploration communities, the participation of terrestrial scientists will be actively encouraged. Contact information For further information regarding the format and scientific objectives of the meeting, please contact one of the conveners: Stephen Clifford (281-486-2146; clifford@lpi.usra.edu), Jeff George (281-483-5962; jeffrey.a.george1@jsc.nasa.gov), Carol Stoker (650- 604-6490; cstoker@mail.arc.nasa.gov). Questions concerning meeting logistics should be addressed to the LPI meeting coordinator: Elizabeth Wagganer (281-486-2151; wagganer@lpi.usra.edu). An additional article on this subject is available at http://www.spacedaily.com/news/mars-water-science-00j.html. --------------------------------------------------------------------- WHY LIFE IS NOT FOUND ON MARS' SURFACE By Lee Siegel From Space.com 14 September 2000 Scientists have recreated martian conditions in test tubes, producing a “disinfectant” that may help explain the planet's rusty red color and why life and organic material have not been found on the surface. The chemical is superoxide; a “free radical” or oxidant like those implicated in human cell damage from cigarette smoking, radiation and diseases like heart disease and cancer. “You would not expect life to exist at the immediate surface of Mars because production of these oxygen radicals will destroy organic molecules,” said planetary geochemist Albert Yen of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California. “If life exists on Mars, it needs to be in a place where these chemicals don’t exist.” Get the full story at http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/solarsystem/rusty_red_mars_0009 14.html. --------------------------------------------------------------------- CASSINI WEEKLY SIGNIFICANT EVENTS JPL release 5-11 October 2000 The most recent spacecraft telemetry was acquired from the Madrid tracking station on Tuesday, October 10. 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/english/where/. Activities this week included a Reaction Wheel Assembly (RWA) Slow Time Memory Read Out (MRO), clearing of the Radio and Plasma Wave Science (RPWS) Write Protect Bit, a High Water Mark Clear, and a RWA Unload. The Jupiter Phase A-5 Day Repeating Template continues with the second instance of the template performed this week. Some of the Jupiter images from the first template have been released and are available on the JPL web site as well as the Cassini and Jupiter Millennium Flyby web sites (see below). Ultraviolet Imaging Spectrometer (UVIS) personnel have reviewed the first Jupiter system data obtained during execution of the 5 Day Template. UVIS images are providing an excellent combination of spatial, spectral, and temporal resolution of the Io torus. Instrument performance and sensitivity is nominal, with observed counting rates within 30% of the model of the torus calculated from Voyager and Galileo data. The torus appears to “wobble” as Jupiter rotates, due to the magnetic field tilt. Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) and Far Ultraviolet (FUV) spectral images show numerous emissions from the Io torus, Jupiter aurora, and reflected sunlight from the Jupiter atmosphere. Hydrogen/Deuterium Absorption Cell (HDAC) and FUV channels provide 360-degree views of interplanetary hydrogen Lyman-alpha emission, with peaks when the slit sweeps across Jupiter. The Cassini Program Manager and Imaging Science Subsystem (ISS) Team Leader have made arrangements for a subset of ISS Jupiter images to be displayed lab-wide at JPL using resources of the Multi Mission Image Processing Laboratory (MIPL) and the JPL Media Relations office. The RADAR team is continuing analyses of data taken just prior to the start of Jupiter observations. Results to date indicate that the first sequence using the Pointing Design Tool (PDT) and incorporating the module GENMOS_R worked as planned. These data are providing valuable radiometric calibration data, as well as RADAR beam pattern information. The RADAR team has submitted a paper for inclusion in the Journal of Geophysical Research's special issue, “First Results from Cassini.” This paper will discuss the RADAR results from the Venus-1 and Earth Flyby sequences. The Integrated Test Laboratory (ITL) completed testing of the Cruise Sequence 23 this week. Cruise sequence 23 is the sequence that contains the Jupiter closest approach science activities. Included in the testing was the GENMOS_CD module as well as a loading test. The signed Cassini Archive Plan for Science Data, Version 1, was distributed to NASA Headquarters, the Planetary Data System, Principal Investigators, and Team Leaders. The Jupiter Millennium Flyby web site is now open and presenting assorted material for visitors desiring information on studies of Jupiter being conducted by Cassini, Galileo, the Goldstone Apple Valley Radio Telescope project, and other Earth-based observers. Additional background material will be added over the next few days, and the site will be updated as new data come in from the spacecraft. Visit http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/jupiterflyby. An open house was held at The Max-Planck-Institut fur Kernphysik in Heidelberg, Germany, home of the Cosmic Dust Analyzer (CDA) instrument flown on-board Cassini. During the day a multimedia presentation using JPL movies of the Cassini model, Probe release, and Probe landing was displayed. The CDA Model, multimedia presentation and copies of the Cassini paper model were a big hit with the German public who are very interested in space science and space probes. --------------------------------------------------------------------- CASSINI SENDS COLOR IMAGE OF JUPITER JPL image advisory 9 October 2000 NASA's Cassini spacecraft is beginning to return color images of Jupiter as it nears the giant planet for a gravitational assist toward its ultimate destination, Saturn. The first color image of Jupiter from Cassini was taken from a distance of about 81 million kilometers (50 million miles) by Cassini's camera. It shows the colored latitudinal bands encircling the planet in the upper atmosphere. Europa, one of Jupiter's large moons, is seen at right, casting a shadow onto the planet. The image is available from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, at http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/pictures/jupiter, and from the web site of the Cassini Imaging Science team at the University of Arizona, Tucson, at http://ciclops.lpl.arizona.edu/. Cassini will pass most closely to Jupiter, at about 10 million kilometers (6 million miles) away, on December 30. Images taken as it approaches and flies past will be used for studies of atmospheric dynamics, dark rings and other features of Jupiter. Some of the studies will be in conjunction with observations by NASA's Galileo spacecraft, which has been orbiting and studying Jupiter since late 1995. Additional information about Cassini is available at http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/cassini. Cassini is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. JPL manages the Cassini and Galileo missions for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. Contacts: Guy Webster, JPL, 818-354-6278 Lori Stiles, University of Arizona, 520-626-4402 Additional articles on this subject are available at: http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/missions/huygens_probe_endangere d_001005.html http://www.discovery.com/news/briefs/20001010/sp_jupiter.html http://www.msnbc.com/news/463318.asp http://www.universetoday.com/html/topics/cassini.html --------------------------------------------------------------------- THIS WEEK ON GALILEO JPL release 9-15 October 2000 Galileo continues to play back science data acquired during the spacecraft's previous two encounters. In February, the spacecraft flew past Jupiter's volcanic moon Io, and in May the spacecraft flew past Ganymede, Jupiter's largest moon. The next few weeks are the last dedicated to the return of these data. Playback is interrupted once this week. On Wednesday, the spacecraft performs standard maintenance on its onboard tape recorder. Observations from several instruments are on this week's playback schedule. During playback, the spacecraft's computer retrieves the data stored on the tape recorder, then processes and packages the data, and subsequently transmits the data to Earth. This week, observations are returned from the Solid-State Imaging camera (SSI), the Near-Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (NIMS) and the Fields and Particles instruments, which are comprised of the Dust Detector, Energetic Particle Detector, Heavy Ion Counter, Magnetometer, Plasma Detector, and Plasma Wave instrument. First on the playback schedule, SSI returns three observations of Jupiter's Great Red Spot. This observation set will provide scientists with a high spatial and time resolution record of the activity of this long-lived storm. NIMS comes to the playback party with the return of one of three global scans of Jupiter. Once together, the global images will map a substantial portion of Jupiter's globe. NIMS also returns one of 10 observations of auroral activity in Jupiter's north polar region. Fields and Particles playback continues from last week with the return of portions of a month-long, low-resolution survey of Jupiter's magnetosphere. The lengthy survey not only provides context for the high-resolution recordings performed during the Ganymede flyby but also provides scientists with information on both the inner and outer regions of Jupiter's magnetosphere and the transition out into the solar wind. Next, SSI returns an observation of Io's Prometheus volcanic region. The observation captures the Prometheus plume source and active lava flow. NIMS also returns an observation of Io, which contains a spectral scan of Io's Chaac Patera region. The Chaac region includes areas on Io that are informally known as “golf courses” because of their greenish color and their shape. The playback of Io observations marks the start of a third pass through the observations stored on the spacecraft's tape recorder. This third pass allows playback planners to replay data lost during the first two transmissions, return additional data, and/or reprocess and transmit data using different parameters. 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 --------------------------------------------------------------------- MARS GLOBAL SURVEYOR STATUS REPORT JPL release 11 October 2000 Launch / Days since Launch = November 7, 1996 / 1435 days Start of Mapping / Days since Start of Mapping = April 1, 1999 / 559 days Total Mapping Orbits = 7,131 Total Orbits = 8,734 Recent events The spacecraft continues to operate nominally in performing the beta- supplement daily recording and transmission of science data. The mm076 sequence executed successfully from 00-279 (10/5/00) through 00-281 (10/7/00). The mm077 sequence has performed well since it started on 00-282 (10/8/00). It terminates on 00-285 (10/11/00). The mm078 sequence, successfully uplinked on 00-285 (10/11/00), begins executing on 00-286 (10/12/00). MGS completed fifteen MOLA Polar Scans over five days from 00-281 (10/7/00) through 00-285 (10/11/00). They were part of the mz059 mini-sequence. Spacecraft health All subsystems report nominal health. Uplinks There have been 13 uplinks to the spacecraft during the last week, including new star catalogs and ephemeris files, instrument command loads and the sequences cited above. There have been 4,904 command files radiated to the spacecraft since launch. Upcoming events The mm079 background sequence will be uplinked on 00-287 (10/13/00). The next set of specialized science observations occur in November. MOLA Polar Scans, contained in the mz062 mini-sequence, will be performed on 00-316 (11/11/00) through 00-319 (11/14/00). Radio Science Occultation Egress Scans, scheduled for 00-322 (11/17/00) through 00-325 (11/20/00), will be commanded by the mz062 mini- sequence. --------------------------------------------------------------------- STARDUST STATUS REPORT JPL release 13 October 2000 There were three Deep Space Network passes the past week. As reported last week, the spacecraft went into safe-mode during a scheduled track with the Canberra tracking station (DSS-45). During an added track on Thursday, the spacecraft turned on the downlink as expected. Data was collected for quick analysis and a decision to exit safe mode was made within the 24-hour window. On Friday October 6, during our scheduled track, the spacecraft returned to standard operation when it was put into normal cruise mode and the background sequence was re-started. Attitude reference was performed by Inertial Motion Units (gyroscopes) rather than all stellar. This was a precaution until the cause of safe-mode could be better understood. On Tuesday, Lockheed Martin Astronautics (LMA) reported that they were able to duplicate the safe-mode in the test lab. For temperature control purposes the processor was running at 10 MHz. The freshly uplinked background sequence was processing and Navigation Camera images were playing back. An attitude image read error occurred, and caused a safe mode entry. The spacecraft team at LMA is investigating the logic that produces error messages to cause a request for safe mode. The track on October 11 was routine. In a regular maintenance sequence, the spacecraft was commanded to change the solar panel output from parallel to series to ensure proper battery charging rates as the solar range changes. The spacecraft is operating in sequence SC023, and planning for sequence 024 is underway at 10 MHz. 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 39.