MARSBUGS: The Electronic Astrobiology Newsletter Volume 9, Number 3, 21 January 2002. Editors: Dr. David J. Thomas, 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 monthly 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. Information concerning the scope of this newsletter, subscription formats and availability of back-issues is available from the Marsbugs web page at http://welcome.to/marsbugs or http://www.lyon.edu/webdata/users/dthomas/marsbugs/marsbugs.html. _____________________________________________________________________ CONTENTS 1) FORMATION OF RECENT GULLIES AND DEBRIS-FLOWS ON MARS BY THE MELTING OF NEAR-SURFACE GROUND ICE AT HIGH OBLIQUITY Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) release 2) NEWLY DISCOVERED ANTARCTIC MICROBES SUGGEST LIFE IS POSSIBLE IN TERRAINS ON MARS By Lori Stiles 3) PLANETARY SOCIETY OFFERS NEW SCHOLARSHIPS Planetary Society release 4) UT SOUTHWESTERN SPACE RESEARCHERS PINPOINT MECHANISM INVOLVED IN LOSS OF CONSCIOUSNESS AFTER SPACE FLIGHT University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas release 5) VOYAGE OF THE NANO-SURGEONS By Patrick L. Barry 6) FAREWELL, IO; GALILEO PAYING LAST VISIT TO A RESTLESS MOON NASA release 02-10 7) FIFTH INTERNATIONAL MARS SOCIETY CONFERENCE ANNOUNCED By Maggie Zubrin 8) UMASS RESEARCHERS FIND ENVIRONMENT ON EARTH THAT MIMICS MARS GEOCHEMICALLY AND SUPPORTS ANCIENT LIFE FORM University of Massachusetts release 9) LIQUID WATER IN EARLY SOLAR SYSTEM QUESTIONED ESA release 10) SCIENTISTS APPLY EARTH'S HYDROTHERMAL PLUME DYNAMICS TO EUROPA University of Washington release 11) INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION RESEARCH TO STUDY TREATMENTS FOR LIVER AILMENTS NASA release 02-11 12) HERE'S THE DRILL: MARS'S GREATEST TREASURES MAY LIE BENEATH ITS BARREN, ICY SURFACE By Leonard David 13) HOW SOCIAL SCIENCE DECIPHERS OUR THOUGHTS ON ALIEN LIFE By Douglas Vakoch 14) THE PLANETARY SOCIETY ASKS THE PUBLIC TO SPEAK UP ABOUT NASA MISSIONS Planetary Society release 15) ASTRONOMY TALK TO TRACE NASA'S MARS EXPLORATION STRATEGY NASA/ARC release 02-05AR 16) NEW ADDITIONS TO THE ASTROBIOLOGY INDEX By David J. Thomas 17) CASSINI WEEKLY SIGNIFICANT EVENTS NASA/JPL release 18) TODAY ON GALILEO NASA/JPL releases 19) GALILEO MILLENNIUM MISSION STATUS REPORTS NASA/JPL releases 20) INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION STATUS REPORTS NASA/JSC releases 21) MARS ODYSSEY MISSION STATUS NASA/JPL release 22) STARDUST STATUS REPORT NASA/JPL release _____________________________________________________________________ FORMATION OF RECENT GULLIES AND DEBRIS-FLOWS ON MARS BY THE MELTING OF NEAR-SURFACE GROUND ICE AT HIGH OBLIQUITY Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) release 11 January 2002 The observation of small gullies on Mars was one of the more unexpected discoveries of the Mars Observer Camera (MOC) aboard the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft. The characteristics of these gullies suggested that they were formed by flowing water and soil and rocks transported by these flows. They appeared to be surprisingly young, as if they had formed in the last few million years or even more recently. This was a major surprise because the presence of liquid water seemed impossible on Mars in such a recent past. In their initial analysis, the MGS Camera investigators Mike Mallin and Ken Edgett proposed a scenario involving ground water seepage from a sub-surface liquid water reservoir located a few hundred meters or less below the surface. The existence of such an aquifer would have had major consequences for the future of Mars exploration and the possibility of life. However, the process capable of maintaining such a shallow aquifer at temperatures above the freezing point of water remained unclear. Analyzing the MGS Camera data archive, we were able to find example of gullies originating from the top of isolated peaks and from dune crests. In these cases, the involvement of a subsurface aquifer was unlikely. We also found that the Martian gullies were strikingly similar to some "debris flows" that two of us observed on the dry and cold Greenland east coast (a terrestrial environment a little "Mars- like"). Field studies showed that these debris flows are not formed by ground water seepage, but that they result from the thawing of the near surface, which becomes impregnated by liquid water when the ground ice and the snow cover melt. On this basis, it was tempting to assess if such a process involving the melting of the near-surface could have occurred on Mars. Using a state-of-the-art model of the current Martian climate used to analyze current mission observations, we calculated the temperature of the surface and sub-surface on various locations on Mars and for various obliquities. Obliquity is the inclination of the planet rotation axis on its orbit. Mars orbit specialists believe that its obliquity has varied a lot in the past million years, and these variations have strongly affected the climate. Our calculations revealed that the only places on Mars where the daily mean temperature has been above the melting point of water during the past obliquity cycles are the mid and high latitudes above 30°, especially on poleward-facing slopes. The corresponding thermal wave could have melted the ground ice over several tens of centimeters. The fact that poleward-facing slopes receive more sunlight and get warmer at high obliquity in the summer is due to the pole being tilted toward the sun. This preferential orientation and the latitudinal distribution of the warmest near-surface temperature coincide with the location of the observed Martian gullies, suggesting a link between near-surface warming and debris flows. In fact, to further test this hypothesis, we performed a more detailed statistical analysis of the observed gullies' orientations. We found an almost perfect agreement between the variations of the orientation of the gullies with latitude observed on Mars and those predicted by the model! On this basis, and since Mars at high obliquity is thought to have had a water-rich atmosphere thicker than today (so that liquid water could sometime flow on the surface), we believe that the Mars gullies result from the melting of the near surface ground ice at high obliquity. Contacts: François Costard*, François Forget+, Nicolas Mangold*, and Jean-Pierre Peulvast* *CNRS- UMR8616 OrsayTerreE, Université Paris-Sud, Orsay, France +Laboratory for Dynamic Meteorology, CNRS, Paris France F. Costard, F. Forget, N. Mangold and J. P. Peulvast, 2002. Formation of recent Martian debris flows by melting of near-surface ground ice at high obliquity. Science, 295(5552):110-113. http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/295/5552/110 An additional article on this subject is available at http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewpr.html?pid=7124. _____________________________________________________________________ NEWLY DISCOVERED ANTARCTIC MICROBES SUGGEST LIFE IS POSSIBLE IN TERRAINS ON MARS By Lori Stiles University of Arizona release 14 January 2002 Canadian and New Zealand scientists have found living microbes buried deeper than perhaps ever before in Antarctica's ice-free Dry Valleys. They and collaborating planetary scientists at the University of Arizona say new research "opens up the possibility of life on Mars and the possible positions within a soil where it might be found." The international team is reporting the work in Icarus in the article, "Morphogenesis of Antarctic paleosols: Martian analogue." The scientists have discovered long-lived colonies of insecticidal fungi and a common species of Penicillium bacteria at two sites in two salty soil horizons more than one to three inches (3 to 8 centimeters) beneath Antarctic surface pavement. The cold, xeric Dry Valley soils formed under environmental conditions very like those of past and present Mars, "where similar weathering could occur and possible microbial populations may exist," the researchers said. "We believe that our field-based investigation of parts of the Antarctic yields valuable information about soils and microbial life that may bear significantly on future manned and unmanned missions to Mars, especially since the Martian surface archives an active and varied geologic history similar in many ways to that of Antarctic terrains," they add. Authors are William C. Mahaney of York University in Ontario, Canada; James M. Dohm and Victor R. Baker of the University of Arizona; Horton E. Newsom of the University of New Mexico; David Malloch of the University of Toronto (who analyzed the microbes); R. G. V. Hancock of the Royal Military College, Ontario, Canada; Iain Campbell of Land and Soil Consultancy Services, Stoke, New Zealand; Doug Sheppard of Geochemical Solutions, Petone, New Zealand; and Mike W. Milner of York University. The hyper-arid, ultra-cold climate of the Antarctic Dry Valleys comes closer to present-day Martian climate than anywhere on Earth. Mean annual temperatures in the Quartermain Mountains, where these microorganisms were found, hover at minus 30 degrees to minus 35 degrees Celsius. Precipitation is practically nil--equal to less than 10 mm (less than four-tenths inch) annually. Mahaney said that when, in January 1998, he, Campbell and Sheppard ventured into the tills of the Aztec and New Mountain areas, near Taylor Glacier in western Antarctica, they weren't thinking about Mars. Part of Project K-105 in New Zealand's Antarctic Program, they intended to determine the age of paleosols, or ancient soils. "And we went looking for microbes," Mahaney said. Mahaney has analyzed microbes in soil in regions ranging from Canada and Wyoming's Wind River Range to Mount Kenya in East Africa. He is about to join Geological Survey of Finland scientists on a full-scale drilling program into more than billion-year-old weathered metamorphic rock in northern Finland that is a possible analogue to a large thrust sheet in the southern hemisphere of Mars. Mahaney performs some laboratory analyses at York University's Geomorphology and Pedology Laboratory, a facility he has directed for 30 years but that is slated for closure starting this year. Glaciers deposited "tills," or rock debris, at the Aztec and New Mountain areas beginning roughly 23 million years ago, when Antarctic climate was warmer and wetter than at present. Glaciers advanced and retreated repeatedly through time, depositing successive layers of dolerite and sandstone till that weathered and changed chemically when bathed in wind-blown ocean salt and other materials, forming successive soil layers. Each soil layer, as it formed, built up salt and released iron. Salt through time accumulated in the older, lower layers. The glaciers protected rather than eroded the underlying surfaces, preserving the lower horizons in the multistory paleosol profiles, the scientists noted. Mahaney said they focused on layers they dated using a beryllium-10 isotope dating technique at from 10- to -15 million years old. "We went to the iron-rich horizons, where we thought we'd find lots of microbes, because microbes need iron for physiological processes," Mahaney said. "And we sampled the lower-down, high-salt horizons, where we thought we would find few microorganisms. We found just the opposite. "We found microbes in soil with 3,000 ppm salt concentrations. That's like vodka. That's so much salt, temperatures can drop to minus 56 degrees Celsius before there's frost bite. " Highly concentrated sulfate salts lower the freezing point. Under the right "supercooled" conditions, water remains liquid, noted UA Regents' Professor Victor R. Baker. The availability of liquid water is a problem for microorganisms both in Antarctica and on Mars. "Although these (supercooling) processes are not fully understood on Earth," Baker said, "the fact that they occur in Antarctica shows the possibility that they also might occur on Mars. Indeed, the Mars questions are stimulating exactly this kind of work that will advance our understanding of extreme processes on Earth." "We also found that these microbe colonies are not just a one-shot occurrence," Mahaney said. "We found abundant, well-formed, long- lived fungi colonies at two sites in two organic-carbon-poor layers between 3 centimeters and 8 centimeters (more than one inch to more than three inches) below the surface pavement. "The strange thing is, we found several colonies of Beauveria bassiana--fungi that thrive on insects. The colonies may have been there longer than centuries, maybe millennia, maybe since the last Ice Age--I have no idea how long. So the question is, what do these well-developed colonies live on?" Scientists first discovered algae, fungi and bacteria growing inside porous sandstone and surface pavement in the Antarctic Dry Valleys more than 20 years ago. Researchers since have found long-lived algal mats submerged under 10-foot-thick lake ice crust, bacteria living in hot volcanic fumaroles of Mount Erebus, and microorganisms in other Antarctic ecological niches. NASA has long been interested in the Antarctic Dry Valleys as terrain analogous to Mars, and in Earth "extremophiles"--organisms that grow in the most extreme, severe environments. But when Mahaney presented a paper at the August 2000 polar science conference in Reykjavik, Iceland, on the weighty implications of finding life in soil horizons in such a hostile environment in many ways analogous to Mars, some dismissed the idea as half crazy, said UA's James Dohm. He and Baker, however, realized the implications "are extremely important to future unmanned and manned Mars missions that might sample soil horizons to be analyzed for extant life," Dohm said. They have been collaborating with Mahaney on further research, assimilating the latest analyses of images and information from Mars space missions into the work. "It appears that tills have been emplaced on Mars under environmental conditions approximately similar to those occurring in the Dry Valleys study site, and that the time scale of 10 million years may apply to both areas," the scientists wrote in Icarus. And while little so far is known about soils or weathered surfaces on Mars, current thinking is that early Mars' climate was warm and wet, and that throughout its mainly extremely cold, dry climate history, Mars since has been episodically, very briefly, warm and wet, Baker and others conclude. They reported on it in Nature as early as 1991 and as recently as July 12, 2001. "The glacial climates of Antarctica would have led to glaciers that produced the same kinds of surfaces that were sampled in Antarctica and that we see on Mars today," Baker said. Dohm, Nathalie Cabrol and Edmon Grin of the NASA Ames Research Center, Jeff Kargel of the U.S. Geological Survey--Flagstaff, and others reported last month at the American Geophysical Union (AGU) meeting on Mars' geologically recent glacial landforms, feature types that Baker also described in his July 2001 Nature insight article. "Earth-like landscapes which are modified by glaciers, rock glaciers and mudflows are especially pronounced in Mars' southern latitudes, south of 30 degrees," Dohm concludes from a study he conducted with Cabrol and Grin. "Soils may have formed at these southern latitudes, at the tremendously deep (10-kilometer or 6-mile deep) volatile sediment sinks such as Argyre and Hellas impact basins, and at the polar regions," he said. There is a growing body of geoscientific evidence that suggests Mars' early environment was Earth-like longer than previously believed, he added. "If early Mars was Earth-like, then soils later exposed by faulting, collapse, impact and/or explosion may one day be sampled by a rover," Dohm said he concludes from research in collaboration with Robert Anderson of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Explosions would occur if hot magma hits ground water or shallow surface water. Arizona State University's Paul Knauth reported at the December AGU meeting on the high probability that Mars could produce extremely saline brines, Baker noted. "The evaporation and wind transport of the salts from these brines would readily lead to the types of processes that formed the soil zones in Antarctica," Baker said. "The water that was mobilized by the changing climates on Mars, implied by the recent water-related landforms would flush these salts into the soil horizons, even for extremely cold mean climate conditions," he said. Michael Malin and other Mars Global Surveyor scientists reported last month in Science on the fact that Martian climate is not stable, but changing even on short time scales, Baker added. "All these considerations would imply that Mars, like Earth, has climatically sensitive zones that preferentially locate certain kinds of soil development. The past climates that produced certain kinds of soils can then be interpreted, or 'reconstructed,' from the studies of the old soils (paleosols) that formed under those past conditions. " Scientists have used these same kinds of paleosol studies on Earth to study past climates that changed in response to the ice ages. "Soils and living organisms on Earth are closely associated. In a sense, soil is the 'excited skin of the Earth', as the famous soil scientist Nikiforoff said. If Mars also has soils related to biological process, then they may be related to the history of life on that planet, as well as the history of Martian climate," Baker said. [http://graucho.opi.arizona.edu/graphix/images/antmapfinal.jpg] Location of paleosols at Aztec and New Mountain areas, Antarctica (Map courtesy of W.C. Mahaney, York University). [http://graucho.opi.arizona.edu/graphix/images/fig.3-icarus.jpg] Mars Orbital Laser Altimeter shaded relief map of the western and eastern equatorial regions on Mars, including, highland-lowland boundary, Thaumasia plateau, Valles Marineris, Argyre and Hellas impact basins, newly identified outflow channel system, (MOLA Science Team images: NASA/JPL/GSFC). [http://graucho.opi.arizona.edu/graphix/images/photofig.jpg] Viking orbital image showing potential glaciated terrain east of Hellas Planitia (Photo: NASA). [http://graucho.opi.arizona.edu/graphix/images/antprints1.jpg] Mahaney in the Antarctic Dry Valleys field site (Photo: Courtesy of W.C. Mahaney, York University). [http://graucho.opi.arizona.edu/graphix/images/antprints2.jpg] Sheppard (left) and Campbell in the Antarctic Dry Valleys field site. (Photo: Courtesy of W.C. Mahaney, York University). Contacts: Lori Stiles, UA News Services Phone: 520-621-1877 William C. Mahaney, York University Phone: 416-736-2100 x33923 E-mail: bmahaney@yorku.ca James M. Dohm, University of Arizona Phone: 520-626-8454 E-mail: jmd@hwr.arizona.edu Victor R. Baker, University of Arizona Phone: 520-621-7120 E-mail: baker@hwr.arizona.edu Additional information on this article is available at http://uanews.opi.arizona.edu/cgi- bin/WebObjects/UANews.woa/wa/SRStoryDetails?ArticleID=4736. Additional articles on this subject are available at: http://www.cnn.com/2002/TECH/space/01/15/antarctic.life/index.html http://www.cosmiverse.com/space01150203.html http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0201/17life/ _____________________________________________________________________ PLANETARY SOCIETY OFFERS NEW SCHOLARSHIPS Planetary Society release 14 January 2002 Students entering space-related fields may want to study the new scholarships offered by The Planetary Society. The Society will award two Planetary Society Scholarship for Space Studies each year for the next five years, beginning with the 2002-2003 school year. Both high school seniors and full-time college students can apply for the $1000 scholarships. Applicants must write a 500-word essay about how they plan to use the scholarship, and how that use will be related to the mission of The Planetary Society. To be eligible to apply students must either be a member of the Society or nominated by a member of it. They also need to submit the scholarship application and required materials no later than April 30, 2002. For more information about The Planetary Society's new Scholarships for Space Studies, visit the Society's web site at http://planetary.org or call Linda Wong at 626-793-5100. The Society is also offering this year a full-tuition scholarship to the International Space University (ISU) Summer Session. The scholarship is open to all candidates who have already been accepted to attend the 2002 ISU summer session, but who have not yet secured scholarships to cover their fees. This year's ISU summer session will be held in Pomona, California. The Jim and Lin Burke Scholarship was named for James (Jim) and Lin Burke, long-time advocates and staff participants in the ISU summer session and active Planetary Society members. Jim Burke, one of the pioneers of America's space program, is the technical editor of the Society's magazine, The Planetary Report. The Jim and Lin Burke scholarship was made possible by a donation from ISU graduate, Eric Tilenius. The Planetary Society Carl Sagan, Bruce Murray and Louis Friedman founded The Planetary Society in 1980 to advance the exploration of the solar system and to continue the search for extraterrestrial life. With members in over 140 countries, the Society is the largest space interest group in the world. Contact: For more information about The Planetary Society, contact Susan Lendroth at 626-793-5100 ext. 237 or by e-mail at susan.lendroth@planetary.org. _____________________________________________________________________ UT SOUTHWESTERN SPACE RESEARCHERS PINPOINT MECHANISM INVOLVED IN LOSS OF CONSCIOUSNESS AFTER SPACE FLIGHT University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas release 15 January 2002 In one of the most ambitious medical experiments ever conducted aboard a space shuttle, UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas space researchers have pinpointed the mechanism responsible for the brief loss of consciousness and lightheadedness that many astronauts experience in the upright posture after space flight. The findings have broad application to medicine, both in space and on earth. Two-thirds of astronauts experience orthostatic intolerance after space flight. Symptoms include lightheadedness, dizziness, palpitations and difficulty concentrating upon standing. The same condition also affects 500,000 people in the United States. Using data collected during the 1998 Neurolab space shuttle mission, UT Southwestern researchers reported in one of three papers in a series of studies published in the January issue of The Journal of Physiology (http://www.jphysiol.org/content/vol538/issue1/), that orthostatic intolerance is due to the heart shrinking and becoming stiff. Previous research suggested that the condition is due to a malfunction of the sympathetic nervous system, which helps maintain a normal blood pressure by controlling the size of arterial blood vessels. "This was an ambitious project because it was the first space flight in which researchers directly recorded the sympathetic nerve activity of the astronauts," said Dr. Benjamin Levine, lead author of the study and associate professor of internal medicine. "These studies and follow-up experiments performed in our laboratory suggest that drug therapies aimed at boosting sympathetic activity in astronauts after space flight in response to standing upright may not be necessary. Rather, efforts to combat the primary problem, namely an excessive reduction in stroke volume while standing, which causes the heart to stiffen and shrink, may be effective." He said [that] many forms of orthostatic intolerance can be prevented or reversed without the use of drugs. "Markedly increasing the consumption of both salt and water, exercise training--both endurance and strength training to increase the heart size and flexibility and expand the blood volume--and behavioral modification to facilitate return of blood back to the heart has helped more than approximately 75 percent of patients who present to our autonomic function clinic with symptoms of orthostatic intolerance," said Levine, who is medical director of the Institute for Exercise and Environmental Medicine, a collaboration between UT Southwestern and Presbyterian Hospital of Dallas. The researchers studied six male astronauts before, during and on landing day of the 16-day Neurolab space shuttle mission, which was dedicated to the study of the nervous system in space. The investigators monitored the astronauts' blood pressure and how the cardiovascular system is stressed by gravity. "This research has led to a better understanding of the type of blood-flow problems that affect astronauts on return to earth and that can also cause an elderly person who stands up too quickly to become dizzy," said Dr. Gunnar Blomqvist, professor of internal medicine and physiology, and director of the NASA Specialized Center of Research and Training in Physiology at UT Southwestern from 1993 to 1998. Blomqvist served as principal investigator of UT Southwestern's Neurolab research group, one of eight scientific teams from nine countries that participated in the investigation from the ground. Other principal investigators for the autonomic nervous system research project include Dr. F. J. Baisch of DLR Institute of Aerospace Medicine in Germany, Dr. D.L. Ekberg of Virginia Commonwealth University and Dr. David Robertson of Vanderbilt University. Contact: Amy Shields Office of News and Publications Phone: 214-648-3404 E-mail: Amy.Shields@UTSouthwestern.edu An additional article on this subject is available at http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/generalscience/astronaut_heart_ 020116.html. _____________________________________________________________________ VOYAGE OF THE NANO-SURGEONS By Patrick L. Barry From NASA Science News 15 January 2002 NASA-funded scientists are crafting microscopic vessels that can venture into the human body and repair problems--one cell at a time. It's like a scene from the movie, Fantastic Voyage. A tiny vessel-- far smaller than a human cell--tumbles through a patient's bloodstream, hunting down diseased cells and penetrating their membranes to deliver precise doses of medicines. Only this isn't Hollywood. This is real science. Researchers funded by a grant from NASA recently began a project to make this futuristic scenario a reality. If successful, the "vessels" developed by these scientists--called nanoparticles or nanocapsules--could help make another science fiction story come true: human exploration of Mars and other long-term habitation of space. While space applications will be the researchers' primary focus, nanoparticles also hold great potential for many fields of medicine, particularly cancer treatment. The tantalizing promise of delivering tumor-killing poisons directly to cancerous cells, thus averting the ravaging side-effects of chemotherapy, has generated a lot of interest in nanoparticles among the medical community. "The purpose of these nanoparticles is to introduce a new type of therapy--to actually go inside individual cells... and repair them, or, if there's a lot of damage, to get rid of those cells," explains James Leary of the University of Texas Medical Branch. Leary is leading the research along with Stephen Lloyd, and Massoud Motamedi, also from the University of Texas; Nicholas Kotov of Oklahoma State University; and Yuri Lvov of Louisiana Tech University. Their project will focus on a problem related to cancer--the high radiation doses experienced by astronauts in space, especially on journeys to the Moon or to Mars, which require leaving the protective umbrella of the giant magnetic field surrounding the Earth. Even the advanced materials used for radiation shielding on spacecraft can't fully insulate astronauts from the high-energy radiation of space. These photons and particles pierce the astronauts' bodies like infinitesimal bullets, blasting apart molecules in their path. When DNA is damaged by this radiation, cells can behave erratically, sometimes leading to cancers. "This is an important problem," Leary says. "If humans are going to live in space, we have to figure out how to protect them from radiation better." Because shielding alone probably won't solve the problem, scientists must find some way to make the astronauts themselves more resistant to radiation damage. Nanoparticles offer an elegant solution. These drug-delivery capsules are tiny--only a few hundred nanometers, which is smaller than a bacterium and smaller even than the wavelengths of visible light. (A nanometer is one-millionth of a millimeter.) A simple injection with a hypodermic needle can release thousands or millions of these capsules into a person's bloodstream. Once there, nanoparticles will take advantage of the body's natural cellular signaling system to find radiation-damaged cells. The trillions of cells in a human body identify themselves and communicate with each other via complex molecules embedded in their outer membranes. These molecules act as chemical "flags" for communicating to other cells or as chemical "gates" that control entrance to the cell for molecules in the bloodstream (such as hormones). When cells become damaged by radiation, they produce markers in a particular class of proteins called "CD-95" and place these on their outer surfaces. "It's how the cell speaks to other cells and says, 'Hey, I'm injured,'" Leary says. By implanting molecules in the outer surface of the nanoparticles that bind to these CD-95 markers, scientists can "program" the nanoparticles to seek out these radiation-damaged cells. If the radiation damage is very bad, nanoparticles can enter the damaged cells and release enzymes that initiate the cell's "auto-destruct sequence," known as apoptosis. Otherwise, they can release DNA- repair enzymes to try to fix the cell and return it to normal functioning. Humans and other organisms have natural enzymes that tend to DNA and repair mistakes, but some do a better job than others do. "There are organisms that can [absorb high] radiation doses and do just fine," Leary says. By studying such species, scientists have already fashioned DNA-repairing enzymes that could be delivered by nanoparticles. Leary's team is also studying ways to attach fluorescent molecules to the nanoparticles. These could be designed to light up at certain stages of the process, even employing different colors for different stages. These fluorescent tags would provide a way to monitor the nanoparticles within the body. "To assess the degree of radiation damage, an astronaut would put on something like a pair of glasses, but those glasses peer inward onto the retina," Leary explains. "And you use the flowing of [fluorescent] nanoparticles on cells through the retina as sort of an in vivo assessment instrument." (In vivo means "within the organism.") Related technology already exists--it's used to measure blood flow changes in the retina due to various diseases. NASA is interested in such non-invasive ways to monitor health because astronauts might need to act as their own doctors on extended missions. "Eventually, astronauts might wear these glasses to sample what's going on in their bloodstream. And then if they need treatment, they have a hypodermic needle with the appropriate nanoparticles for the job," he says. Nanoparticles are a radically new approach to biosensing and medicine delivery, and as such the technology will require many more years to become mature and dependable. But it's not a pie-in-the-sky fantasy. All the elements of this idea have already been demonstrated separately--the DNA-repair enzymes, the nanoparticles, the fluorescent tags. The trick is getting them all to work together reliably. "This is a very difficult problem, and we're not going to be able to do it all in three years," which is the duration of the grant. "We're trying to do some pretty innovative science here--it's a bit of a jump," says Leary. "But that's why it's a lot of fun to work on." Additional information on this story is available at http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2002/15jan_nano.htm?list683223. An additional article on this subject is available at http://www.spacedaily.com/news/nanotech-02b.html. _____________________________________________________________________ FAREWELL, IO; GALILEO PAYING LAST VISIT TO A RESTLESS MOON NASA release 02-10 15 January 2002 NASA's Galileo orbiter will dart past Jupiter's moon Io on Thursday in the veteran spacecraft's last and closest flyby of any of the giant planet's four major moons. Io's volcanoes have presented many surprises since they were first seen in 1979 by NASA's Voyager spacecraft and especially during the six years that Galileo has been orbiting Jupiter. Scientists hope this week's encounter will reveal how several regions of Io have changed over the years. "Galileo's days are numbered now, so it's especially exciting to visit Io one last time," said Dr. Eilene Theilig, Galileo project manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), Pasadena, CA. "An orbital mission like Galileo gives you the advantage of getting to examine interesting places repeatedly over a period of time. That's been great for studying Io, since it keeps changing so much." The Galileo flight team at JPL aimed the orbiter to skim just 100 kilometers (62 miles) above Io's multicolored surface at 9:09 AM EST on Jan. 17. "The reason we're going so close is to put Galileo on a ballistic trajectory for impact into Jupiter in September 2003," Theilig said. Galileo has operated in orbit more than three times longer than its originally planned mission. The resilient spacecraft has survived about three and a half times as much exposure to radiation from Jupiter's radiation belts as it was designed to withstand. In its 33 loops around Jupiter, it has flown near Io six times previously and near the other three of Jupiter's planet-sized moons--Europa, Ganymede and Callisto--a total of 27 times. The tour has relied on expert navigators to calculate several moves in advance, using each moon's gravity to help adjust the spacecraft's trajectory toward its various encounters. However, the propellant supply needed for steering the spacecraft and keeping its antenna pointed toward Earth is now nearly exhausted. To avoid even a slim chance that Galileo could crash into Europa after its mission ends, NASA has decided to send it to a controlled demise in the crushing pressure of Jupiter's dense atmosphere. Galileo had earlier found evidence that Europa has a deep ocean of melted saltwater under its frozen surface, heightening interest in keeping Europa pristine for later studies of its potential for harboring extraterrestrial life. Before its final plunge, Galileo will make the first close flyby of Amalthea, a small, inner moon of Jupiter, in November 2002. This week, Galileo will make direct measurements of the charged particles and magnetic environment around Io. Also, its camera and instruments for infrared and thermal imaging have been programmed to make observations during the flyby. As much of the data as possible will be transmitted to Earth from the spacecraft's tape recorder in coming months, Theilig said. Io, like Earth's Moon, always keeps the same side facing inward toward its planet. On Thursday, Galileo will be in position for its best-ever look at the Jupiter-facing side of Io. "We're hoping to see areas we haven't seen well since Voyager imaged them back in 1979," said JPL's Dr. Torrence Johnson, Galileo project scientist. "We'd like to know more about rates of change for volcanic features on Io." New observations are also planned for a previously inactive volcano that unexpectedly lofted a tall plume last summer. On this swing through the inner portion of the Jovian system, Galileo will also examine storms on Jupiter itself and the Io torus, a doughnut-shaped band of charged particles encircling Jupiter at Io's distance from the planet. A sporadic malfunction has affected performance of Galileo's camera since mid-2000, apparently due to radiation damage to an electronic component. The camera worked flawlessly during the most recent Io encounter in October 2001, but each time Galileo swings as close to Jupiter as Io's orbit, odds increase for more serious damage to the spacecraft from exposure to the planet's radiation belts. Io is the innermost of Jupiter's four large moons. Heat from tidal flexing powered by Jupiter's gravitational pull makes it the most volcanically active world in the solar system, with an estimated 200 to 300 volcanoes rapidly resurfacing it. Galileo left Earth aboard the space shuttle Atlantis in 1989. JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, CA, manages the Galileo mission for NASA's Office of Space Science in Washington. Additional information about the mission is available online at http://galileo.jpl.nasa.gov. Contacts: Donald Savage Headquarters, Washington, DC Phone: 202-358-1727 Guy Webster Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA Phone: 818-354-5011 Additional articles on this subject are available at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_1764000/1764351.stm http://www.cnn.com/2002/TECH/space/01/17/galileo.io/index.html http://www.cosmiverse.com/space01160202.html http://dsc.discovery.com/news/reu/20020114/galileo.html http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/solarsystem/galileo_camera_0201 17.html _____________________________________________________________________ FIFTH INTERNATIONAL MARS SOCIETY CONFERENCE ANNOUNCED By Maggie Zubrin Mars Society release 15 January 2002 The Mars Society is pleased to announce that the Fifth International Mars Society Conference will return to Boulder, Colorado at the University of Colorado campus, August 8th through August 11th, 2002. The Boulder campus is a beautiful, open campus with newly renovated facilities. It is the original home of the Mars Underground and site of the founding convention of The Mars Society, so we are thrilled to be returning this year. The date of the conference has been moved up this year to make it easier for our student membership to attend. We are happy to announce that we are able to hold our early registration rates at the same level as the prior two years, $60 student and senior and $180 regular. Early registration ends June 30, 2002. Registration is available through our web site (http://www.marssociety.org/) using your Visa, Mastercard, American Express or Discover card. Or you can download a registration form and fax or mail it in with your check or credit card information. Call for papers The Mars Society is accepting abstracts for papers to be delivered at the conference this August. Topics covered will range from mission design to Mars survival skills, chapter activities to arts and literature. All subjects relevant to Mars' settlement and exploration are invited. Send your abstract of 300 words as an email or word attachment to HeydonMars@aol.com. The deadline for abstract submissions is May 31, 2002. Call for volunteers This year, Paige Heydon, Administrative Director of the Mars Society, will be serving as HQ coordinator of the conference. I will offer as much support as possible, but Paige will also need a solid volunteer team to assist with conference preparation, publicity and staffing. We are actively seeking a local chapter member to serve as chapter coordinator. In addition, we will be looking several local members to assist that chair. Once again, we will be able to offer free conference admission to a limited number of students who volunteer to work at the conference. And of course, we can use an almost indefinite number of on-site staff for registration, AV and guest assistance. As a long-time conference volunteer, I can state unequivocally that volunteers have the most fun. So join the in crowd this year and help the Mars Society. Contact Paige at HeydonMars@aol.com. Vendors and displays This year, vendors and displays will be located near the main plenary hall and registration. We will return to asking a donation from vendors of 10% of sales and inviting all chapters and non-profit organizations to display at the conference at no charge. Please reserve your table in advance to allow for the best allocation of space. Contact HeydonMars@aol.com. Lodging and general info Because the University offers year-round lodging to students, we are not able to offer dormitory space to our conference attendees. There are many hotels in the immediate vicinity with rates from modest to luxury. We will be posting a few suggestions at the web site in the near future. The nearest airport is Denver International Airport, which is about 45 minutes from the University by car. Shuttle service is available to Boulder. Boulder is a biking and walking town and bus service is also available. The weather in August is moderately hot (averaging around 85% Farenheit during the day.) There are occasional thunderstorms during the afternoon. Dress casually and comfortably. The campus is not overly large, but a good pair of walking shoes would be a plus. _____________________________________________________________________ UMASS RESEARCHERS FIND ENVIRONMENT ON EARTH THAT MIMICS MARS GEOCHEMICALLY AND SUPPORTS ANCIENT LIFE FORM University of Massachusetts release 16 January 2002 Deep below the surface of the Beverhead Mountains of Idaho, a research team led by Derek Lovley, head of the microbiology department at the University of Massachusetts, and Francis H. Chappelle of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), has found an unusual community of microoganisms that may hold the key to understanding how life could survive on Mars. Their findings are spelled out in the January 17 issue of the journal Nature (volume 415). "The microbial community we found in Idaho is unlike any previously described on Earth," said Lovley. "This is as close as we have come to finding life on Earth under geological conditions most like those expected below the surface of Mars." "Life requires water and an energy source. The primary energy source for life on earth is sunlight. Plants convert sunlight energy to organic matter that other organisms then use for fuel. On Mars and other planets or moons in our solar system on which life might exist, liquid water is only available below the surface where there is no sunlight. So, if there is life, it must sustain itself with alternative energy sources. This study demonstrates, for the first time, that certain microorganisms can thrive in the absence of sunlight by using hydrogen gas released from deep in the Earth's surface as their energy source." Lovley added, "The microbial community found at the Idaho site is remarkably similar to what geochemists have postulated might be found below the surface of Mars, based on what they know of Martian subsurface chemistry. Now that such a community has been discovered, we can use it to test hypotheses about hydrogen-based subsurface life, and use these findings to develop strategies for searching for similar microbial communities on other planets." According to Lovley, geologists and microbiologists have searched for at least a decade for a community of microorganisms on Earth that could survive on hydrogen, somewhere underground, away from sunlight. Chappelle, of USGS, explained that he specifically chose the Idaho site for the study because it provided geological conditions most like those expected on Mars. "The water deep within these volcanic rocks has been isolated from the surface for thousands of years. It is devoid of measurable organic matter, but contains significant amounts of hydrogen," said Chappelle. Lovley added, "In prior studies, when we looked in underground areas we considered promising, the DNA signatures of the bacteria present indicated they were living on organic matter carried in the groundwater or that had been deposited along with the subsurface of rocks. Those environments are not likely to represent conditions on Mars because, on Mars, such organic matter would not be available. "At the Idaho site we saw something completely different," Lovley continued. "Over 90 percent of the microorganisms were Archaea, which are microorganisms considered to be most closely related to ancient life on Earth. In this case, the Archaea were methane- producing microorganisms that live by combining hydrogen with carbon dioxide to make methane gas. They do not require organic carbon in order to grow. This is exactly the scenario that geochemists have predicted for life on Mars," explained Lovley. The study was funded by the U.S. Geological Survey and a grant from the Life in Extreme Environments program of the National Science Foundation. In addition to Lovley and Chappelle, the team included Stacy A. Clufo, Barbara A. Methé and Kathleen O'Neill of UMass; Paul M. Bradley of USGS, Columbia, SC; and LeRoy L. Knobel, USGS, Idaho Falls, ID. Additional articles on this subject are available at: http://www.space.com/searchforlife/life_methane_020116.html http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0201/17life/ http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0201/17life/umass.html _____________________________________________________________________ LIQUID WATER IN EARLY SOLAR SYSTEM QUESTIONED ESA release 17 January 2002 Planet-like bodies with liquid water formed very early in the history of the Solar System, or so scientists used to think. That scenario may now be due for revision after a finding with ESA's Infrared Space Observatory, ISO. The theory was based on the presence of certain minerals called carbonates in primitive Solar System objects. Carbonates are thought to form in liquid water, which can only exist in large, planet-like bodies. Using ISO, an international team has discovered large amounts of carbonates around two dying stars, where large bodies do not exist. This suggests that carbonates are not necessarily linked to liquid water. This is the first detection of carbonates outside the Solar System. "Our finding suggests that not all carbonates found in the Solar System were formed in association with liquid water, and this of course sheds new light on the formation history of the Solar System," says Ciska Kemper, of the University of Amsterdam. The Solar System formed out of residual material left over from the formation of the Sun itself. About 5000 million years ago "clumps" in this material--which was swirling around the newborn Sun--began to grow, and some ended up forming the planets. Nowadays astronomers can study the earliest stages of the process by analyzing Solar System objects that are known to be very primitive, such as certain meteorites. For instance, in several of these objects they have found very old carbonates. This is considered to be evidence that large, planet-like bodies with liquid water had "formed" already 20 million years after the formation of the first clumps of material around the Sun. Liquid water is thought to be a key ingredient for the formation of carbonates. On Earth, a large fraction of sedimentary rocks are carbonates--for instance, limestone and marble. They are the sediments that precipitate when a watery solution of carbon dioxide and another mineral, such as calcium, becomes saturated--the "scale" in the tea kettle forms in the same way. Carbonates exist also in grains of dust between the planets, in asteroids and in meteorites coming from Mars, for example, in the famous meteorite ALH 84001, which some say contains fossilized bacteria. However, ISO's discovery, for the first time, of carbonates in dying stars breaks the automatic association between these minerals and liquid water. Kemper and her colleagues have found large amounts of the carbonates calcite and dolomite in the nebulae NGC 6302 and NGC 6537, dubbed respectively the "Bug Nebula" and the "Red Spider Nebula". These are old stars that have spent the last ten thousand years expelling material through dense stellar winds and are about to "die" as white dwarfs--small, very dense and opaque "corpses" of stars. It is in the expelled material, which now forms a shell around the central star, where ISO has identified the unmistakable chemical signature of the carbonates, their spectra. And these carbonates cannot have been formed through the interaction with liquid water: neither has the material from the stars condensed to form new planets, nor are the carbonates residual from a pre-existing planetary system destroyed by the dying star. "The amount of carbonates we find is equivalent to at least 30 Earth masses, far too large to be the relic of a hypothetical planetary system present before the star became a planetary nebula. On the other hand, the age of the dust-shell in the nebula is about ten thousand years, which is too short for a new planetary system to form," explains Kemper. Therefore, the carbonates around the Bug Nebula and the Red Spider Nebula must have formed through an alternative mechanism that does not involve liquid water. Kemper and colleagues suggest several possibilities but say none of them has been tested in the laboratory yet. Was this alternative mechanism also at work in the early Solar System? The authors cannot say. But the mere possibility implies that the assumption that carbonates in primitive Solar System objects indicates the quick formation of planets with liquid water in the Solar System needs to be reviewed. Additional articles on this subject are available at: http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/solarsystem/carbonate_water_020 116.html http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0201/17life/iso.html. _____________________________________________________________________ SCIENTISTS APPLY EARTH'S HYDROTHERMAL PLUME DYNAMICS TO EUROPA University of Washington release 17 January 2002 The size of ice domes and movement of ice rafts on the surface of Europa, one of Jupiter's moons, are consistent with what one could expect of melting caused by a hydrothermal vent plume, or plumes, in an ocean beneath the ice, say oceanographers John Delaney of the University of Washington and Richard Thomson of Fisheries and Oceans Canada. Scientists know that Europa has a layer of water on its surface that is perhaps 100 kilometers (60 miles) deep, making it nearly 10 times deeper than any of Earth's oceans. The thickness of the frozen surface continues to be debated. If hydrothermal vent plumes are contributing heat to Europa's ocean, Delaney and Thomson estimate that the frozen surface of the ocean actually may be 3 to 5 kilometers (2 to 3 miles) thick on average-- instead of the 20 kilometers (12 miles) some have estimated. And it makes it all the more possible that researchers may find microorganisms living in vent fluids on Europa, as they do here on Earth. Delaney and Thomson's model, the first to take what's known about plume dynamics on Earth and apply them to Europa, was the subject of a paper last year in the Journal of Geophysical Research and a presentation at December's American Geophysical Union meeting. The possibility of life on Europa will be part of Delaney's presentation, "Volcanoes, Oceans and Life in the Solar System," a lecture that is free and open to the public January 23, 7:00 PM, Room 210, Kane Hall. His talk is the second in the "Oceans to Stars Lecture Series" offered by the UW's College of Ocean and Fishery Sciences and School of Oceanography. Among scientists interested in Europa, a number think tidal forces generated by the gravitational tug-of-war between Jupiter, Europa and neighboring moons Io and Ganymede cause tidal flexing of Europa's icy crust, friction and then melting. Delaney, Thomson and others hypothesize that tidal flexing is at work on Europa's rocky core generating heat and magma. Delaney and Thomson's model is the first: *To estimate Europa's global heat flux through calculations that compare it with the flux from another of Jupiter's moons, Io, where measurements are far more accurate because there is no shroud of ice. They estimate Europa's heat flux is about a third of that from the Earth's seafloor. *To describe how Europa's rotation and weak stratification of its ocean might keep a hydrothermal vent plume from dispersing. The scientists describe a plume continuously rising like a cyclone through 100 kilometers of ocean to reach the base of the ice. *To determine that a plume, or plumes, only needed to focus 1 percent of Europa's estimated global heat flux for about 1,000 years to melt through 5 kilometers of ice and cause the ice rafts in the Conamara Chaos region on Europa. There are numerous possible examples on Earth of such steady-state hydrothermal venting, Thomson and Delaney say. The main vent site at the Endeavour segment of the Juan de Fuca Ridge off the west coast of Canada and the United States, for instance, may have persisted for thousands of years based on the composition and diversity of the biological community found there. If the melting at the surface of Europa is caused in part by plumes from magma-heated regions of the seafloor, it is feasible that some of the dark materials observed on the surface of Europa, thought to be salts and hydrated sulfuric acid, are remnants of particle-laden plumes originating from the seafloor. Delaney says a better understanding of the links between plate- tectonic processes on our own planet and the microbial life that flourishes near faults, fissures, vent structures and beneath the Earth's crust will help us seek life on other planets and moons. He and Thomson are part of a consortium of researchers from Canada and the United States interested in using 2,000 miles of electro- optical cable--cable that can carry power, instructions to remote instruments and data sent back from those instruments--to wire the whole Juan de Fuca Plate off our coast. The Juan de Fuca is one of a dozen or so major tectonic plates that make up the surface of the Earth. Thousands of instruments, including tiny subs and probes that could be maneuvered by scientists back on land, would be stationed at 30 experimental sites along the cable network as part of Project Neptune. For more information: Thomson, senior research scientist, Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Institute of Ocean Sciences, Sidney, British Columbia, thomsonr@pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca, (250) 363-6555; and Delaney, professor, U. of Washington, (206) 543-4830, delaney@u.washington.edu. Contact: Sandra Hines Phone: 206-543-2580 E-mail: shines@u.washington.edu An abstract of January 23 lecture is available at http://www.cofs.washington.edu/oceanlecture.html. An additional article on this subject is available at http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0201/19europa/. _____________________________________________________________________ INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION RESEARCH TO STUDY TREATMENTS FOR LIVER AILMENTS NASA release 02-11 17 January 2002 NASA has signed an agreement with StelSys LLC, Baltimore, to fly experiments on the International Space Station that will compare human liver-cell function in space with that on Earth. This research could aid in StelSys' development of treatment for people in need of liver transplants. The research primarily will evaluate how human liver cells process medicine in space and will add to further ground- based research. Space Shuttle Discovery will deliver the research equipment on mission STS- 111 scheduled for launch in May 2002. "This will be an excellent start for commercial use of space technology," said Dr. Neal Pellis, Chief, Biological Systems Office, at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston. "We hope this is the first of many." The agreement to fly experiments in space comes just one year after a groundbreaking licensing agreement between NASA and StelSys intended to explore a new frontier in biotechnology. The agreement focuses on the development of commercial medical products and services using NASA's Bioreactor technology in four areas, including development of a liver-assist device and a method for producing liver-cell biomolecules and metabolites. "Space is the gold-standard environment for this cutting-edge cell research. Only in space, a true microgravity environment, will we be able to isolate and study each of the individual factors impacting cell function. This will allow us to refine and then optimize ground-based Bioreactor research," said Dr. Fisk Johnson, president of Wisconsin-based Fisk Ventures and co-founder of StelSys. Utilizing the Bioreactor technology over the past year, StelSys scientists have discovered a unique procedure to accomplish long-term culturing of liver cells, which allows the cells to maintain liver- specific functions for at least a week, compared to only a day using traditional methods. In addition, they have developed a prototype of a novel "bioartificial" liver. NASA invented the rotating Bioreactor as a way to study the impact of microgravity on cellular growth on Earth and in space. Traditional cell-growth research often produces single-cell, pancake-like cultures, which quickly lose normal cell function. The Bioreactor works by gently spinning a fluid medium filled with cells. The spinning motion neutralizes most of gravity's effects, creating a near-weightless environment that allows cells to grow more freely, in a three-dimensional manner. "StelSys is committed to research with real-world benefit to people. Our recent discoveries could lead to better, earlier drug-candidate screening, which would speed up drug development by pharmaceutical companies, and importantly, to a longer life for the 25,000 people every year waiting for a life-saving liver transplant," said Dr. Paul Silber, president of StelSys. This research is being conducted under an agreement with NASA's Office of Biological and Physical Research, Washington. The office is responsible for basic and applied research using the low-gravity environment of space. StelSys LLC is a biotechnology research company formed to develop and commercialize real-world applications of the NASA Bioreactor technology. The company maintains a core team of researchers with expertise in cell biology and chemical engineering. Additional information concerning this research is available via the Internet at http://spaceresearch.nasa.gov/. Contacts: Dwayne Brown Headquarters, Washington, DC Phone: 202-358-1726 Cynthia Georgeson StelSys LLC, Baltimore, MD Phone: 262-260-4728 _____________________________________________________________________ HERE'S THE DRILL: MARS'S GREATEST TREASURES MAY LIE BENEATH ITS BARREN, ICY SURFACE By Leonard David From Space.com 17 January 2002 The most exciting idea for finding liquid water on Mars may in fact be--boring. Deep drilling on the Red Planet offers both geological and biological promise, both in the search for evidence of life, as well as sustaining future human explorers of the planet. "It's something we've got to get to the bottom of," said Anthony Gross, Associate director of the Information Sciences and Technology Directorate at NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California. The feasibility of drilling deep into the surface of Mars is gaining increasing attention and is being described as the "ultimate wildcat", Gross said, speaking here Tuesday at the 40th Aerospace Sciences Meeting of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA). Deep drilling presents a host of technological challenges, such as making a system lightweight, low-powered, and able to work on its own far from Earth. NASA's ambition to "follow the water" on Mars is a third dimension of planetary exploration--one in which going subsurface is driven by geological and biological motivations. Get the full story at http://www.space.com/businesstechnology/technology/drill_mars_020117. html. _____________________________________________________________________ HOW SOCIAL SCIENCE DECIPHERS OUR THOUGHTS ON ALIEN LIFE By Douglas Vakoch From Space.com 17 January 2002 In a cross-cultural study that psychologist Yuh-shiow Lee and I conducted several years ago, we looked at the attitudes of college students towards the possibility that extraterrestrial life might exist. And if it does, what it might be like for people to learn that it exists... ...In that study of Chinese and American views, Lee and I created several new sets of questionnaire items that would let us examine beliefs about extraterrestrial life. In this article, I'll describe one of those "scales," or sets of items that we described in more detail in the scientific journal Acta Astronautica. Get the full story at http://www.space.com/searchforlife/seti_survey_020117.html. _____________________________________________________________________ THE PLANETARY SOCIETY ASKS THE PUBLIC TO SPEAK UP ABOUT NASA MISSIONS Planetary Society release 17 January 2002 For Immediate Release: January 17, 2002 Think NASA's on the right track or do you think the agency needs a change of direction? The Planetary Society seeks public input for the Planetary Decadal Survey being conducted by the National Research Council. At NASA's request, the National Research Council is conducting a planetary science community assessment of the priorities for U.S. planetary research programs for the next 10 years. The Planetary Society has been asked to assist this "decadal survey" by seeking input from the general public about planetary exploration. Respondents can access the survey questionnaire at https://planetary.org/survey/. But hurry, the deadline for completing the form is January 31, 2002. "This is an exciting and rare opportunity for the public to provide input to NASA's planning for the next ten years of planetary exploration," said Bruce Betts, Director of Projects at The Planetary Society. "We encourage everyone to take advantage of this chance to be heard." NASA selects its missions and scientific objectives based on many considerations, including the anticipated scientific return, cost, feasibility, and public interest. This is the public's opportunity to tell NASA what they consider the priorities should be for planetary exploration and how they would like to be informed about the results from missions. All individual views expressed in the survey will be kept anonymous. The brief survey includes sections on prioritizing the ultimate purpose of US planetary exploration, selecting the most important missions (i.e. Pluto, the Moon, Saturn, etc.), and whether it is preferable to mount missions to new bodies not previously visited by spacecraft or missions to explore previously visited objects in greater detail. The questionnaire also asks how people prefer to learn about the results of exploration missions, though the internet, lectures, magazines or some other source. One question relates solely to educators, asking what NASA products they prefer for classroom instruction about planetary exploration. The Planetary Society 65 North Catalina Avenue Pasadena, CA 91106-2301 Phone: 626-793-5100 Fax: 626-793-5528 E-mail: tps@planetary.org _____________________________________________________________________ ASTRONOMY TALK TO TRACE NASA'S MARS EXPLORATION STRATEGY NASA/ARC release 02-05AR 18 January 2002 "Following the Water: The New Program for Mars Exploration"-- including recent discoveries about the red planet and the roster of Mars missions being planned--will be the topic of a free, non- technical talk at 7:00 PM PST on Wednesday, January 23, at Foothill College in Los Altos Hills, CA. The public is invited. Scott Hubbard, deputy director for research at NASA Ames Research Center, will deliver the lecture. Hubbard recently returned to Ames after serving as the first Mars program director at NASA Headquarters in Washington, DC. "The Silicon Valley Astronomy Lecture Series is a valuable resource for the community, bringing the latest scientific research in astrobiology and astronomy to a wide audience," said NASA Ames Director Dr. Henry McDonald. At Ames, Hubbard is responsible for organizing, directing and implementing research efforts that further the strategic plans of the center. Prior to his assignment at NASA headquarters, Hubbard served as the Ames associate director for astrobiology and space programs, interim director of NASA's Astrobiology Institute (NAI) and manager of the agency's Lunar Prospector mission. He also is credited with creating NASA's Mars Pathfinder mission. Prior to coming to Ames in 1987, Hubbard was vice president and general manager of Canberra Semiconductor and a staff scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Hubbard received a bachelor's degree in physics and astronomy from Vanderbilt University and did graduate studies in semiconductor physics at the University of California, Berkeley. Hubbard has been awarded four NASA medals: twice the Outstanding Leadership Medal and twice the Exceptional Achievement Medal. He also has twice been awarded Laurels by Aviation Week magazine. Hubbard was elected to the International Academy of Astronautics, is an associate fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and is the author of more than 40 papers on space missions and related subjects. Additional information about NASA's Mars exploration strategy can be found at http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/ and at http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/mep/missions/index.html This is the third talk in this year's Silicon Valley Astronomy Lecture Series, co-sponsored by NASA Ames, Foothill College's Division of Physical Science, Mathematics and Engineering, the Astronomical Society of the Pacific and the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) Institute. The Silicon Valley Astronomy Lecture Series is held at Foothill College's Smithwick Theater in Los Altos Hills. From Interstate 280, exit at El Monte Road and travel west to the campus. Visitors must purchase a one-day campus parking permit for $2. Admission is free and the public is invited. Seating is on a first-come, first-served basis. Children over the age of 13 are welcome. More information is available by calling the series hotline at 650-949-7888. Contact: Kathleen Burton NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA Phone: 650-604-1731 or 650-604-9000) E-mail: kburton@mail.arc.nasa.gov _____________________________________________________________________ NEW ADDITIONS TO THE ASTROBIOLOGY INDEX By David J. Thomas http://www.lyon.edu/webdata/users/dthomas/astrobiology/astrobiology.h tml 21 January 2002 Articles about astrobiology, exobiology and terraformation http://www.lyon.edu/webdata/users/dthomas/astrobiology/online_article s1.html F. Costard, F. Forget, N. Mangold and J. P. Peulvast, 2002. Formation of recent Martian debris flows by melting of near-surface ground ice at high obliquity. Science, 295(5552):110-113. L. David, 2002. Here's the drill: Mars's greatest treasures may lie beneath its barren, icy surface. Space.com. J. Foust, 2002. New discoveries raise hopes, questions about life on Mars. Spaceflight Now. Spaceflight Now, 2002. Scientists apply knowledge of Earth to study Europa. Spaceflight Now. Articles about the biology of extreme environments (on Earth) http://www.lyon.edu/webdata/users/dthomas/astrobiology/online_article s2.html R. R. Britt, 2002. Bizarre creature in Idaho raises prospects for life on Mars. Space.com. Cosmiverse, 2002. Newly discovered Antarctic microbes suggest life on Mars. Cosmiverse. Spaceflight Now, 2002. Environment on Earth mimics Mars geochemically. Spaceflight Now. R. Stenger, 2002. Antarctic find boosts prospects for Mars life. CNN. Articles about human space exploration and the microgravity environment http://www.lyon.edu/webdata/users/dthomas/astrobiology/online_article s3.html P. L. Barry, 2002. Voyage of the nano-surgeons. NASA Science News. R. R. Britt, 2002. Astronauts' shrinking hearts cause wooziness back on Earth. Space.com. Articles about the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) http://www.lyon.edu/webdata/users/dthomas/astrobiology/online_article s4.html D. Vakoch, 2002. How social science deciphers our thoughts on alien life. Space.com. Articles about evolutionary biology and chemistry http://www.lyon.edu/webdata/users/dthomas/astrobiology/online_article s5.html Spaceflight Now, 2002. Liquid water in early Solar System questioned. Spaceflight Now. H. Sparks, 2002. Finding challenges assumptions of Mars meteorite, planet formation. Space.com. _____________________________________________________________________ CASSINI WEEKLY SIGNIFICANT EVENTS NASA/JPL release 10-16 January 2002 The most recent spacecraft telemetry was acquired from the Goldstone tracking station on Wednesday, January 16. The Cassini spacecraft is in an excellent state of health and is operating normally. See the "Present Position" web page at http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/cassini/english/where/. The C29 sequence concluded operations this week with deregistration occurring on Sunday, January 13. The C30 background sequence, an Imaging Science Subsystem (ISS) decontamination mini-sequence, and a Composite Infrared Spectrometer (CIRS) functional test mini-sequence were all successfully uplinked and registered. The background sequence began execution on Monday, January 14. Science activities this week included Radio and Plasma Wave Science (RPWS) Periodic Instrument Maintenance, upload of RPWS and Ultraviolet Imaging Spectrometer (UVIS) Instrument Expanded Blocks, and execution of the CIRS functional test mini-sequence. Spacecraft activities included an Attitude Control Subsystem (ACS) high-water mark clear, an ACS Periodic Engineering Maintenance including Backup ALF Injection Loader maintenance, engine gimbal, and Reaction Wheel Assembly exercises. Science Planning completed development for the C31 sequence. The Uplink Office (ULO) has received the necessary input products and held the Subsequence Generation kick-off meeting for this sequence. Science Planning development of C32 has begun. The Program briefing for this sequence is scheduled for January 28. This week JPL hosted members of the Cassini science community and interested members of the flight team for Cassini's #27th meeting of the Project Science Group (PSG). Mission Assurance has reviewed an updated procedure regarding real- time commanding. Both the procedure and checklist were extensively reviewed by flight team members and now become the official version. This procedure goes into effect immediately and will be used by anyone who is leading an uplink session, to ensure consistency between sessions. Mission Assurance completed an additional review of the NASA Lessons Learned database, for lessons that could be applicable to Cassini. These lessons will be forwarded to Cassini team members, to ensure that lessons learned from previous projects are incorporated into the way Cassini conducts Mission Operations. The Deep Space Communications Complex Spectrum Processors (DSP) were decommissioned across the entire Deep Space Network. These are the old type of open-loop receivers that the Radio Science Receivers are replacing. In support of the Uplink Critical Design Review, all action items being held for uplink were statused and about half (of a total of 143) were closed. Many of the remaining big-ticket items relate to adaptability, pointing and Science and Sequence Update Process issues that will be closed with the delivery of the associated operations concepts. A Delivery Coordination Meeting was held for MSS D7.6.2. The change was a minor patch to insert an updated Trajectory Correction Maneuver block needed by SEQGEN to support TCM-18 scheduled for Cruise 31. The Mars Exploration Rovers (MER) and Space Infrared Telescope Facility projects have expressed interest in learning from Cassini's experience in security and ITAR issues. The team is currently discussing possible support options. MER is very interested in having security support. A memo of understanding still needs to be written to establish roles and support efforts. The current national focus in grades K-4 is literacy. Cassini Outreach will be developing ways of being incorporated into the literacy curriculum (reading, writing) and thus maintain a foothold for science in early education. Grades 5-8 follow a mixed discipline curriculum including math and science. For grades 9-12 beta testing has been performed at some schools where children have been given access to planetary data sets. The experience has generated a great deal of excitement on the part of educators and students alike. Cassini intends to explore this area of education for these grades. The focus for informal education will be partnerships with museums, planetariums, and youth groups such as 4-H and boy and girls clubs. Cassini is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, CA, manages the Cassini mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, DC. _____________________________________________________________________ TODAY ON GALILEO NASA/JPL releases 16 January 2002 The pace picks up! The day begins with Galileo still over 25 Jupiter radii from the giant planet (1.8 million kilometers, or 1.1 million miles). Before 24 hours have passed, that distance will have closed to less than 15 Jupiter radii (1 million kilometers or 670,000 miles). During that time, the spacecraft is preparing for the close encounter that is lying in wait tomorrow. At 5:00 AM PST [See Note 1] the attitude control software for the spacecraft is configured to rely on sighting only a single star during the Io flyby. The star scanner sensor ordinarily uses three or more stars as reference points for determining the spacecraft's orientation. However, as the spacecraft moves closer to Jupiter during encounter periods, the radiation environment heats up and energetic particles, which cause noise in the electronic circuits, bombard the sensor. This noise tends to drown out the signals from fainter stars or can even be mis-identified as a star that is not really there. By selecting a single bright star, whose signal is expected to be much higher than the noise level, Galileo can reliably keep track of its orientation. During the 48 hours surrounding the closest approach to Jupiter and Io, we will be viewing the star Achernar (Alpha Eridani), which is the sixth brightest star in the catalog we maintain for use by Galileo. This same star has been used successfully in this same manner for the past 3 orbits. Beginning at 9:30 AM PST, the tape recorder is moved to the correct location on the tape to begin the recording of science activities. Curiously, we don't always "begin at the beginning" when we record. When the entire science strategy for the orbit is laid out, we usually choose a particular block of high-priority, high-speed recording to occupy one continuous track of the four tracks we have available to us. By adopting this strategy, we don't have to stop our observation sequence to wait for the tape to change directions. When we are near the closest approach to a satellite, a few seconds can mean lost opportunities! At 10:25 AM PST, Galileo reaches its closest point to the outermost of the four large satellites of Jupiter, Callisto. But at a distance of 1.7 million kilometers (1 million miles), it is too far away to be worthy of even a glance. Likewise, at 9:28 PM PST, our closest approach to Jupiter's largest satellite, Ganymede, is a distant 1 million kilometers (670,000 miles), and this body is also passed by for observations. At 3:17 PM PST, the Photopolarimeter Radiometer (PPR) instrument is turned on and records a brief calibration sequence. Following this activity, at 4:00 PM PST, the instrument turns its gaze on Io for the first observation of that satellite during this encounter. This distant observation examines the thermal emissions from the dark side of the satellite for 13 minutes. At 8:45 PM PST, the Radio Science Team begins a 20-hour-long study of the gravity field of Io, centered around the closest approach to the satellite. This study consists of closely watching the radio frequency of the signal transmitted by Galileo. As the spacecraft gets closer to Io, the gravity of that body tugs on Galileo, and the frequency of the radio signal changes. This is the familiar Doppler shift, usually described with the analogy of a train whistle changing pitch as the train approaches and recedes from the listener. With Galileo, the change in pitch of the radio signal corresponds to the change in speed of the spacecraft. That corresponds to how hard Io is pulling on the spacecraft, and that corresponds to the total mass of Io, and, at a finer level of detail, to how that mass is distributed within the satellite. An amazing amount of good science can be collected just from listening to the radio! 17 January 2002 Io, and how! Today sees the most intense activities for the spacecraft as Galileo makes its final close flyby of the volcanic satellite Io. Beginning just 20 minutes after midnight PST [See Note 1], the Magnetometer instrument adjusts its sensors to be able to accurately measure the much stronger magnetic fields that will be encountered during the closest approach to Io and to Jupiter. At 2:58 AM PST the Radio Science Team begins an experiment to probe the atmosphere of Jupiter itself as Galileo passes behind the giant planet as seen from the Earth. Telemetry in the transmitted radio signal from the spacecraft is turned off (don't worry, the other science data being collected on the spacecraft is being stored in computer memory, and will be read out later) and the radio signal is changed to a pure tone. As Galileo passes behind the planet, this tone passes through deeper and deeper layers of the atmosphere, and by observing the changes in intensity and frequency of the tone, scientists can determine temperatures, pressures, and electron densities down through the different layers of the atmosphere. Between 3:22 AM and 5:19 AM PST, the spacecraft will be completely blocked by the planet, and at 5:41 AM PST telemetry is restored to the normal configuration, and the bits flow once again. Also during this time, between 3:48 AM and 5:42 AM PST, the spacecraft finds itself in the shadow of the planet as it passes out of sight of the Sun. Since seeing the Sun is a key element in the spacecraft knowing its orientation in space, the on-board software is informed that the Sun will be invisible during this time, and that sightings of the star Achernar (Alpha Eridani) by the Star Scanner will be the sole means of maintaining attitude knowledge. This technique has worked well on many previous orbits. As the Sun occultation ends, at 5:42 AM PST the Photopolarimeter Radiometer instrument (PPR) again turns it gaze on Io, now only one hour and 31,000 kilometers (19,300 miles) away, and spends 20 minutes studying the temperatures of the Prometheus volcano while that feature is on the night side of the satellite. These night-time studies allow scientists to determine the intrinsic temperatures of features, uncluttered with reflected sunlight. At 5:46 AM PST the Energetic Particle Detector (EPD) performs a power cycle and memory reload. The high radiation environment in previous orbits has caused upsets to the microprocessor that controls the instrument. This pre-emptive reload helps assure us that the instrument is in the proper configuration and operating well for the close flyby to come. At 5:58 AM PST the Fields and Particles instruments [the Heavy Ion Counter (HIC), EPD, the Magnetometer (MAG), the Plasma Subsystem (PLS), and the Plasma Wave Subsystem (PWS)] begin a 5.5 hour stretch of continuous high-rate data collection around the Io closest approach. In addition to the dynamic interactions expected close to Io, this recording will capture data on the Torus, a donut-shaped region of enhanced energetic particles that coincides with the orbit of Io. It will also study a feature known as the "ribbon", a temporary and changing energetically emitting region between the cold and warm portions of the torus. Between 6:04 AM and 6:28 AM PST, PPR again studies the temperatures of Io as it scans along the equator of the satellite and then concentrates on the hot spot Marduk, and on the Pillan crater region, both in the southern hemisphere. At 6:29 AM PST the Near Infrared Mapping Spectrometer instrument (NIMS) begins its study of Io with a complementary view of the Marduk region. The first of the Solid State Imaging camera (SSI) pictures of Io begins at 6:37 AM PST with images of the Pele caldera. Even though this feature is in the dark at the time, the lavas glow in the dark, and the brightness of the glow gives a good measure of just how hot the flows are. At 6:40 AM PST PPR directs its line of sight straight down at Io and watches the landscape stream by as Galileo reaches its closest point to the satellite. This occurs at 6:43:53 AM PST at a distance of only 100 kilometers (62 miles) above the surface. At the closest point to Io, Galileo is passing over a latitude 43.6 degrees south of the equator. This is equivalent to flying over Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. As Galileo barrels past at 7.72 kilometers per second (17,270 miles per hour!) the landscape is passing too quickly for instruments like SSI to take clear pictures; they would be horribly smeared by the motion of the spacecraft while the shutter was open. It is up to instruments like PPR, that do not directly produce pictures, to provide measurements of the surface at the highest resolution possible. The Radio Science Io gravity experiment begun yesterday also reaches its most important phase at closest approach, where the pull on Galileo is at its peak. One minute after closest approach, however, SSI can look to the side, where the range from the spacecraft to the viewpoint on the surface is about 1,200 kilometers, and will image a region of enigmatic circular rises called "tholi". This is our first look at these unusual features at this high resolution. This observation is followed in rapid succession by views of the Mbali Patera and the Kanehekili volcanic area. The Mbali pictures provide an opportunity to see the actual source of the lava flow there at a resolution of about 20 meters per picture element (65 feet per pixel). At 6:53 AM PST NIMS provides a complementary thermal study of the Kanehekili hot spot. By combining observations of the same features taken by different instruments whose strengths lie in different regions of the electromagnetic spectrum, scientists can extend their knowledge of the body past mere form, and can deduce detailed structure, texture, temperature, and composition of the surface. By 6:59 AM PST, a scant 15 minutes past closest approach, the distance to the tholi region has increased to 8,300 kilometers (5160 miles), and SSI provides wider-angle views of the region to supply broader context for the high-resolution pictures taken earlier. Broader context pictures of the Mbali and Kanehekili locations follow this as well, with the Mbali pictures taken in color. During the course of the next hour, SSI continues to capture views of several areas on Io. The Hi'iaka area is suspected of showing some strike-slip faulting, and there is the possibility that such a fault is tearing a mountain in two! The Pan Mensa area is a mountain with extensive fracturing and bright basins of lava (pateras) on either end. The Gish Bar region also has mountain-patera interactions and has been studied on previous orbits. This area also contains a mysterious Y-shaped crack. Finally, at 7:48 AM PST a strip of images ranging from far southern latitudes to just south of the equator stretches across the surface, capturing the Masubi and Kanehekili regions, as well as another hot spot that has shown some dramatic changes in appearance in the past. During this time, PPR and NIMS are also studying the thermal emissions in the Kanehekili region. NIMS also views the Hi'iaka hot spot region. Then at 8:14 AM PST NIMS begins a 52 minute map of the entire Jupiter-facing hemisphere of Io. The geometric closest approach to Jupiter occurs at 8:57 AM PST, when Galileo reaches in to 4.5 Jupiter radii (322,000 kilometers or 200,000 miles) above the cloud tops. This is the closest we've come to Jupiter since the 24th full orbit, which was also a close Io flyby, in November 1999. At 9:17 AM PST PPR begins a 1.5-hour-long map of the entire visible disk of Io, which is now more than 80,000 kilometers distant (50,000 miles). Attention is then briefly torn away from Io as PPR takes a polarimetry measurement of the icy satellite Europa. The focus returns to Io at 11:33 AM PST, when SSI acquires a color map of approximately half of the visible Io face. At 11:42 AM PST NIMS begins another hour-long mapping of the entire visible Jupiter- facing hemisphere of Io. Our attention again wanders from Io, as SSI captures our second-best ever picture of the small inner satellite Thebe. In this picture, one pixel in the camera image spans 3 kilometers (1.9 miles) on the surface of the satellite. During our 26th orbit, our best resolution picture had a pixel span of only 2 kilometers (1.25 miles). PPR now shifts the focus to Jupiter itself. Between 12:50 PM and 4:10 PM PST the instrument scans the giant planet from east to west, then from north to south, both through the Great Red Spot, then focusing on a long-lived white oval storm in the atmosphere, followed by a scan off of the northern limb studying atmospheric structure, finishing with another north to south pole-to- pole scan. At 4:40 PM PST SSI steps up again with a color map of the side of Io that faces away from Jupiter. This view will cover many of the most dramatic features studied by Galileo to date. These include Prometheus, Amirani, Tvashtar, and the site of the giant new volcanic plume discovered during a previous flyby in August. NIMS follows this set of pictures with our final Io observation of the mission! This global map will search the Jupiter-facing hemisphere of the satellite for new hot-spots. By 5:02 PM PST, this observation is finished, and, a mere 10 hours after our closest brush with the volcanic fury of the most geologically active body in the solar system, we bid a fond farewell to Io forever! It has been an exciting and tumultuous ride over the past 6 years in orbit, and Io has never once failed to surprise and delight us! Thank you, old friend! Though the Io observations have concluded, there is still good science to be done. PPR spends the next hour studying hot spots in the north equatorial boundary region of Jupiter's atmosphere, followed by a final instrument calibration. At 6:42 PM PST PPR performs one final polarimetry measurement of Europa. About 10:00 PM, PST SSI captures an image of the inner satellite Amalthea. This picture will be used for optical navigation, where the positions of the satellite and of distant stars are compared to provide the Navigation team an accurate idea of the relative positions of Galileo and Amalthea. This will be used to guide our trajectory to a close flyby of that satellite in November of this year. What? Has it only been one day? The Spirit of Science Present is an extremely ambitious taskmaster! And there's more to come... 18-20 January 2002 Farewell to Io! The spacecraft is now fully recovered from yesterday's anomaly in which the onboard fault protection routines detected a despun bus reset about 28 minutes before the closest approach to Io. Because this could be a potentially harmful event, the spacecraft put itself into a safe mode and canceled the science sequence. The flight team worked throughout the day and evening to re-establish nominal spacecraft operations and to acquire the final track of recorded data. Unfortunately, three tracks of data all planned for recording within hours of closest approach to Io were lost because of the spacecraft problem. At this time we think the problem resulted from the radiation environment near Jupiter. Galileo has now receded to 552,300 km (343,000 miles) from Jupiter and is increasing that distance by 12 kilometers every second. At its closest approach point, the spacecraft was 324,800 km (201,800 miles) above Jupiter's cloud tops. Though our observations of Io are now complete, other science opportunities still await us over the next few days. At 4:30 AM PST [See Note 1] the radiation levels experienced by Galileo have dropped to the point where the attitude control software can again use three stars to determine the spacecraft orientation. While close to Jupiter, a single bright star is used to avoid confusion by radiation-induced noise in the sensor circuits. At 5:41 AM PST the Solid State Imaging camera (SSI) snaps another picture of the small inner moon Amalthea. This image will be used to help the Navigation Team steer the spacecraft to a close encounter with that tiny moon in November. At 7:52 AM SSI acquires a color image of the Jupiter-facing hemisphere of the icy satellite Europa. This will be our last glimpse of that fascinating moon for the remainder of the Galileo mission. At 10:30 AM a standard test of the spacecraft gyroscopes is performed. Over Galileo's 6 years in orbit, our old nemesis, radiation, has damaged the circuitry that measures the signals sent by the gyroscopes. On each orbit, after we have passed through the worst that Jupiter can dish out, we perform a test to calibrate the gyros for use during maneuvers and turns. At 4:20 PM Saturday the Near Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (NIMS) begins the first of a set of three full-disk multi-color maps of Jupiter. This final global mosaic of the planet for the Galileo mission ends six hours later. When this observation is complete, the NIMS instrument is powered off until a final calibration in early February. At 11:45 AM Sunday SSI begins a 26-hour observation of the turbulent region just west of the Great Red Spot in Jupiter's atmosphere. During this time, SSI shutters 18 pictures, which will enable scientists to study how the cloud forms change and evolve. The observation continues until 2:00 AM Monday morning, at which time the camera closes its eye for the final time, and the high-gear operations for another encounter wind down. Note 1. Pacific Standard Time (PST) is 8 hours behind Greenwich Mean Time (GMT). The time when an event occurs at the spacecraft is known as Spacecraft Event Time (SCET). The time at which radio signals reach Earth indicating that an event has occurred is known as Earth Received Time (ERT). Currently, it takes Galileo's radio signals 35 minutes to travel between the spacecraft and Earth. All times quoted above are in Earth Received Time. 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 _____________________________________________________________________ GALILEO MILLENNIUM MISSION STATUS REPORTS NASA/JPL releases 17 January 2002 While approaching Jupiter's moon Io on Thursday, during the seventh year of its mission around Jupiter, NASA's Galileo spacecraft placed itself into standby mode, awaiting further commands from Earth. "We're not totally surprised, because Galileo has already outlived expectations and we knew that it might encounter additional difficulties from the high-radiation environment on this flyby," said Dr. Eilene Theilig, Galileo project manager at JPL. "Galileo has already lasted more than four years past its original mission and has survived three-and-a-half times the radiation it was designed to withstand, so it's not unexpected that this flyby would be interrupted by a problem." Images and other data were not collected during the closest phase of the encounter. The Galileo flight team at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., is sending commands aimed at switching the spacecraft out of standby or "safing" mode for the later portion of the planned encounter period, which lasts into Sunday. Galileo hit its intended flyby point, achieving one of the encounter's primary goals of using Io's gravity to put the spacecraft on course for a September 2003 impact into Jupiter. This flyby is the closest and last for Galileo at any of Jupiter's four major moons. The spacecraft sped within 102 kilometers (63 miles) of Io's volcanic surface. At about 13:41 Universal Time (5:41 AM Pacific Time) today, the spacecraft detected a computer reset, which caused Galileo to enter a so-called "safe" mode. In this mode, onboard fault protection software instructs the spacecraft cameras and science instruments to stop taking data and places them in a safe state awaiting further instructions from the ground. The situation is similar to some that occurred in previous orbits and appears to result from the radiation environment near Jupiter. Engineers remain hopeful that they'll be able to restore normal spacecraft functioning by transmitting new commands to Galileo to restore data collection, Theilig said. The path of today's encounter was chosen to use Io's gravity to put Galileo on course to send it plunging into the crushing pressure of Jupiter's atmosphere in September 2003. Galileo is running low on the propellant needed to steer the spacecraft and keep its antenna pointed toward Earth. The intentional collision course with Jupiter was chosen as a way to end the mission before losing control of the spacecraft. An additional article on this subject is available at http://www.spacedaily.com/news/galileo-02a.html. 18 January 2002 NASA's Galileo spacecraft resumed gathering scientific information at about 4:00 today Universal Time (8:00 PM January 17 Pacific Time) after commands radioed from Earth took the Jupiter orbiter out of the passive standby mode it entered on Thursday. Galileo passed within about 102 kilometers (63 miles) of Jupiter's moon Io on Thursday. Planned observations for the remainder of the spacecraft's current swing near Jupiter include a series of images of the planet's atmosphere, a farewell color study of its icy moon Europa and navigational imaging of the small moon Amalthea. Galileo hit its target point for the Io flyby so accurately that a scheduled post-encounter firing of thrusters to fine-tune the trajectory was cancelled as unnecessary, said Dr. Eilene Theilig, Galileo project manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA. The close flyby was calculated to use Io's gravity to put Galileo on course for its next encounters. Galileo will pass near Amalthea in November 2002 and plunge to its demise in Jupiter's crushing atmosphere in September 2003. "As expected, visiting Io has proved to be a challenging and risky endeavor," Theilig said. "It's disappointing not to get the observations of Io that were planned for this encounter, but I am very proud of the flight team that has kept Galileo functioning in orbit more than three times longer than originally planned and revived it once more yesterday." Galileo detected a computer reset and placed itself in a standby or "safe" mode Thursday at 13:41 Universal Time (5:41 Pacific Time), about half an hour before its closest approach to Io. The reset was apparently caused by exposure to the intense radiation environment at Io's distance from Jupiter. Since the spacecraft began orbiting Jupiter in 1995, it has endured a cumulative radiation exposure about three-and-a-half times what it was originally designed to withstand. NASA has repeatedly extended Galileo's original two-year mission in orbit. The spacecraft is now nearly out of the hydrazine propellant needed to keep its antenna pointed toward Earth. Knowing they would eventually lose contact and control of the spacecraft, the Galileo team chose the planned impact with Jupiter to ensure there was no chance the spacecraft might hit Europa. One of Galileo's important discoveries has been the likelihood of a melted saltwater ocean under Europa's icy crust, making that moon of great interest for future study of the possibility of extraterrestrial life. Additional information about the Galileo mission is available at http://galileo.jpl.nasa.gov. Galileo was launched from the Space Shuttle Atlantis on October 18, 1989. After a long journey to Jupiter, Galileo began orbiting the huge planet on December 7, 1995, and successfully completed its two-year primary mission in 1997. That has been followed by three mission extensions. JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Galileo mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, DC. _____________________________________________________________________ INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION STATUS REPORTS NASA/JSC releases 14 January 2002 Commander Yury Onufrienko and Flight Engineer Carl Walz floated outside the International Space Station on the first spacewalk of their expedition and finished installing a second Russian cargo boom, part of which had been delivered to the station two and a half years ago. With coordination help from inside the station by Flight Engineer Dan Bursch, the two space walkers also installed an amateur radio antenna on the Zvezda Service Module. The first space walk Expedition Four crew's five-month tour of duty began at 2:59 PM CST and ended at 9:02 PM CST, lasting a total of 6 hours, 3 minutes. Monday's spacewalk was the thirty-second in support of space station assembly, the seventh such excursion conducted from the station itself, and the sixth based out of the station's Russian segment. The total amount of time spent on space station-based spacewalks now stands at 29 hours, 04 minutes, and the total spacewalking time spent on station construction at 196 hours, 19 minutes. After exiting the station from the Russian Pirs docking compartment, Onufrienko and Walz assembled an extension for a Russian cargo boom that had been previously installed on Pirs. They used the operational cargo crane, called Strela 1 (Strela is the Russian word for arrow), to get into position to detach and relocate a similar crane temporarily stored on the outside of the Unity-to-Zarya connecting tunnel. Known as Strela 2, this second crane was moved back alongside Pirs and attached to a base point on the opposite side of the docking compartment and airlock at 6:31 PM CST. The first piece of Strela 2 had been delivered and installed in May 1999, and the second piece in May 2000. On future spacewalks, the two cranes may be used to maneuver equipment and spacewalkers. Onufrienko and Walz also installed an amateur radio antenna on a handrail at the end of the Zvezda service module. The antenna is one of four that eventually will allow space station crew members to make "ham" radio contacts from the comfort of their living quarters inside Zvezda. Currently, the amateur radio station is inside the Zarya module. The next spacewalk of the expedition--to be conducted by Onufrienko and Bursch--is targeted for January 25. The plan for this spacewalk currently includes installation of the remaining three amateur radio antennae and thruster deflector shields on the end of Zvezda. For the latest information on the crew's activities aboard the space station, future launch dates and times, as well as station sighting opportunities from anywhere on the Earth, please visit the Web at http://spaceflight.nasa.gov. Details on station science operations can be found on the Web site of the Payload Operations Center at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, AL at http://www.scipoc.msfc.nasa.gov. The next ISS status report will be issued January 18. 18 January 2002 The Expedition Four crew of the International Space Station wrapped up a busy week Friday, installing a new, more robust computer storage device and preparing for the second spacewalk of its duty tour a little more than a week after the first. Flight Engineer Carl Walz worked with computer experts on the ground to install and activate a new solid state mass memory unit for one of the station's three main command and control computers, known by its acronym of "C&C1." It took Walz about two hours to remove the older mass memory unit, which used a spinning disk design, and another two hours for flight controllers on the ground to complete the reactivation of C&C1. Computer experts on the ground are continuing to evaluate data on the health of the computer, but expect to place it in the backup spot to the primary computer, C&C2, on January 23. C&C2 had its mass memory unit upgraded earlier this month. The final new mass memory unit is to be installed in C&C3 on February 1. In addition, flight controllers this week also installed new software in two guidance, navigation and control computers on the station. Meanwhile, Commander Yury Onufrienko and Flight Engineer Dan Bursch continued preparations for the next spacewalk, scheduled for January 25. This week, they replenished space suit consumables used by Onufrienko and Walz on Monday, and dried out the suits and readied the hardware items they will install on the outer skin of the station. The spacewalk is expected to begin at 9:35 AM CST next Friday, and last about 51/2 hours. Onufrienko and Bursch will wear Russian Orlan spacesuits and exit the station through the Pirs module, which serves as a docking module and airlock. Walz will provide support inside, monitoring their progress and moving the robotic Canadarm 2 for television coverage of their activities. It will be the 33rd spacewalk in support of space station assembly, and the eighth conducted from the station itself. The two space-age construction workers will install 11 different systems on the outside of the Zvezda Service Module, including six thruster plume deflectors, the second of four ham radio antennae, a replacement experiment for studying contaminating particles from control jets, and a physics experiment. The Efflux Protection Assembly deflectors are designed to redirect plumes from the jets that help control the station's orientation so that they do not leave potentially harmful residues on the outside of the station where spacewalkers must work. The suitcase-like Kromka 1 experiment will replace the existing Kromka 1-0 experiment package, placing new materials samples where they can collect contaminants from the thrusters for future analysis (the Kromka 1-0 samples will be bagged and returned to the station for delivery to Earth aboard a Soyuz return craft). The Platan-M package is a physics experiment designed to search for natural low-energy heavy nuclei of solar and galactic origin. The amateur radio antenna is one of four that eventually will allow space station crew members to make "ham" radio contacts from the comfort of their living quarters inside Zvezda. While crewmembers concentrated on construction and maintenance tasks, inside the Destiny Laboratory, a host of scientific experiments continued to collect information about the effects of long-term space flight on humans, biotechnology, medicine, agriculture, electronics and pharmaceutical compounds. For the latest information on the crew's activities aboard the space station, future launch dates and times, as well as station sighting opportunities from anywhere on the Earth, please visit the Web at http://spaceflight.nasa.gov. Details on station science operations can be found on the Web site of the Payload Operations Center at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, AL at http://www.scipoc.msfc.nasa.gov. The next ISS status report will be issued January 25, following the spacewalk. _____________________________________________________________________ MARS ODYSSEY MISSION STATUS NASA/JPL release 17 January 2002 NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft completed two maneuvers this week, fine-tuning its orbit in preparation for the science mapping mission that will begin in late February. At 2:00 PM Pacific Time, January 17, Odyssey reduced the farthest point in its orbit, called the apoapsis, from an altitude of 520 kilometers (323 miles) to an altitude of 450 kilometers (280 miles). The spacecraft fired its thrusters for 195 seconds, and decreased the velocity of the spacecraft by 27 meters per second (60 miles per hour). This maneuver also moved the closest point of the orbit, called the periapsis, under the south pole of the planet. Earlier this week, on January 15, Odyssey fired its thrusters for 398 seconds, increasing its speed by 56 meters per second (125 miles per hour) and raising the closest point in its orbit from 186 kilometers (116 miles) to 419 kilometers (260 miles). Flight controllers also changed the inclination of the orbit, the angle between the orbit plane and the Mars equator, to 93.1 degrees. "Aside from the orbit insertion burn in October, these are the largest maneuvers that we have executed and they help us circularize the orbit. They were also the most complex to design and implement," said Bob Mase, Odyssey's lead navigator at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA. "These burns had to be executed at specific times to achieve the desired results, so the flight team had a lot of work to do in a very short amount of time. The maneuver performance was excellent." During the next few weeks, flight controllers will continue to refine the orbit to achieve a final mapping orbit with a periapsis altitude of 387 kilometers (240 miles) and apoapsis altitude of 450 kilometers (280 miles). Also this week, engineers turned on the neutron spectrometer, the high-energy neutron detector and a portion of the gamma ray spectrometer subsystem. These science instruments are working as expected. The formal mapping mission will begin next month. JPL manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, DC. Principal investigators at Arizona State University in Tempe, the University of Arizona in Tucson, and NASA's Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX, operate the science instruments. Additional science investigators are located at the Russian Space Research Institute and Los Alamos National Laboratories, NM. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, CO, is the prime contractor for the project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, VA, is providing aerobraking support to JPL's navigation team during mission operations. _____________________________________________________________________ STARDUST STATUS REPORT NASA/JPL release 18 January 2002 There were two Deep Space Network tracking passes during the past week and all subsystems are normal. Stardust is 2.64 AU (over 245 million miles or 395 million kilometers) from the Sun. Preparations for Deep Space Maneuver 2 were completed. The command files for the 2.65-meter-per-second (about 6-mile-per-hour) maneuver were successfully transmitted to the spacecraft, and the maneuver will be performed later today. The results of the maneuver will be presented next week. 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 9, Number 3.