MARSBUGS: The Electronic Astrobiology Newsletter Volume 9, Number 24, 1 July 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) NASA's EARTH OBSERVING TECHNOLOGY SATELLITE PROVES A SUCCESS NASA/GSFC release 02-98 2) 34TH LUNAR AND PLANETARY SCIENCE CONFERENCE--FIRST ANNOUNCEMENT Lunar and Planetary Institute release 3) STUDENTS JOIN SCIENTISTS IN SEARCH OF ASTHMA TRIGGERS NASA/GSFC release 02-101 4) TEACHERS' CREATIVITY SOARS AT NASA SCIENCE WORKSHOP NASA/ARC release 02-75AR 5) WOULD ALIENS VISIT? By Seth Shostak 6) SPACE AND DAILY LIFE... IN 45 YEARS From ESA News 7) NEW ADDITIONS TO THE ASTROBIOLOGY INDEX By David J. Thomas 8) CASSINI SIGNIFICANT EVENTS NASA/JPL release 9) INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION SCIENCE OPERATIONS STATUS REPORT NASA/MSFC release 02-160 10) MARS ODYSSEY THEMIS IMAGES NASA/JPL/ASU release 11) STARDUST STATUS REPORT NASA/JPL release _____________________________________________________________________ NASA's EARTH OBSERVING TECHNOLOGY SATELLITE PROVES A SUCCESS NASA/GSFC release 02-98 24 June 2002 The new Earth monitoring technology aboard NASA's Earth-Observing 1 (EO-1) satellite has proven itself invaluable in its clarity and ability to more accurately identify objects on the Earth's surface, and will become part of a long-term Earth monitoring mission on the next Landsat satellite. The EO-1 satellite was launched to test new technology over a short time frame, and confirm that it was suitable for a long-term satellite mission, such as the next generation of Landsat satellites. The purpose of the mission was also aimed at lowering the costs and increasing the performances of future Earth science missions. "EO-1 has been a very successful mission. It has remained fully functional since launch and has now produced over four times the volume of imagery originally expected," said Bryant Cramer, EO-1 Implementation Manager at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD. Two instruments in particular, Hyperion, the world's only hyperspectral satellite sensor utilizing 220-bands (of the spectrum) at approximately 30-meter (98.4 ft.) spatial resolution and the Advanced Land Imager (ALI), a lightweight, high performance, multispectral sensor have already proven invaluable in monitoring the Earth's surfaces. ALI has a panchromatic sharpening band that produces 10-meter (32.8 ft.) imagery. After a one-year test aboard EO-1, ALI's proven effectiveness in image clarity supersedes the current ETM+ Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus on-board the Landsat satellites. ALI and Hyperion are providing space-qualified new technologies as potential models for the next generation Landsat and other land imaging satellites. Earth Observing-1, launched on November 21, 2000, is the first satellite in NASA's New Millennium Program Earth Observing series. The EO missions will develop and validate instruments and technologies for space-based Earth observations with unique spatial, spectral and temporal characteristics not previously available. EO- 1's primary focus is to develop and test a set of advanced technology land imaging instruments. However, many other key instruments and technologies are part of the mission and will have wide ranging applications to future land imaging missions in particular and future satellites in general. NASA and U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) are partners on this mission. NASA and USGS scientists believe that the data sets will prove valuable to global land cover studies, ecosystem monitoring, mineral and petroleum prospecting, and agricultural crop assessment, among other potential applications. The USGS EROS Data Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota Falls now distributes image data products. The Hyperion instrument has proven very useful in a number of applications such as forestry. Previous capabilities from the Landsat satellite enabled researchers to identify vegetation as hardwood, softwood, and grasslands. The Hyperion instrument, using many of its 220 bands from the spectrum, enables scientists to distinguish the types of trees, from Red Pine to Red Oak, and the types of environments including hardwood bogs, mixed conifers and spruce swamplands. This type of data is very important to land managers. The Hyperion data can also indicate healthy grasslands and dormant vegetation, and can distinguish riverbeds from brush, paved and dirt road surfaces, and planted areas, down to the details of what type of crop is growing. This kind of data is especially useful for farmers who need to fertilize certain crops. Some of the results from the ALI technology include a sharp image of the path of the deadly La Plata, Maryland Tornado from May of 2002. An improvement of clarity in images over local areas was also seen in an image of Sutton, Alaska taken by the Landsat-7 ETM+ and the ALI, where the ALI image proved to be much sharper. The ALI instrument also provided the sharpest images of Las Vegas at night, clearly depicting the casino lights that lined a main street. Results from the EO-1 mission will be presented today at the 2002 International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium at the Westin Harbour Castle Hotel and Conference Center, Toronto, Canada. The session "Overview of the Earth Observing System-1 Satellite," will be presented by Dr. Stephen Ungar of NASA Goddard. For more information and images: http://www.gsfc.nasa.gov/topstory/20020624eo1.html Images of Alaska, comparing EO-1 to Landsat images: http://www.gsfc.nasa.gov/topstory/20001219eo1_firstlight.html Additional information about the EO-1 satellite can be found at: http://eo1.usgs.gov/ http://eo1.gsfc.nasa.gov Contacts: Mark Hess NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD E-mail: Mark.Hess@gsfc.nasa.gov Phone: 301-286-8982 Rob Gutro NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD E-mail: Rgutro@pop900.gsfc.nasa.gov Phone: 301-286-4044 _____________________________________________________________________ 34TH LUNAR AND PLANETARY SCIENCE CONFERENCE--FIRST ANNOUNCEMENT Lunar and Planetary Institute release http://www.lpi.usra.edu/meetings/lpsc2003/ 25 June 2002 Conference dates: March 17-21, 2003 Sponsors: National Aeronautics and Space Administration Lunar and Planetary Institute NASA Johnson Space Center Chairs: Elleen Stansbery, NASA Johnson Space Center Arch Reid, Lunar and Planetary Institute We are pleased to invite your participation in the 34th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference to be held near the NASA Johnson Space Center in League City, Texas, March 17-21, 2003. This conference brings together international specialists in petrology, geochemistry, geophysics, geology, and astronomy to present the latest results of research in planetary science. Special sessions You are encouraged to submit ideas and suggestions for plenary or special sessions to Paula Walley by September 6, 2002, so they can be considered, planned, and publicized. Organizers of these sessions should be prepared to serve on the Program Committee, or to have a fully empowered delegate serve on the Program Committee, if requested by the Conference Chairs. Authors of invited talks for special sessions must meet the same deadline for abstracts as authors of contributed papers (see below). Organizers who wish to have invited talks represented in the conference abstract volume should make the invited speakers aware of the deadline restrictions when inviting their presentation. Meeting format Participants may indicate a preference for oral, poster, or print- only presentation. The Program Committee will make all decisions on the mode of presentation to ensure a balance of as many important new research results as possible. Selection criteria will be based on the relevance of the subject matter to the conference and the quality of the science. The 4.5-day conference will be organized by topical symposia and problem-oriented sessions. Abstract deadline In an effort to move the abstract deadline back to January, while still allowing sufficient time and personnel to prepare for the program committee meeting, we will have two separate deadlines for electronic submission of abstracts. The deadline for electronically submitting abstracts in PDF format will be 5:00 PM (CST) Tuesday, January 14, 2003. Authors who are unable to produce PDF files must submit their abstracts electronically by 5:00 PM (CST) Tuesday, January 7, 2003. Authors who are unable to submit electronically will have to request special instructions (phone: 281-486-2188; fax: 281-486-2125; e-mail: publish@lpi.usra.edu). Hard-copy submissions will be due at the LPI no later than January 7, 2003. Non-PDF submissions or hard-copy submissions that arrive after January 7, 2003, will not be considered for the conference. Detailed information regarding abstract preparation and submission will be available via the meeting Web page and will be included in the second announcement, to be posted on the conference Web site by the middle of November. Submission restrictions There will again be a limit of two abstracts per first author for oral or poster presentation requests. If you submit two abstracts, you will be asked to rank them in order of preference. As was the rule last year, print-only abstracts will be allowed, but only from those authors who are not submitting an abstract for oral or poster presentation. In other words, if you're requesting a print-only abstract, you cannot submit an abstract for any other type of presentation. Authors are limited to one print-only request. The program committee will strictly enforce the above policies. Abstracts submitted in violation of these policies will be rejected. The only exception will be for those who are invited to give a talk at a special session (e.g., the Masursky Lecture, or a special topical session). Those abstracts will not be counted against authors as one of the two abstracts they are allowed to submit. Schedule September 6, 2002: Deadline for submitting suggestions for special sessions. October 4, 2002: Deadline for returning the Indication of Interest Form. November 15, 2002: Second announcement with abstract submission instructions will be posted on the meeting Web page. January 7, 2003, 5:00 PM (U.S. Central Time): Deadline for hard-copy submission and non-PDF electronic submission of abstracts. Hard-copy and non-PDF abstracts received after this date will be returned to the author. January 14, 2003, 5:00 PM (U.S. Central Time): Deadline for electronic submission of abstracts in PDF format. No abstracts will be accepted after this time. On or before February 3, 2003: Final announcement, guide to sessions, and preliminary program and abstracts will be posted on the meeting Web page. _____________________________________________________________________ STUDENTS JOIN SCIENTISTS IN SEARCH OF ASTHMA TRIGGERS NASA/GSFC release 02-101 26 June 2002 Students and teachers of more than 20 Baltimore, MD, middle and high schools will be helping NASA scientists, and doctors and researchers from the University of Maryland School of Medicine to better understand the causes of pediatric asthma in Baltimore City. The students will be gathering data on aerosol particles that will help experts track particulates in relation to incidence of asthma. "Asthma is one of the most common chronic illnesses that cause children to miss school, and Baltimore City school children suffer from some of the highest asthma rates in the country," says Carol Blaisdell, Chief of Pediatric Pulmonology and Allergy at the University of Maryland Hospital for Children and Associate Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. Severe asthma events leading to hospitalization occur at much higher rates for children under the age of 18 in the fall more than during the rest of the year. Scientists believe this may, in part, be triggered by tiny airborne particles called aerosols. The student's portion of the research is called the Baltimore Student Sun photometer Network (BSSN). Each student participating in BSSN will go outside of their school daily and point a hand held instrument, known as a "Sun Photometer," toward the Sun. These devices can determine the concentration and size of aerosols (or particles in the air) by using light from the electromagnetic spectrum. Smaller particles appear in the blue end of the spectrum, while the larger particles are seen in the red end of the spectrum. The students will take daily measurements of aerosols around Baltimore City beginning this spring and will continue to collect data over the course of this calendar year. "The data will be included as part of a larger study to identify the environmental triggers of pediatric asthma in Baltimore," said Elissa Levine, the lead scientist on the project, who works in the Biospheric Sciences Branch at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD. "This co-operative effort is not only beneficial to our research, but will also benefit the students. It will enhance their science, math, and technology skills and improve their understanding of their local environment." "We are excited about participating because collection of authentic data is an important part of modern science instruction," said Andrea Bowden, Supervisor of Science and Health Education for the Baltimore City Public School System. The BSSN will be the first city-wide network ever established to monitor small-scale changes in the quantity of aerosol particles in a layer of atmosphere over a metropolitan area. The network will be scientifically and geographically supported by a full-scale Sun Photometer located on the roof of the Maryland Science Center in Baltimore that is part of NASA's AERONET (AEosol RObotic NETwork) program. Just like the full-scale Sun Photometer, the hand held "student" instruments will provide information about the quantity and particle size of aerosols in the air using bands from the electromagnetic spectrum. The student readings will provide a first time look at how aerosols are spread out across the city, and be compared with the Sun Photometer readings at the Maryland Science Center location. Brent Holben, an atmospheric scientist at NASA Goddard, leads the AERONET program, a series of ground-based remote sensing Sun photometers that measure aerosols globally. NASA and various federal agencies, universities and institutes around the world have established these ground-stations. Holben said, "In addition to helping to collect data for the asthma project, the aerosol data that the students collect using hand-held devices will be used to verify the accuracy of data NASA collects from instruments aboard NASA's Terra satellite." Terra looks at aerosols from space down to Earth, while this project looks at them from the Earth up toward space. The student network acts as a double-check for the aerosol data gathered by the satellite and the full-scale photometer, and the first time this check will be made across a local area. The hand-held Sun photometers are on loan from the USDA Forest Service, who uses them to measure air quality after forest fires. This study is funded through NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. The aerosol data that is being used to identify environmental asthma triggers is funded under NASA's "Healthy Planet: Earth Science and Public Health" program. For more information, please check the following web sites: http://www.gsfc.nasa.gov/topstory/20020614baltasthma.html http://healthyplanet.gsfc.nasa.gov/ http://aeronet.gsfc.nasa.gov/ Contacts: Cynthia M. O'Carroll Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD E-mail: Cynthia.M.OCarroll.1@gsfc.nasa.gov Phone: 301-614-5563 Ellen Beth Levitt University of Maryland School of Medicine E-mail: eblevitt@umm.edu Phone: 410-328-8919 _____________________________________________________________________ TEACHERS' CREATIVITY SOARS AT NASA SCIENCE WORKSHOP NASA/ARC release 02-75AR 27 June 2002 More than two dozen educators from 14 states are attending a 10-day workshop for teachers at the NASA Ames Research Center in California's Silicon Valley from June 23 through July 6, 2002. This year nearly 250 other educators will attend similar workshops at 10 NASA centers across the nation. The National Science Teachers' Association is a partner with NASA in this teacher workshop program. "The NASA Education Workshop (NEW) is the best-kept secret in education," said JoAnn Arthur, a mathematics teacher at Richey High School in Richey, MT. "All teachers should fight for an opportunity to attend." Arthur successfully competed with hundreds of other educators for one of 25 spots in the NASA educational workshop at NASA Ames. "NASA is about inspiring the next generation of explorers," said Donald James, chief of the NASA Ames Education Branch. "These educators are partners on the front lines." "I have seen various technologies not available in Montana. I hope to be able to bring back content to be implemented in my classroom and awareness of what scientists do at NASA," said Frank Hallett, a physics and chemistry teacher at Fergus High School in Lewistown, MT. "The giant wind tunnels used for the development of aviation advancement were most impressive." "I also was impressed with NASA's commitment and dedication to education," he added. "They are making a tremendous effort to help teachers understand the technology of the future. I want to gain knowledge and information not available in textbooks." "The NASA education workshop program is a unique combination of scientific and technological information and hands-on experience," said NASA Ames educational specialist Tom Clausen, who organized the workshop at Ames. During the two weeks, the teachers learn about cutting-edge NASA projects, visit NASA facilities, attend seminars by NASA researchers, engineers and technicians, and study topics ranging from aeronautics to interplanetary exploration. Components of the workshop are devoted to professional collaboration, in which teachers share ideas and strategies for translating their experiences into valuable classroom activities and materials. The Ames program includes educators from 14 states including Arizona, California, Colorado, Kansas, Hawaii, Missouri, Montana, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah, Washington and Wyoming. Besides Arthur and Hallett, other teachers involved in the workshop included: Erinn Ackley, a science teacher at Lincoln County High School in Eureka, MT. Steven Brennecke, a high school science and mathematics teacher at Big Bend High School in Terlingua, TX. Teresa Chiles, a geometry teacher at Lewisville High School in Lewisville, TX. Ben Curry, a science teacher at Yucca Valley High School in Yucca Valley, CA. Joanne Elston, a chemistry teacher at Cinco Ranch High School in Katy, TX. Bob Henderson, a physics and astronomy teacher at Westminster High School in Westminster, CO. Robert Hill, a high school physical science and chemistry teacher at La Center High School in La Center, WA. Elizabeth James, a high school physics teacher at Derby High School in Derby, KS. Paul T. Johanson, a calculus teacher at Pleasant Grove High School in Pleasant Grove, UT. Rachelle Kuznik, an Earth and space science teacher at Hempfield Area High School in Greensburg, PA. Michael Knopp, a mathematics teacher at Northeast School in Arma, KS. Brian Kruse, a science teacher at Fremont Middle School in Roseburg, OR. Margaret Lucero, a biology teacher at Irvin High School in El Paso, TX. Deanna Mazanek, a high school science teacher at McLoughlin High School in Milton-Freewater, OR. Mike McGlone, a physics and astronomy teacher at Flower Mound High School in Flower Mound, TX. Tracy Morris, a mathematics teacher at Casady School in Oklahoma City, OK. J. David Quadlin, a mathematics teacher at Horizon High School in Scottsdale, AZ. Melinda Louise Rimbey, a science and mathematics teacher at Turn Around School in Eugene, OR. David Roderick, a science teacher at Northstar Junior High School in Kirkland, WA. Teresa Stricklin, a high school mathematics teacher at Kelly Walsh High School in Casper, WY. Andy Turgeon, a mathematics teacher at Canton R-V High School in Canton, MO. Andrea Wood, a high school science teacher at Boerne High School in Boerne, TX. For additional information about the teacher program, please contact Clausen by telephone: 650/604-5544, or by e-email: tclausen@mail.arc.nasa.gov. Images of the teachers, suitable for publication, as well as individual news releases with quotes from each teacher, are available in high-resolution digital format on the World Wide Web at http://www.amesnews.arc.nasa.gov/releases/2002/02images/educators/edu cators.html Contact: John Bluck NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA Phone: 650-604-5026 or 604-9000 E-mail: jbluck@mail.arc.nasa.gov _____________________________________________________________________ WOULD ALIENS VISIT? By Seth Shostak From Space.com 27 June 2002 When it comes to alien activities, visiting Earth seems to be pretty high on the "to do" list. But does that make sense? Approximately half the U.S. population suspects that extraterrestrials have come to our planet. This is such a controversial (and emotional) topic that its mere mention in one of these articles is usually sufficient to guarantee a storm of Web chat and high-voltage e-mails. In the end, of course, the matter of alien visitation will be decided by the evidence, not by the intensity of opinion. While I certainly expect that the Galaxy is home to many advanced societies, the quality of the evidence has so far failed to convince me that any of them have emissaries on our planet. Get the full story at http://www.space.com/searchforlife/seti_shostak_visit_020627.html. _____________________________________________________________________ SPACE AND DAILY LIFE... IN 45 YEARS From ESA News http://www.esa.int 28 June 2002 From 4 to 10 October 2002, the Education Office of the European Space Agency (ESA) will celebrate World Space Week by giving young Europeans the chance to tell the world their ideas on what daily life on Mars might be like 45 years from now. In 1999, the United Nations declared the week of 4 through 10 October "World Space Week": 4 October being the celebration of the launch of Sputnik 1 in 1957, and 10 October the anniversary of the first treaty on space in 1967. A theme is defined every year, on which projects at local, regional, national or international level are developed. This year's theme will be "Space and daily life." The Spaceweek International Association is responsible for the co-ordination of the events. The Education Office's aim with this project is to inspire young Europeans to imagine their future, while applying their knowledge from school. We will ask them to think about what life in space will be like in 45 years' time (as 2002 is the 45th anniversary of the launch of Sputnik), giving special thought to a permanent establishment on Mars. In the project, "Space and Daily Life... in 45 Years", the case of the Martian Base is being developed in cooperation with Parsec, a French educational organization. Teachers will be free to choose the emphasis they want to place on the project, according to the age of the children or the discipline they teach. Disciplines that could be involved: * Life sciences: What is it about Earth that makes it habitable for human beings? What are the existing features of Mars that would help it support human life? What would have to be made on Mars so that human beings could live there (e.g. air, heat, water, food, etc.)? * Physics/chemistry: Identify the existing technologies on Earth that would be needed on Mars (e.g. electricity, manufacturing of water and atmosphere, vehicles on the surface of Mars or between Mars and Earth, communications) * Math: Calculate the surface areas (for habitation, agriculture, etc.), volumes (of air, water, etc.), masses (of food, propellants, etc.) and distances (for travel, light-speed communications, etc.) associated with human habitation and living * Arts/architecture: Design a base that will provide for all basic human needs * Geology/geography (e.g. choice of terrain), psychology or sociology (number of people, choice of profession, what has to be provided for a good quality of life, etc.) This project is adaptable to various age groups, from primary (with simple analysis) to secondary level, with deeper analysis of the necessary technologies. In the best case, all disciplines should be combined. Classes, groups and individuals can compete. All choices made in the course of the project must be explained and justified, thus also employing language and composition skills (mother tongue or foreign languages). The children will have to discuss what is needed, whether it exists on Mars, or how it can be provided. Each teacher will have some guidelines for the systems to be planned. This activity is intended to take place during World Space Week itself; therefore, the final deadline for sending proposal entries to ESA is 31 October 2002. Mars quick facts Orbit: 227,940,000 km (1.52 AU) mean distance Diameter: 6,794 km Martian day: 24 hours, 37 minutes and 22 seconds Martian year: 669 Martian days, 687 Earth days Average temperature: 218 K (-55 C) Minimum temperature: 140 K (-133 C) (at the winter pole) Maximum temperature: 300 K (27 C) (summer dayside) Surface area: about the same as the land surface area of the Earth National winners from each member state will be selected based on the thoroughness or innovation of the proposed solutions. From these, European winners will be chosen. These winning projects will be presented on the ESA web site. The European winners will then be able to compete at an international level with all of the projects participating in World Space Week. More information about the Mars 2047 competition is available, as well as a description of a selection of World Space Week educational projects. You may download these documents in PDF format from this page: see "More about Mars 2047" and "Teacher's guide" (you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to view these documents). To receive a printed copy by post, you may send email to education@esa.int with your postal address and preferred language. This information is available in English, French, Dutch, German, Italian and Spanish. You may also email with your questions concerning this project. Related links * World Space Week http://www.worldspaceweek.org/ * ISS Space Week event http://www.esa.int/export/esaHS/ESAOMAVTYWC_education_0.html * Essay contest with Unesco http://www.unesco.org/science/earthsciences/sep_essay_announcement.ht m * Education & Outreach http://www.estec.esa.nl/outreach/ * Parsec http://www.astrorama.net/ Further material * More about Mars 2047 (PDF, 29K) http://ravel.esrin.esa.it/docs/esawswmars2047_en.pdf * Teacher's guide (PDF, 200K) http://ravel.esrin.esa.it/docs/esawsw2002teacher_en.pdf * In your language... http://www.esa.int/export/esaCP/ESAZW6OED2D_index_0.html Helpful sites * ESA Science homepage http://sci.esa.int/ * Nirgal (français) http://www.nirgal.net/ * Mars Society http://www.marssociety.org/ * The nine planets http://www.seds.org/billa/tnp/ * In your language... http://www.esa.int/export/esaCP/ESAZW6OED2D_index_0.html IMAGE CAPTIONS: [Image 1: http://www.esa.int/export/esaCP/ESAHJXF18ZC_index_1.html] The ESA World Space Week 2002 poster is available by post from ESA's Education Office. Please send email to education@esa.int for ordering information. [Image 2: http://www.esa.int/export/esaCP/ESAHJXF18ZC_index_1.html#subhead1] Artist's impression of satellites communicating with Mars bases. [Image 3: http://www.esa.int/export/esaCP/ESAHJXF18ZC_index_1.html#subhead4] Artist's impression of a Mars base. _____________________________________________________________________ NEW ADDITIONS TO THE ASTROBIOLOGY INDEX By David J. Thomas http://www.lyon.edu/webdata/users/dthomas/astrobiology/astrobiology.h tml 1 July 2002 Astrobiology, exobiology and terraformation articles http://www.lyon.edu/webdata/users/dthomas/astrobiology/online_article s1.html K. Connell, 2002. Interview with Ann Druyan and Steven Soter. Astrobiology Magazine. Human space exploration and microgravity effects articles http://www.lyon.edu/webdata/users/dthomas/astrobiology/online_article s3.html W. S. Broecker, 1996. The Biosphere and me. GSA Today, 6(7)1-7. Search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) articles http://www.lyon.edu/webdata/users/dthomas/astrobiology/online_article s4.html S. Shostak, 2002. Would aliens visit? Space.com. Astrobiology and extreme environments book list http://www.lyon.edu/webdata/users/dthomas/astrobiology/astrobiology_b ooks.html P. D. Ward, 2001. Future Evolution. W. H. Freeman and Co., New York. _____________________________________________________________________ CASSINI SIGNIFICANT EVENTS NASA/JPL release 19-26 June 2002 The most recent spacecraft telemetry confirms the Cassini spacecraft is in an excellent state of health and is operating normally. Cassini will continue 24-hour Deep Space Network coverage in support of the Radio Science Subsystem Solar Conjunction Experiment until its conclusion on July 7th. A minimum separation angle of 0.437 degrees was reached on Friday June 21. Information on the present position and speed of the Cassini spacecraft may be found on the "Present Position" web page located at http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/cassini/english/where/. On-board activities this week included Radio and Plasma Wave Science Subsystem (RPWS) periodic instrument maintenance, start of execution for the second RPWS looper command, an autonomous Command and Data Subsystem (CDS) solid state recorder memory load partition repair, completion of uplink of Radio Frequency Subsystem (RFS) conjunction test commands, and uplink of a command to clear the CDS library command error logs as a result of expected accumulation of log entries during the RFS conjunction test uplinks. The 28th Project Science Group meeting is being held this week in Lisbon, Portugal. Frame kernel version 34, and version 9 of the Cassini Infrared Spectrometer (CIRS) instrument kernel were delivered to the Mission Sequence Subsystem for inclusion in software version D8.0.1. The frame kernel includes calibrated boresights for the Ultraviolet Imaging Spectrograph Subsystem, CIRS, Visual and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer Subsystem, Imaging Science Subsystem, and the high gain antenna. The CIRS field of view was redefined in the instrument kernel. The Spacecraft Office has identified the final inputs for system fault protection to be uplinked with CDS flight software version 9 in the spring of 2003. Delivery review meetings were held for Mission Sequence Subsystem D8.0.1 and the AACS C-Kernel Generation Tool. 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. _____________________________________________________________________ INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION SCIENCE OPERATIONS STATUS REPORT NASA/MSFC release 02-160 27 June 2002 From the International Space Station, the crew of Expedition Five has had an ideal vantage point for photographing wildfires in the southwestern United States during the past week. Crew Earth Observations (CEO) photography subjects this week included continued efforts to take pictures of two large fires burning in Arizona and a fire in Colorado that threatened Denver suburbs. Imagery from a good photo pass on Tuesday is expected to be downlinked later this week. Other subjects during the week included land use and water levels in the Tigris-Euphrates region of Turkey, Eastern Mediterranean air quality, Lake Nasser and the Toshka Lakes of Egypt. The oblique views of the fires have an almost three-dimensional quality that have made them some of the most revealing yet captured by crews aboard the orbiting research outpost. Images taken June 18 show the Hayman fire burning in the foothills southwest of Denver. Astronauts use a variety of lenses and look angles as their orbits pass over wildfires to document the long-distance movements of smoke from the fires as well as details of the burning areas. Details of the image reveal multiple smoke source points as the fire moves across the rough terrain. "The Station's unique altitude allows us to see a broader area than is possible with high flying aircraft and a lot more detail than satellites that operate thousands of miles higher," said Dr. Justin Wilkinson, a scientist with the Earth Science and Image Analysis Laboratory at Johnson Space Center in Houston. "We can see the relation of cumulus rain clouds close to the smoke plume--the cloud is generated by heat from the fire beneath. We can detect the sources of the fires within tens of meters. We see the edges of the smoke as a reflector of sunlight. We can see the barriers to burning, such as canals, power line clearings, cliffs, etc. Being able to visualize the smoke is important to scientists in synthesizing many different kinds of data." Last Friday, the crew completed a week of liver cell growth research using the StelSys experiment. Cell samples cultured during the week are now stowed in the ARCTIC 1 freezer for return to Earth on the upcoming STS-112 mission. The Biotechnology Specimen Temperature Controller used to incubate the samples was deactivated. On Monday, the Payload Operations Center reactivated EXPRESS Rack 2 and the Zeolite Crystal Growth (ZCG) experiment inside. Having installed new computer hard drives in the ZCG experiment last week, the crew on Monday configured the experiment's furnace in preparation for the first sample runs of the Expedition, which began today. On Tuesday, all three crew completed their Crew Interactions surveys on the Human Research Facility laptop computer. On Wednesday, Commander Valery Korzun and Flight Engineer Peggy Whitson conducted their first tests with the Pulmonary Function in Flight experiment and repaired a broken drawer on the Microgravity Science Glovebox. Today, the crew is performed several maintenance tasks with the Advanced Astroculture experiment, including collection of nutrient and gas samples. On Friday, they will conduct a nutrient fluid exchanbe to support the continued growth of the expeirment's soybean plants. On Friday, they will collect regular monthly background radiation readings on EVA Radiation Monitoring badges, and on Saturday their science activities include reviewing Glovebox procedures prior to activation of the new facility in July. Other science payloads aboard the Destiny lab module continue to operate normally--the Space Acceleration Measurement System, Microgravity Acceleration Measurement System, Protein Crystal Growth Single Thermal Enclosure System, and the Materials International Space Station Experiment. The Payload Operations Center at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, AL, manages all science research experiment operations aboard the International Space Station. The center is also home for coordination of the mission-planning work of a variety of international sources, all science payload deliveries and retrieval, and payload training and payload safety programs for the Station crew and all ground personnel. Contact: Steve Roy Media Relations Department Phone: 256-544-0034 E-mail: Steve.Roy@msfc.nasa.gov Status reports: http://www1.msfc.nasa.gov/NEWSROOM/news/releases/2002/02-160.html http://www.msfc.nasa.gov/news Photos: http://www1.msfc.nasa.gov/NEWSROOM/news/photos/2002/02-160.html ISS science operations news: http://www.scipoc.msfc.nasa.gov/ StelSys fact sheet: http://www.msfc.nasa.gov/NEWSROOM/background/facts/ceo.html _____________________________________________________________________ MARS ODYSSEY THEMIS IMAGES NASA/JPL/ASU release 24-28 June 2002 Lunae Planum (Released 24 June 2002) http://themis.la.asu.edu/zoom-20020624a.html Tantalus Fossae (Released 25 June 2002) http://themis.la.asu.edu/zoom-20020625a.html Small Volcano in Terra Cimmeria (Released 26 June 2002) http://themis.la.asu.edu/zoom-20020626a.html Candor Chasma (Released 27 June 2002) http://themis.la.asu.edu/zoom-20020627a.html Terra Meridiani (Released 28 June 2002) http://themis.la.asu.edu/zoom-20020628a.html All of the THEMIS images are archived at http://themis.la.asu.edu/latest.html. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, DC. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. Dr. Philip Christensen leads the THEMIS investigation at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey 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. _____________________________________________________________________ STARDUST STATUS REPORT NASA/JPL release 28 June 2002 There were no Deep Space Network communications passes during the past week. Work continues on the Comet Wild 2 encounter Fault Tree analysis in preparations for the Critical Event Readiness Review of Comet Wild 2 encounter testing. The Stardust Outreach team participated in the Teacher Enhancement Program, sponsored by the National Science Foundation and hosted by the Institute of Astronomy at the University of Hawaii. The focus of the program was Toward Other Planetary Systems 2002, involving educators and the general public. There, Stardust personnel discussed comets and NASA missions to comets. 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 24.