MARSBUGS: The Electronic Astrobiology Newsletter Volume 9, Number 42, 11 November 2002. Editor/Publisher: David J. Thomas, Ph.D., Science Division, Lyon College, Batesville, AR 72503-2317, USA. dthomas@lyon.edu Contributing Editor: Julian A. Hiscox, Ph.D., 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 effectively 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/. _____________________________________________________________________ CONTENTS 1) STUCK IN THE MUCK By Stephen Hart 2) THE CHAMELEON SPACESUIT: LIGHT-WEIGHT LIFE-SAVER By Robert Myers 3) RIEGLER NAMED NASA AMES' DIRECTOR OF ASTROBIOLOGY, SPACE NASA/ARC release 02-115AR 4) NASA STATEMENT ON THE INTEGRATED SPACE TRANSPORTATION PLAN NASA release 02-216 5) LIVE WEBCAST--MARS ODYSSEY SCIENTISTS SHARE THEIR ADVENTURES! NASA/JPL release 6) ASTROBIOLOGISTS PROBE THE MYSTERIES OF THE HIGHEST LAKE IN THE WORLD--LICANCABUR EXPEDITION JOURNAL: PART IV By Henry Bortman 7) MARS DESERT RESEARCH STATION RESUMES OPERATIONS Mars Society release 8) NEW ADDITIONS TO THE ASTROBIOLOGY INDEX By David J. Thomas 9) CASSINI SIGNIFICANT EVENTS NASA/JPL release 10) GALILEO MILLENNIUM MISSION STATUS NASA/JPL release 11) INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION SCIENCE OPERATIONS STATUS NASA/MSFC release 02-285 12) MARS ODYSSEY THEMIS IMAGES NASA/JPL/ASU release 13) STARDUST STATUS REPORT NASA/JPL release _____________________________________________________________________ STUCK IN THE MUCK By Stephen Hart 6 November 2002 Dive deep beneath the sea; dig even deeper, hundreds of meters below the sea floor, and you'll find a hidden world of microscopic beings so numerous that they may make up a third of Earth's total biomass-- as many as a billion cells per cubic centimeter of sediment. But according to a chemical analysis by Steven D'Hondt, Scott Rutherford and Arthur J. Spivack, they aren't doing much. "Setting aside the whole issue of cell concentrations, the amount of metabolism per cubic centimeter of sediment is very low, in general," D'Hondt says. D'Hondt and his colleagues, all at the University of Rhode Island, published their measurements in the March 15, 2002 issue of Science. Counting cells The surprising estimates of life beneath the sediment beneath the waves come, in large part, from the laboratory of John Parkes at the University of Bristol. Researchers there use direct microscopic examination to count archaeal and bacterial cells in cores drilled into deep-sea sediments at several sites around the world. "What they've done," D'Hondt says, "is count bodies. We don't actually know for sure what fraction of those bodies is alive and what fraction is dead." "It depends on what you call biomass," says Tommy Joe Phelps, of Oak Ridge National Laboratory. "Do you consider a dead tree biomass? If you do, then certainly they are correct. If you wanted to be conservative, you could say that what appears to be microorganisms or microbial remnants would account for ten to thirty percent of the [Earth's total] biomass." Because of the possibility that these cells could enter the samples by contamination during drilling, scientists doing such counts use two types of tracers. They inject both a chemical tracer and fluorescent, bacteria-sized plastic beads into the drilling fluid. "In some ways the bead is a more realistic tracer, because it's the size of a bacterium and has similar physical properties in some ways," D'Hondt says. "But the chemical compound is a more conservative tracer because it can go places the bacteria can't. So if we don't find the chemical [in the samples] then we can say 'Well, there's been no contamination at all.'" Dead or alive? To determine just how alive the organisms might be, the Rhode Island team analyzed chemical data from nearly 30 years of ocean drilling. They measured two substances, methane and sulfate, chemical indicators of differing types of microbial metabolism. Archaeans lying in the deepest sediments release methane at a prodigious rate. "One of the points of our paper is that methane is present in sediments throughout the world ocean. There must by inference by archaea in sediments throughout the world ocean," D'Hondt says. Bacteria in somewhat shallower sediments break down the methane seeping upward, removing sulfate from the water in the process. But the process is not a fast one. "Some fraction of the organisms down there is metabolizing. But we don't know if it's one percent or a tenth of a percent or a hundredth of a percent... or a hundred percent," D'Hondt says. "If they're all metabolizing, then in the least active open ocean sediments, they're doing it at a millionth of the rate of the slowest known surface bugs. Alternatively, if they're operating at the rate of the slowest known surface bugs, only one in a million is active. There's nothing published at this point by anyone that would really allow us to distinguish between those two extremes." "I guess you could say that they left that unanswered," says Phelps. "I think what they're doing is they are asking a legitimate question that the answer is pretty obvious, it's just that it's not proven. If you were to say that every one of those organisms that John Parkes views is a live, viable, active microorganism, then their metabolic rate would have to be phenomenally, infinitesimally small. That doesn't let you repair much DNA or build many proteins. In fact it doesn't allow you to do that at all. Surely the vast majority of what we see in the deep subsurface biosphere is inactive." Whether inactive means dead or very slowly dying remains an open question. Without the minimal activity of DNA repair, all organisms slowly accumulate so much damage that they cannot survive. D'Hondt can conceive of intermediate scenarios as well. "Let's just imagine for the sake of discussion that only one in a thousand is actually active and that the other nine hundred and ninety nine are basically dying or dead. Then if these cells turn over once a year, and each cell survives a thousand years on average, then that'll take us a long way toward reconciling the total cell counts with the rates that we calculated. So it's easy to imagine populational scenarios that are not extraordinary that would take us part way there. But it's also possible to imagine the sort of extremes that we pointed to in our paper." What's next? "We need to test the extent to which our inferences were correct and we need to document the more detailed nature of these communities," D'Hondt says. "How many microbes are truly taking part in the series of biological relationships that we're encapsulating in a single biogeochemical equation." Members of D'Hondt's team and colleagues at other institutions have begun research to figure out just what percentage of subsurface microbes is active. They are also testing the assumptions they made in the March Science paper. Is sulfate a good enough indicator of overall microbial activity? Are there better indicators? Furthermore, they hope to draw a clearer picture of just which archaeans and bacteria are present in the deep subsurface. Several groups are studying the genes found in sediment samples. D'Hondt and an international cast of colleagues are taking the first steps toward understanding this hidden world of life beneath the sand beneath the sea. Additional information on this article is available at http://www.astrobio.net/news/article307.html. _____________________________________________________________________ THE CHAMELEON SPACESUIT: LIGHT-WEIGHT LIFE-SAVER By Robert Myers From Space.com 6 November 2002 When astronauts have to step outside for a space walk or a stroll across the Moon, they must first face a daunting challenge that would overwhelm an ordinary person: getting dressed. The heavy and complex suits currently in use are hardly the sort of outfit you can just throw on. And even in the microgravity of orbit, moving and working while wearing the massive contraptions during an extravehicular activity (EVA) can quickly exhaust an astronaut. So Ed Hodgson of Hamilton Sundstrand, a NASA contractor, has developed a scheme for building suits that will feel more like a set of coveralls and less like a suit of medieval armor. "The concept is to dramatically decrease the mass and volume of equipment and supplies that the EVA astronaut must carry on his back and the amount of resupply material that must be launched," Hodgson says. "(Our design) works with the environment rather than one in which we first provide complete isolation from the environment and then add equipment to replace all of the environmental interactions we normally rely on to keep us comfortable and alive." Get the full story at http://www.space.com/businesstechnology/technology/chameleon_suit_021106.html. _____________________________________________________________________ RIEGLER NAMED NASA AMES' DIRECTOR OF ASTROBIOLOGY, SPACE NASA/ARC release 02-115AR 7 November 2002 Dr. Guenther Riegler, a senior executive from the Office of Space Science at NASA Headquarters, has been named director of astrobiology and space research at NASA Ames Research Center in California's Silicon Valley. Riegler, who previously served as the executive director for science in NASA's Office of Space Science, will assume his news duties at NASA Ames in January. He succeeds Estelle Condon, who served as the acting director of astrobiology and space research at NASA Ames and recently was named an associate center director. "I am delighted that Guenther Riegler will be joining us as our new director of astrobiology and space research," said NASA Ames Director G. Scott Hubbard in announcing the appointment. "I have known Guenther for years and have the highest regard for his excellent leadership skills and his extensive experience with the agency's various space science missions. He is an incredible talent and we're fortunate to have him join us. I look forward to working with him." In his new capacity at NASA Ames, Riegler will direct the center's extensive research in the fields of astrobiology (the study of the origin, evolution, distribution and destiny of life in the universe) and lead the center's major research activities in space, Earth and life sciences. As the agency's executive director of the Office of Space Science, Riegler was responsible for oversight of the science requirements, management and performance of all of NASA's space science missions. He previously served as the director of the Research Program Management Division at NASA Headquarters. The division is responsible for science requirements, management and performance of all space science missions. Riegler joined NASA Headquarters in 1987 from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, where he was responsible for astrophysics mission operations and data analysis programs. Since 1995, Riegler has served as the chief scientist for the research division of the Office of Space Science. He also assumed responsibility for mission operations and data analysis management for most of NASA's operating space science missions. Riegler completed his undergraduate dissertation on x-ray instrumentation in 1964 at the Vienna Institute of Technology, Austria, and earned his doctorate at the University of Maryland in 1969. He began his NASA career at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, in what was then the new field of x-ray astrophysics. He has authored more than 40 publications in various scientific journals. Contact: Michael Mewhinney NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA Phone: 650-604-3937 or 650-604-9000 E-mail: mmewhinney@mail.arc.nasa.gov _____________________________________________________________________ NASA STATEMENT ON THE INTEGRATED SPACE TRANSPORTATION PLAN NASA release 02-216 8 November 2002 The Administration is preparing a change to its Fiscal Year (FY) 2003 budget to implement a new Integrated Space Transportation Plan (ISTP) and ensure the International Space Station is properly financed and better positioned to achieve its scientific research priorities. NASA believes it is important to move forward in a highly integrated way to assure access to and from the International Space Station and Low Earth Orbit. This change is part of a continuing effort to ensure programs and budgets, developed to carry out NASA's vision and mission, are responsible, credible, and compelling. The new direction reflects important changes to NASA's five-year budget plan, within the totals contained in the President's FY 2003 Budget. It is based on multiple studies, undertaken over the past few years, including the extensive work conducted under the Space Launch Initiative (SLI). The new plan will be sent to Congress soon. SLI was designed to identify feasible options for future NASA space transportation. Having accomplished this objective, and using study results conducted in preparation for a 2003 System Requirements Review (SRR), NASA has selected a robust and flexible approach to meeting space transportation needs through the new ISTP. ISTP consists of three major programs: Space Shuttle, Orbital Space Plane, and Next Generation Launch Technology. The new plan makes investments to extend Shuttle's operational life for continued safe operations. The Orbital Space Plane is designed to provide a crew transfer capability, as early as possible, to ensure access to and from the International Space Station. The Next Generation Launch Technology Program funds developments in areas such as propulsion, structures, and operations for the next generation Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV). The SLI will focus on the Orbital Space Plane and Next Generation Launch Technology, including third generation RLV efforts. The budget changes reflect a strategic decision to more tightly couple the Space Station, Space Shuttle, and SLI programs. Recently completed independent cost estimates and program reviews have determined that the Space Shuttle flight rate should be increased and steps should be taken to assure NASA's ability to achieve U.S. Core Complete, while meeting international commitments and providing a robust orbital research program. The proposed new plan reflects these changes. Contact: Glenn Mahone NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC Phone: 202-358-1898 _____________________________________________________________________ LIVE WEBCAST--MARS ODYSSEY SCIENTISTS SHARE THEIR ADVENTURES! NASA/JPL release http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/odyssey/gallery/video/webcast20021114.html 8 November 2002 Webcast date/time: 14 November 2002, 9:00 - 10:00 AM Pacific Standard Time (UTC - 8 Hours). Join the Principal Investigators for the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission as they explain Odyssey's initial discoveries and take questions from schools, museums and employees at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory during a live interactive webcast broadcast from JPL's von Karman auditorium. On November 14 at 9:00 AM (Pacific Standard Time or UTC - 8 Hours), click here to view the webcast: http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/odyssey/gallery/video/webcast.html. You will need RealPlayer to view the webcast. If you don't have RealPlayer, please download the free RealPlayer 8 Basic well in advance of the webcast. Download the free RealVideo software at http://www.real.com/. Educators and students participate in the webcast If you are a museum or school and you would like to submit a question live or in advance of the webcast, please send e-mail to Christine.Johnson@jpl.nasa.gov. Please write, "Odyssey Webcast Question" in the subject line. Questions about Odyssey If you are a member of the general public and you have any questions about the Odyssey mission, please send e-mail to marsoutreach@jpl.nasa.gov. Webcast guests Roger Gibbs, Odyssey Project Manager Dr. Phil Christensen Principal Investigator for the Thermal Emission Imaging System Dr. Bill Boynton Principal Investigator for the Gamma Ray Spectrometer Dr. Cary Zeitlin Principal Investigator for the Martian Radiation Environment Experiment Stephenie Lievense, Mars Outreach Coordinator More information Since the 2001 Mars Odyssey orbiter arrived at Mars on October 23, 2001 we are learning what chemical elements (e.g., carbon, iron, etc.) and minerals are present at the planet's surface. Surprised scientists have found enormous quantities of buried treasure lying just under the surface of Mars--enough water ice to fill Lake Michigan twice over. There are also tantalizing indications emerging from the thousands of infrared images already taken that Mars experienced a series of environmental changes during active geological periods in its history. Paving the way for future astronauts, Odyssey is also recording the martian radiation environment to determine health risks for any future human explorers. During and after its science mission, the Odyssey orbiter will also support other missions in the Mars Exploration program. It will provide the communications relay for U.S. and international landers, including the next mission in NASA's Mars Program, the Mars Exploration Rovers, to be launched in 2003. Scientists and engineers will also use Odyssey data to identify potential landing sites for future Mars missions. Latest images from Mars are available at http://themis.la.asu.edu/latest.html. Please visit the Odyssey web site at http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/odyssey/. _____________________________________________________________________ ASTROBIOLOGISTS PROBE THE MYSTERIES OF THE HIGHEST LAKE IN THE WORLD- -LICANCABUR EXPEDITION JOURNAL: PART IV By Henry Bortman 11 November 2002 An international team of scientists has spent the past three weeks in the Andes Mountains, climbing to 6,000 meters (19,700 feet) above sea level to find out what's living in the highest lake in the world. In this fourth and final article about the expedition, Astrobiology Magazine editor Henry Bortman talks with expedition leader Nathalie Cabrol about her team's accomplishments. This is the fourth and final article about a scientific expedition that just returned from studying the highest lake in the world. The lake lies inside the crater of Licancabur, a dormant volcano that straddles the border between Chile and Bolivia. Although buffeted by harsh weather, the scientists did reach the summit and were able to collect samples from the lake for future study. Astrobiology News: So you made it all the way to the summit lake? Nathalie Cabrol: Yes, we did. We reached the summit yesterday at 2:15 PM local time and it was really cold. Everyone made it to the top. Edmond [Grin, an 82-year-old member of the expedition team,] was second to arrive. Only the guide got there before him. And he is now the record-holder for the oldest person ever to summit Licancabur. The previous record was set by a 70-year- old. The whole team reached the summit, which includes people from 24 to 82 years old. Then we had only an hour to do the science. So we rushed to the lake. The lake was emerald green--just magnificent. And most of all, it was unfrozen. We had wondered if it would be because, with the wind chill we had, I guess the temperature had been down at times to minus 20° or minus 25°C (minus 4° to minus 14°F). So we did all the science we could. We weren't able to dive, because the conditions were too dangerous and we were risking hypothermia and had too little time to go down, so we took a safe approach. But we recovered samples of water, samples of sediment. We deposited data loggers. We deployed our UV experiment. And we filmed some underwater footage with the underwater camera. Something which is extremely puzzling is that while I was dragging the sample bottle along the bottom of the lake using a rope, while I was getting the bottle out of the water, there was water in the sample bottle. And when I closed the bottle, the water was still liquid, but the rope was completely frozen. Andy measured the surface temperature of the lake up there at 6 degrees C (42°F). AN: Did you see any thermal springs there? NC: No. We didn't see any on the crater, but we would need to look in the lake itself. If I had to choose a place, it would be just where we see the green stuff, but unfortunately this time we were not able to get to it. That will be for next year. AN: Were you able to get any sense from the physical layout there of how the lake is maintained? NC: What is interesting is that there are shorelines. So it means that this lake has been varying with time. We took some samples from the shore and we'll have to study them to see if we see any layers, any signs that we have cycles here. The Inca, when they were living in the area (500 years ago), were holding celebrations at the lake. So if this is the same lake, it is not a very large body of water and this raises many questions. In my mind, there must be another source than the yearly snow because, although there is some snow on the crater itself, to me the watershed is not enough to keep that lake alive for 500 years. AN: Were you able to tell how deep the lake is? NC: No, we couldn't deploy [the bathymetry, or depth-measurement, instruments] because of the conditions. AN: From visual inspection, what could you tell about the life in the lake? NC: It was very difficult because the shores of the lake seem pretty lifeless. But towards the middle of the lake it was more green, so this is where we would like to know better about what is going on there. It was difficult for us to reach. We tried some contingency science by throwing bottles with a rope, so we'll have to see what's in those bottles. Right now I can't tell you what's there. It will have to be analyzed. After that, we rushed back up to the summit and it was a madman race to get all the way back down the mountain in time. The conditions here are extremely tough. The wind is blowing all the time, and when you are at 6,000 meters, believe me, it's really tough. AN: Have you heard a report yet from the Hungarian biologists about what types of organisms are living in the lower lakes, where you took samples a couple of weeks ago? NC: All I can tell you right now is that they have observed a very large diversity of organisms there. They have taken the samples with them [to Hungary and will be doing further analysis later]. AN: What do you have planned for the rest of the expedition? NC: While I'm talking to you I can see from where I am three of our team members. Today they are retrieving material from underneath the [UV filtering] plates we placed [in Laguna Blanca] ten days ago to study how the UV interacts with the biology and how the organisms defend themselves against the UV radiation here. The plates will be left in the water for an additional year, but we wanted to have some preliminary results, so we are going to bring back this sample with us. We are leaving tomorrow at the end of the day. We will be doing some dives tomorrow morning in Laguna Blanca [to collect more samples]. AN: Well, congratulations on your achievement and thank you for taking the time to talk with us. NC: Thank you. Additional information on this article is available at http://www.astrobio.net/news/article310.html. _____________________________________________________________________ MARS DESERT RESEARCH STATION RESUMES OPERATIONS Mars Society release 11 November 2002 The Mars Desert research Station resumed operations November 9, commencing a field season that will run until April 27, 2003. The crew of the Mars Desert Research Station rotates every 2 weeks. These are the scientists and engineers who live and work on site within the MDRS. They explore all of the facets of human exploration in a simulated Mars environment. As the MDRS's initial field season during the spring of 2002 comprised 6 crews, the first crew this fall will be MDRS Crew 7. Crew 7 is notable in that it will be comprised 50/50 of people from French and English speaking countries. It will also include in its membership a professional journalist, Hilary Bowden from the BBC. Crew 7 Mission Commander Charles Frankel 46, is a geologist and science writer, born and raised in Paris, France. He has authored several books on planetary geology, including "Volcanoes of the Solar System" and "The End of the Dinosaurs" (Cambridge University Press). Mr. Frankel was crew geologist on one of the inaugural F-MARS missions in Devon Island (July 2001), and is on the steering committee of the third analogue habitat, Euro-MARS, to be deployed in Iceland in 2003. His hobbies include cooking, fishing, and scuba- diving. Pierre-Emmanuel Paulis is a teacher at the Euro Space Foundation, founded by former Belgian astronaut Dirk Frimout. He is charge of the pedagogical projects at the Euro Space Center in Libin, Belgium (Belgian Space Camp). A space fan since he was 12 years old, Pierre- Emmanuel has had some space-related experiences like a parabolic flight (32 minutes of weightless) on board the European Caravelle and Airbus Zero G. Additionally, he has seen six Space Shuttle launches as a VIP, one Soyouz launch from the Baïkonour Cosmodrome, and an Ariane 4 launch from the Kourou base in French Guyana. He is also an artist and is currently working on a comic strip album. He has created a character called Tania; she is an astronaut and the stories are written in collaboration with the ESA astronaut Jean-François Clervoy and the ESA scientist Vladimir Pletser. Derek Shannon, seen here volunteering as a tour guide aboard the MDRS during its deployment at Kennedy Space Center's Visitor Complex, began work as an undergraduate in 1998 at the California Institute of Technology, where he co-founded Caltech's chapter of the Mars Society and did research on the Mars southern polar region, organic material in the martian near-surface, human Mars mission design, and possible biosignatures in the martian meteorite ALH84001. Since receiving a BS in geobiology in June, 2002, Derek has begun graduate work in geobiology and astrobiology at the University of Southern California, where he is currently working with data from the THEMIS instrument on board Mars 2001 Odyssey. Alain Souchier was born in 1947. Since his childhood he was interested in astronomy starting observing the sky with a home built telescope at 10. In 1957 the space race started, and Alain followed all the steps leading to the moon landing in 1969 (and launched more than one hundred little rockets himself). He graduated in engineering in 1970 with an aerospace specialization and started to work on rocket liquid propulsion the same year at SEP which became later on part of the Snecma Aerospace Group. Alain participated in the development of the Ariane engines and propulsion systems for the various European launcher generations Ariane 1 to Ariane 5 from 1970 to 1998. In 1986 he wrote a book on the Ariane program. He is presently Program Manager for future rocket engines at Snecma Liquid Propulsion Direction in Vernon. In 1999 he was one of the co- founders of the Mars Society French Chapter. In 2001 he developed and started testing a Cliff Reconnaissance Vehicle demonstrator to assess what could be the use of such a vehicle to help astronauts exploring martian cliffs. Stacy Cusack, is a flight controller at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. When working in Mission Control as an ECLSS (Environmental Control and Life Support Systems) Officer, she is responsible for the operations of the life support equipment onboard the International Space Station (ISS). She has worked over 1100 hours on console in support of the Expedition crewmembers and has worked six Shuttle/ISS Assembly Missions. She is the ECLSS flight lead for STS-114/ULF-1 and has also been assigned to work console for STS-116/12A.1. When not working in Mission Control, Stacy writes procedures, flight rules, and technical documents to support the crewmembers and ground team. She is a member of the team which develops new prebreathe protocols for ISS EVAs. She has also been involved in numerous astronaut training sessions (usually for oxygen and nitrogen transfer operations training) and hopes to join the astronaut corps herself one day. Stacy has a Bachelor's Degree in Aerospace Engineering and is currently working on her Master's Degree in Planetary Geology, with a focus on the geology of Mars. She will celebrate her 29th birthday at the MDRS. Hilary Bowden is a reporter and editor for the BBC. She has reported personally from many international adventures on sea and on land. During her stay at the MDRS she will act as a full member of the crew, assisting in all activities. She will also be filing reports both on the Mars society web site and at bbc.com. To find out more about the Mars Society, visit our web site at www.marssociety.org. _____________________________________________________________________ NEW ADDITIONS TO THE ASTROBIOLOGY INDEX By David J. Thomas http://www.lyon.edu/webdata/users/dthomas/astrobiology/astrobiology.h tml 11 November 2002 Terrestrial extreme environments articles http://www.lyon.edu/webdata/users/dthomas/astrobiology/online_article s2.html H. Bortman, 2002. Astrobiologists probe the mysteries of the highest lake in the world--Licancabur expedition journal: part IV. Astrobiology Magazine. H. Bortman, 2002. Hot springs high in the Andes--Licancabur expedition journal: part III. Astrobiology Magazine. S. Hart, 2002. Stuck in the muck. Astrobiology Magazine. _____________________________________________________________________ CASSINI SIGNIFICANT EVENTS NASA/JPL release 31 October - 6 November 2002 The most recent spacecraft telemetry was acquired from the Madrid tracking station on Tuesday, November 5. The Cassini spacecraft is in an excellent state of health and is operating normally. 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/operations/present-position.cfm. On board activities this week included clearing of the ACS high water marks, and Radio and Plasma Wave Science High Frequency Receiver calibrations and a high rate cyclic. A decision was reached with NASA Headquarters this week regarding the communications strategy to be used during the Saturn Orbit Insertion (SOI) burn. The plan is to switch to the low-gain antenna which will provide the ability to monitor the progress of the burn via Doppler data prior to, at the time of, and for a while after burn start, for a portion in the middle, and the part near the end, including burn termination. Two periods occur during the 98-minute burn where the signal will not be available because of occultation by the rings. Telemetry is not available over the Low Gain Antenna for this event. The primary competing option of pointing the high-gain antenna to Earth to provide telemetry during part of the burn, in addition to Doppler, was rejected due to the high propellant cost associated with this approach, and the fact that the visibility into the onset of any problem in real-time telemetry was minimal and in some cases could be detected in the Doppler signal anyway. Any real-time response from the ground was not a consideration in the decision due to the nearly three hour round trip light time at the time of SOI. The first of two tests was performed this week at the new ESA tracking station designated DSS-32 in New Norcia, Australia. The tests are to validate the flow of telemetry and confirm that the station is capable of supporting Cassini if necessary during late 2003 and early 2004. DSS-32 is not able to forward telemetry at this time, but was able to frame sync to the data. Therefore, these New Norcia passes will verify RF compatibility and frame sync only. The Radio Science team met with project management to review operations readiness for the second Gravitational Wave Experiment. GWE-2 is scheduled for a period of 40 days from December 5 through January 14, 2003. The technical capabilities necessary to accomplish this activity are largely unchanged from the operationally successful GWE-1 last December and January, with one exception. The heat exchanger unit on the Ka-band transmitter at the Goldstone Deep Space Network complex in the Mojave Desert was redesigned, reinstalled, and retested recently after problems developed during an experiment this past summer. Project management is satisfied that the project is ready for GWE-2. During last week's Cassini Project Science Group meeting, staff from the California Institute of Technology showed electronic movies of a double-star occultation of Titan taken with adaptive optics at the Palomar observatory. These were very well received and spawned much interesting discussion. The movies may be viewed at http://www.gps.caltech.edu/~antonin/titan.html. A color composite image of Saturn and the moon Titan was selected as Astronomy Picture of the Day on November 4th. The image may be viewed at http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap021104.html. All teams and offices supported the NASA Quarterly review on Monday, November 4. 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. An additional article on this subject is available at http://www.cnn.com/2002/TECH/space/11/01/cassini.saturn.ap/index.html . _____________________________________________________________________ GALILEO MILLENNIUM MISSION STATUS NASA/JPL release 6 November 2002 NASA's long-lived Galileo spacecraft achieved partial success in a dash through Jupiter's inner radiation belts and past the small moon Amalthea on Tuesday, its final flyby before a deliberate impact into Jupiter next September. This was Galileo's last flyby, after 37 other close encounters with various planets, asteroids and Jupiter's four large moons since launch 13 years ago. As the orbiter headed closer to Jupiter than it had ever ventured before, it gathered measurements of the energy fields and charged particles in the inner region of Jupiter's magnetic environment. It also examined dust grains that form a "gossamer" ring around the planet. However, Galileo placed itself in a standby precautionary mode after its closest approach to Amalthea. It flew past Amalthea at a targeted altitude of 160 kilometers (99 miles) at 06:19 Tuesday, Universal Time (10:19 PM November 4, Pacific time), then went into "safe" mode about 30 minutes later. In that mode, onboard fault- protection software suspends many operations until receiving further instructions from theground. "We knew this would be a challenging encounter for Galileo, so we are not surprised to have some things go awry," said Dr. Eilene Theilig, Galileo project manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA. "Not only was the spacecraft going through a region with more intense radiation than it had ever experienced before, but it was also doing this after it had already survived four times the cumulative radiation dosage it was designed to take and had already operated nearly five years past its original mission." The flight team at JPL is working on recovery operations, diagnosing what happened and preparing new commands to Galileo that will restore the orbiter to normal and enable the playback of scientific data stored on the spacecraft's tape recorder. Two tape tracks of science data were recorded during the encounter period, out of four tracks planned. Also, the intended type of two-way radio link with Earth for the period closest to the flyby was not achieved. Now receding again from Jupiter, the spacecraft left the region of radiation danger about 11 hours after passing Amalthea. Amalthea orbits about halfway between Jupiter and Io, the innermost of the planet's four large moons. Amalthea is an elongated body, about 270 kilometers (168 miles) long. Galileo has nearly depleted its supply of the propellant needed for pointing its antenna toward Earth and controlling its flight path. While still controllable, it has been put on a course for impact into Jupiter. That's so there will be no risk of it drifting to an unwanted impact with the moon Europa, where Galileo discovered evidence of a subsurface ocean that is of interest as a possible habitat for extraterrestrial life. Sixty-four minutes after speeding over Amalthea's cratered surface, Galileo passed within about 71,400 kilometers (44,366 miles) of Jupiter's cloud tops. That marked the beginning of Galileo's final orbit, which will end with a plunge into the crushing pressure of Jupiter's atmosphere on September 21, 2003. Going into a standby mode does not jeopardize Galileo's disposal at Jupiter. No further commanding of the spacecraft is necessary to assure that it is on an impact trajectory, Theilig said. Additional information about Galileo and the discoveries is available at http://galileo.jpl.nasa.gov. JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Galileo mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, DC. Additional articles on this subject are available at: http://www.cnn.com/2002/TECH/space/11/05/galileo.moon/index.html http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2002/08nov_gossamer.htm?list52260 http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/solarsystem/almathea_flyby_0211 06.html _____________________________________________________________________ INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION SCIENCE OPERATIONS STATUS NASA/MSFC release 02-285 8 November 2002 Three European physical science experiments were conducted in the Microgravity Science Glovebox aboard the International Space Station during the past week. European Space Agency Flight Engineer Frank DeWinne from Belgium, a member of the visiting Soyuz spacecraft crew, on Friday successfully installed and activated the Protein Crystal Growth Monitoring by Digital Holographic Microscope (PromISS) experiment, followed on Saturday by the Diffusion Coefficients in Crude Oil (DCCO). Space Station Science Officer Peggy Whitson assisted DeWinne during the Glovebox installation activity. The goal of DCCO is to mix and observe the changes in several compounds representative of the crude oil chemical families, including n-dodecane, tetrahydronaphthalene and isobutylbenzene. The results could yield insights in petroleum processing. The PromISS uses a digital holographic microscope to accurately measure the refractive index changes in the precipitating solution surrounding proteins in the process of crystallization in capillaries. Analysis of the structure of protein crystals could provide new information useful in the fields of pharmaceuticals, biotechnology and agriculture. On Sunday, Expedition Five Commander Valery Korzun and Whitson conducted the Pulmonary Function in Flight (PuFF) experiment. The PuFF session includes five lung function tests for each crewmember. The focus is on measuring changes in the evenness of gas exchange in the lungs and on detecting changes in respiratory muscle strength caused by long periods in the absence of gravity. The results will help in maintaining crew health during long space missions. This is one of many human life sciences experiments being conducted on Expedition Five under the auspices of the Life Sciences program at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. DCCO was successfully concluded on Tuesday and it was replaced in the Glovebox by the Study of Aggregation Mechanism and Kinetics of Nanoslabs (NANOSLAB) experiment. NANOSLAB is designed to study the effects of convection and sedimentation during bulk formation of Silicalite-1 and Silicalite-1 containing aluminum-zeolite materials important in several industrial applications. Zeolites are found in many manufacturing processes on Earth because of their ability to absorb and hold on to materials until they are heated or put under reduced pressure. On Wednesday, selected members of the crew filled out the weekly Crew Interactions computer survey on a laptop computer. The study identifies important interpersonal and cultural factors that could affect performance during long space missions. On Thursday, the crew will set up, operate and deactivate the final European experiment--Combustion Synthesis under Microgravity Conditions (COSMIC)--in the Glovebox. The goal of COSMIC is to investigate combustion processes and the resulting structures in compressed metal powders. This research has significant relevance to the synthesis of advanced materials such as intermetallics, ceramics and metal-matrix composites. The NANOSLAB and PromISS experiments also will be deactivated Thursday and removed for return to Earth. The crew also is scheduled to collect background radiation dosimeter badge readings on the EVA Radiation Monitoring (EVARM) experiment in preparation for spacewalks during the STS-113 Shuttle mission set for launch on November 11. EVARM is the first radiation experiment to measure radiation dosages encountered by the eyes, internal organs and skin during specific spacewalks and relate it to the type of activity, location and other factors. Analysis of this information may help reduce potential exposure to spacewalkers in the future. Crew Earth Observation photography subjects for this week included Miami, FL, Las Vegas, NV, Phoenix and Tucson, AZ, Midway Islands, Pearl and Hermes Reefs and Lisianski Reef in the Pacific, the Nile River Delta, Angiers, Algeria, Angolan biomass burning, and industrialized Southeast Africa. During the past week, the crew continued to perform daily maintenance and status checks on Station experiments. They also prepared the Station lab for the arrival of a Soyuz taxi ship this week and approximately eight days of European science experiments to be conducted in the Microgravity Science Glovebox. 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 MSFC Media Relations Department Phone: 256-544-0034 E-mail: Steve.Roy@msfc.nasa.gov _____________________________________________________________________ MARS ODYSSEY THEMIS IMAGES NASA/JPL/ASU release 1-8 November 2002 Pit-chain in Noctis Labyrinthus (Released 1 November 2002 http://themis.la.asu.edu/zoom-20021101a.html Textures in Utopia Planitia (Released 4 November 2002) http://themis.la.asu.edu/zoom-20021104a.html Hecates Tholus (Released 5 November 2002) http://themis.la.asu.edu/zoom-20021105a.html Channels near Lucus Planum (Released 6 November 2002) http://themis.la.asu.edu/zoom-20021106a.html Hydaspis Chaos (Released 7 November 2002) http://themis.la.asu.edu/zoom-20021107a.html Elysium Fossae (Released 8 November 2002) http://themis.la.asu.edu/zoom-20021108a.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. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen 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 8 November 2002 Stardust successfully flew past asteroid Annefrank, taking more than 70 images and testing the operations to be used during the primary encounter at Comet Wild 2 in about 14 months. The testing was an overwhelming success. Details on the encounter are available at http://stardust.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news94.html. The spacecraft is operating in good health. The flight team had seven periods of radio contact with it through the antennas of the Deep Space Network. 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. Additional articles on this subject are available at: http://www.cnn.com/2002/TECH/space/11/05/asteroid.stardust/index.html http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/stardust_annefrank_021105.html _____________________________________________________________________ End Marsbugs, Volume 9, Number 42.