Marsbugs: The Electronic Astrobiology Newsletter Volume 12, Number 20, 13 June 2005 Editor/Publisher: David J. Thomas, Ph.D., Science Division, Lyon College, Batesville, Arkansas 72503-2317, USA. dthomas@lyon.edu 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 editor, but individual authors retain the copyright of specific articles. Opinions expressed in this newsletter are those of the authors, and are not necessarily endorsed by the editor or by Lyon College. E-mail subscriptions are free, and may be obtained by contacting the editor. Information concerning the scope of this newsletter, subscription formats and availability of back-issues is available at http://www.lyon.edu/projects/marsbugs. The editor does not condone "spamming" of subscribers. Readers would appreciate it if others would not send unsolicited e-mail using the Marsbugs mailing lists. Persons who have information that may be of interest to subscribers of Marsbugs should send that information to the editor. __________________________________________________________________________ Articles and News 1) CAVE BEAR DNA SEQUENCING COULD BE BOON FOR HUMAN EVOLUTION STUDIES By Kate Wong 2) METHANE DOESN'T NECESSARILY MEAN LIFE ON MARS, SAYS DARTMOUTH STUDY Dartmouth College release 3) NASA SCIENTISTS COLLABORATE WITH RUSSIANS ON GRAVITY STUDIES NASA/ARC release 05-36AR 4) VISUAL DETECTION OF LIFE ON MARS? By Alexander Zeltsman Announcements 5) NASA FUNDS PROJECTS TO EXTEND EARTH SCIENCE RESEARCH NASA release C05-n 6) BOOK PREVIEW: EUROPA--THE OCEAN MOON By Richard Greenberg 7) NEW ADDITIONS TO THE ASTROBIOLOGY INDEX'S BOOK LIST By David J. Thomas Mission Reports 8) CASSINI UPDATES NASA/JPL releases 9) DEEP IMPACT: NASA ANNOUNCES SPECTACULAR DAY OF THE COMET NASA/JPL release 2005-098 10) SWRI TO LEAD NASA'S JUNO MISSION, PROVIDE TWO SCIENCE INSTRUMENTS Southwest Research Institute release 11) MER UPDATE: A MOMENT FROZEN IN TIME NASA/JPL release 12) MARS EXPRESS UPDATES ESA releases 13) MARS GLOBAL SURVEYOR IMAGES NASA/JPL/MSSS release 14) MARS ODYSSEY THEMIS IMAGES NASA/JPL/ASU release __________________________________________________________________________ CAVE BEAR DNA SEQUENCING COULD BE BOON FOR HUMAN EVOLUTION STUDIES By Kate Wong From Scientific American 3 June 2005 Scientists have succeeded in retrieving and sequencing nuclear DNA from the bones of an extinct cave bear. The method they used could conceivably be applied to ancient human remains, such as those of Neanderthals. Read the full article at http://cl.exct.net/?ffcd16-fe5f1672736605797c12- fe28167073670175701c72. An additional article on this subject is available at http://www.livescience.com/othernews/050607_cave_bear.html. __________________________________________________________________________ METHANE DOESN'T NECESSARILY MEAN LIFE ON MARS, SAYS DARTMOUTH STUDY Dartmouth College release 7 June 2005 Two Dartmouth researchers have weighed in on the debate over whether the presence of methane gas on Mars indicates life on the red planet. Mukul Sharma, Assistant Professor of Earth Sciences, and Chris Oze, a postdoctoral fellow, argue that the martian methane could have been produced by inorganic processes just as easily as by bacteria. In their paper published online in May in the American Geophysical Union's journal, Geophysical Research Letters, Sharma and Oze describe how methane on Mars can be made from abiotic, or non-living, sources. When water containing dissolved carbon dioxide comes in contact with olivine, it produces hydrogen, which then combines with carbon dioxide to produce methane. The authors contend that olivine is abundant on Mars at shallow depths, and it could easily react with fluids just beneath the surface. "Most methane on Earth is produced by bacteria, and methane has been cited as an indicator of life on other planets," explains Sharma. "However, we show in our paper that the mineral olivine can be altered in the presence of water and carbon dioxide, which can produce copious quantities of methane. It's quite easy to do, and there is nothing bacterial about it. If there is life on Mars, I would like to see better evidence than methane." The paper also provides a plausible explanation for a warmer and wetter early Mars. Recent results from rover missions on Mars have pointed to the presence of flowing water on the planet's surface. It is, however, impossible to heat the planet's surface to above freezing temperatures by greenhouse action of carbon dioxide alone. The authors estimate that the abiotic creation of methane via the altered olivine was very efficient due to a higher surface heat flow and more intense hydrothermal circulation. Sharma and Oze say that methane, a very effective greenhouse gas, would have been more abundant in the atmosphere resulting in a climate that was warm enough to allow liquid water to be present on the martian surface. Journal reference: Christopher Oze and Mukul Sharma, 2005. Have olivine, will gas: serpentinization and the abiogenic production of methane on Mars. Geophysical Research Letters, 32(10):L10203, http://www.agu.org/pubs/crossref/2005/2005GL022691.shtml. Contact: Sue Knapp Dartmouth College Office of Public Affairs Phone: 603-646-3661 E-mail: sue.knapp@dartmouth.edu Read the original news release at http://www.dartmouth.edu/~news/releases/2005/06/07a.html. Additional articles on this subject are available at: http://www.marsdaily.com/news/mars-life-05m.html __________________________________________________________________________ NASA SCIENTISTS COLLABORATE WITH RUSSIANS ON GRAVITY STUDIES NASA/ARC release 05-36AR 8 June 2005 NASA scientists are collaborating with Russian colleagues in an effort to learn more about cell growth in space. At the invitation of the Russian Academy of Sciences' Institute of Biomedical Problems, investigators from NASA Ames Research Center in California's Silicon Valley are participating in pre- and post-flight science experiments designed to examine gravity's relationship to biological processes. The experiments were launched May 31 aboard the Russian Foton-M2 mission from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, and will be recovered 16 days later when the capsule returns to Earth near the border between Russia and Kazakhstan. The European Space Agency and a number of other space agencies also are cooperating with Russia on this mission. "We have a rich history of highly productive research carried out on Russian unmanned spacecraft over several decades. We are pleased to be working with our Russian colleagues in support of the Vision for Space Exploration," said Terri Lomax, deputy associate administrator for research at NASA headquarters, Washington, DC. "Our collaboration with the Institute of Biomedical Problems and the experiments aboard the Foton spacecraft will help us understand how the microgravity environment affects live organisms," said Eduardo Almeida, NASA Ames principal investigator for both the gecko cell growth and ribbed newt tissue regeneration studies. Studies conducted with specimens flown aboard the Foton-M2 mission will examine cell growth and morphological tissue changes in geckos, cell proliferation and tissue regeneration of ribbed newts, gene expression and neural re-adaptation of snail vestibular cells to Earth's gravity, and spaceflight's effects on genetic structures in bacteria. "This is a unique study, and a unique opportunity to collaborate with our Russian counterparts," Almeida said. The two other American principal investigators, NASA Ames researcher Richard Boyle, and Barry Pyle of Montana State University, Bozeman, who are conducting separate studies, have been instrumental in facilitating the scientific goals of the Foton-M2 mission. Boyle is the NASA Ames science lead for Foton-M2 and is working with investigators at Russia's Institute of Higher Nervous Activity and Neurophysiology to study the neural and biochemical responses of snail statocyst receptors, which play essentially the same role as a human's inner ear in giving balance cues, following microgravity exposure. They will investigate the process of re- adaptation to Earth's gravity and how this affects coordination in the brain and nervous system. Pyle is participating in an experiment studying the transient and permanent effects of spaceflight on genetic structures of the bacterium, Streptomyces lividins. Mike Skidmore, the NASA Ames-based project manager, is teamed with his deputy, Marilyn Vasques, to coordinate all aspects of the American participation in this international Foton-M2 flight. "We know that long-term space travel results in a loss of bone and muscle mass. Our participation in the Foton mission will allow us to accurately quantify the rates of cell growth in whole animals using nucleotide analog markers. The results from this study will be used to test our theory that gravity gives a signal for cells to grow, and that it promotes stem cell- based tissue regeneration," said Almeida. For information about NASA and agency programs on the Internet, visit http://www.nasa.gov. Contacts: Nicholas A. Veronico or Michael Mewhinney NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA Phone: 650/604-1939 or 650/604-9000 E-mail: nveronico@mail.arc.nasa.gov Additional articles on this subject are available at: http://www.spacedaily.com/news/gravity-05k.html __________________________________________________________________________ VISUAL DETECTION OF LIFE ON MARS? By Alexander Zeltsman 13 June 2005 The traditional approach to the life detection in Solar system emphasizes the chemical and microscopic markers. I suggest that it is macroscopic features of life that are the most promising markers. I further suggest that a particular stereo pair of images, obtained on Mars by MER Spirit on Sol 68, must be considered a proof of the life on Mars. An effective technique is the key to the detection of life in Solar system and beyond. This must include an array of technologies, being applied in a proper combination, which fits the kind of access we have to the target environment, as well as the features of that environment. The traditional approach to the life detection in Solar system over emphasizes the chemical and microscopic markers [1]. A case can be made for importance of morphological macroscopic biomarkers. Life detection based solely on the microscopic and chemical biomarkers does not make much sense if life that is expected to be found, has any resemblance of life on Earth. Consider the case of Mars. One can expect that microbial life over there has sprung or was seeded possibly from Earth at the same roughly time as it has sprung on Earth. An assumption that no macroscopic organisms has evolved from that life is quite ridiculous, considering what has happen on Earth, what abundance of creatures the natural selection have produced here. There is only a slight chance that even microscopic life was not ever present on Mars. It could also be true, that all life on Mars has become extinct due to changing conditions out there. Only under such hypotheses, taken with many more extra assumptions, it would make sense looking exclusively for the microscopic and chemical markers of life. In this case, our intent would be to confirm absence of current life. So it would be then not a search for a life, but a search for the proof that no life is out there. The problem here still is that the life we are trying to disprove, is something unknown, and could be in unknown ways different from what we know as of now, about the microscopic and chemical life markers. The pure microscopic approach is destined to fail to prove negative at the end even if it is true, and is an awkward way to prove positive at the least. We can say, on other hand, that in most cases presence of mature microscopic life will be accompanied by the presence of macroscopic life. In case we are unable to detect macroscopic life on a planet, it is the most likely that no microscopic life is present either. The conclusion is that we must search for the macroscopic life when the goal is life detection on a planet. This brings us to the question: what are the markers of macroscopic life? Hooks, antennas, limbs, are some of the most prominent markers of the animal kingdom. The hooks, for example, never happen with the rocks and the rest of unanimated nature. One would expect them to be extremely reliable markers of life. So, the Mars rover pictures must be looked at from the macroscopic biomarkers perspective. In this case, I actually was able to find pictures that fit the bill, the MER Spirit panoramic camera stereo pair, produced on Sol 68. The original JPG files 2P132402878EFF1800P2286R2M1.JPG and 2P132402878EFF1800P2286L2M1.JPG, can be found at [2]. The proper clips are presented as Figure 1 and Figure 2 below. They focus on the special object, which has a hook at the closest to the camera end, with sharp point being directed away from the camera. The shadow of hook on the ground is consistent with the light and the hook's shape. Figure 1 is a red-cyan color anaglyph. Figure 2 is a stereo pair clipped from the originals. Obviously, if I am correct and the object in question proves presence of the macroscopic life on Mars, there must be other its products to discover. Many of them might be not as obvious cases as those with hooks represent, although. The author expresses deep gratitude to the NASA team, for working tirelessly to put rovers on Mars, for producing the magnificent pictures, and for providing the public with full access to them. References 1. S. L. Cady, J. P. Farmer, J. P. Grotzinger, J. W. Schopf, and A. Steele, 2003. Morphological biosignatures and the search for life on Mars. Astrobiology 3:351-368. 2. NASA image gallery for Spirit, http://origin.mars5.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery/all/spirit.html Contact: Alexander Zeltsman 10 Hackamore Court Tinton Falls, NJ 07753 Phone: 732 922-0122 Fax: 732 922-0122 E-mail: Azeltsman2@comcast.net __________________________________________________________________________ NASA FUNDS PROJECTS TO EXTEND EARTH SCIENCE RESEARCH NASA release C05-n 7 June 2005 NASA's Science Mission Directorate has selected 23 projects that will harness Earth science data to improve decision-making processes. NASA will contribute approximately $22 million over the three-year life of these projects with national organizations that include water management, public health, air quality, ecosystem stewardship and disaster management. "These projects were chosen for their leadership in the use of Earth science observation and model predictions," said NASA's Deputy Associate Administrator, Science Mission Directorate, Dr. Ghassem Asrar. "Also a key factor in the selection process was the initiative shown in putting together partnerships with public, private and academic organizations," he added. Peer panels and NASA program managers reviewed 172 proposals for their merit, cost, and relevance to NASA goals, objectives and cost. The principal investigators from the 23 projects come from: Alabama, California, Colorado, Massachusetts, Maryland, South Dakota, Virginia and Washington. The projects include participants from 22 states and more than 59 organizations. For a listing of the projects on the Internet, visit http://science.hq.nasa.gov/earth-sun/applications/index.html. For information about NASA's Science Mission Directorate on the Internet, visit http://www.science.nasa.gov. Contacts: Erica Hupp/Dolores Beasley NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC Phone: 202-358-1237 or -1753 __________________________________________________________________________ BOOK PREVIEW: EUROPA--THE OCEAN MOON By Richard Greenberg 8 June 2005 Europa--The Ocean Moon tells the story of the Galileo spacecraft probe to Jupiter's moon, Europa. It provides a detailed description of the physical processes, including the dominating tidal forces that operate on Europa, and includes a comprehensive tour of Europa using images taken by Galileo's camera. The book reviews and evaluates the interpretative work carried out to date, providing a philosophical discussion of the scientific process of analyzing results and the pitfalls that accompany it. It also examines the astrobiological constraints on this possible biosphere, and implications for future research, exploration and planetary biological protection. Europa--The Ocean Moon provides a unique understanding of the Galileo images of Europa, discusses the theory of tidal processes that govern its icy ridged and disrupted surface, and examines in detail the physical setting that might sustain extra- terrestrial life in Europa's ocean and icy crust. Europa--The Ocean Moon is intended for research scientists in planetary science, senior undergraduates and post graduate researchers studying planetary science and astrobiology. Additional information is available from the publisher at http://www.springeronline.com/sgw/cda/frontpage/0,11855,5-40109-22- 37148070-0,00.html. Contact: Richard Greenberg Lunar and Planetary Laboratory University of Arizona 1629 East University Blvd. Tucson, AZ 85721-0092 Phone: 520-621-6940 Fax: 520-621-9692 E-mail: greenberg@lpl.arizona.edu http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/people/faculty/greenberg.html/ __________________________________________________________________________ NEW ADDITIONS TO THE ASTROBIOLOGY INDEX'S BOOK LIST By David J. Thomas 13 June 2005 R. Greenberg, 2005. Europa--The Ocean Moon. Springer Verlag, Berlin. National Research Council, 2005. Science in NASA's Vision for Space Exploration. National Academies Press, Washington, DC. National Research Council, 2005. Space Studies Board Annual Report 2004. National Academies Press, Washington, DC. http://www.lyon.edu/projects/marsbugs/astrobiology/astrobiology.html __________________________________________________________________________ CASSINI UPDATES NASA/JPL releases Scientists Discover Possible Titan Volcano NASA/JPL release 2005-096, 8 June 2005 A recent flyby of Saturn's hazy moon Titan by the Cassini spacecraft has revealed evidence of a possible volcano, which could be a source of methane in Titan's atmosphere. Images taken in infrared light show a circular feature roughly 30 kilometers (19 miles) in diameter that does not resemble any features seen on Saturn's other icy moons. Scientists interpret the feature as an "ice volcano," a dome formed by upwelling icy plumes that release methane into Titan's atmosphere. The findings appear in the June 9 issue of Nature. "Before Cassini-Huygens, the most widely accepted explanation for the presence of methane in Titan's atmosphere was the presence of a methane- rich hydrocarbon ocean," said Dr. Christophe Sotin, distinguished visiting scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA. "The suite of instruments onboard Cassini and the observations at the Huygens landing site reveal that a global ocean is not present," said Sotin, a team member of the Cassini visual and infrared mapping spectrometer instrument and professor at the Université de Nantes, France. "Interpreting this feature as a cryovolcano provides an alternative explanation for the presence of methane in Titan's atmosphere. Such an interpretation is supported by models of Titan's evolution," Sotin said. Titan, Saturn's largest moon, is the only known moon to have a significant atmosphere, composed primarily of nitrogen, with 2 to 3 percent methane. One goal of the Cassini mission is to find an explanation for what is replenishing and maintaining this atmosphere. This dense atmosphere makes the surface very difficult to study with visible-light cameras, but infrared instruments like the visual and infrared mapping spectrometer can peer through the haze. Infrared images provide information about both the composition and the shape of the area studied. The highest resolution image obtained by the visual and infrared mapping spectrometer instrument covers an area 150 kilometers square (90 miles) that includes a bright circular feature about 30 kilometers (19 miles) in diameter, with two elongated wings extending westward. This structure resembles volcanoes on Earth and Venus, with overlapping layers of material from a series of flows. "We all thought volcanoes had to exist on Titan, and now we've found the most convincing evidence to date. This is exactly what we've been looking for," said Dr. Bonnie Buratti, team member of the Cassini visual and infrared mapping spectrometer at JPL. In the center of the area, scientists clearly see a dark feature that resembles a caldera, a bowl-shaped structure formed above chambers of molten material. The material erupting from the volcano might be a methane-water ice mixture combined with other ices and hydrocarbons. Energy from an internal heat source may cause these materials to upwell and vaporize as they reach the surface. Future Titan flybys will help determine whether tidal forces can generate enough heat to drive the volcano, or whether some other energy source must be present. Black channels seen by the European Space Agency's Huygens probe, which piggybacked on Cassini and landed on Titan's surface in January 2005, could have been formed by erosion from liquid methane rains following the eruptions. Scientists have considered other explanations. They say the feature cannot be a cloud because it does not appear to move and it is the wrong composition. Another alternative is that an accumulation of solid particles was transported by gas or liquid, similar to sand dunes on Earth. But the shape and wind patterns don't match those normally seen in sand dunes. The data for these findings are from Cassini's first targeted flyby of Titan on Oct. 26, 2004, at a distance of 1,200 kilometers (750 miles) from the moon's surface. The visual and infrared mapping spectrometer instrument can detect 352 wavelengths of light from 0.35 to 5.1 micrometers. It measures the intensities of individual wavelengths and uses the data to infer the composition and other properties of the object that emitted the light; each chemical has a unique spectral signature that can be identified. Forty-five flybys of Titan are planned during Cassini's four-year prime mission. The next one is August 22, 2005. Radar data of the same sites observed by the visual and infrared mapping spectrometer may provide additional information. Journal reference: C. Sotin et al., 2005. Release of volatiles from a possible cryovolcano from near-infrared imaging of Titan. Nature, 435(7043):786-789, http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v435/n7043/abs/nature03596.html. Cassini Significant Events for 1-8 June 2005 NASA/JPL release, 10 June 2005 The most recent spacecraft telemetry was acquired Wednesday from the Goldstone and Madrid tracking stations. 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. The main science event this week was the third Radio Science Subsystem (RSS) Occultation observation. More details on this observation appear in the June 8 section of this report. Other activities during this week include a high-resolution study of bow shocks and other magnetospheric boundaries by the Cassini Plasma Spectrometer, Radio and Plasma Wave Science subsystem (RPWS), Magnetospheric Imaging Instrument, and Magnetometer Subsystem (MAG). The Optical Remote Sensing instruments observed Dione and Titan, worked on identifying the orbit of newly discovered rings, attempted to detect flashes from meter-sized interplanetary impacts on the rings, and worked to obtain thermal measurements of the rings. Wednesday, June 1 (DOY 152): A member of the Science Planning team gave a talk to 20 engineers at the monthly meeting of the Institute of Environmental Science and Technology in Anaheim, California. A delivery coordination meeting was held for the Spacecraft Operations Office (SCO) tools Assisted Load Format (ALF) version 11 and Predict Generation Tool V9.2. Members of the Magnetometer Subsystem gave a presentation on recent Enceladus results at a Cassini internal Tour Science Talk. The Planetary Data System (PDS) announced the first data release from NASA's Cassini Mission to Saturn. This release consists of data from the RPWS instrument from October 1997 through January 2002. The next release of Cassini data will be July 1, 2005. All available PDS data may be downloaded from http://starbrite.jpl.nasa.gov/pds/index.jsp. For further information about PDS online services, see the PDS home page http://pds.jpl.nasa.gov/. Thursday, June 2 (DOY 153): The Aftermarket process for the S15 sequence concluded today. The Science Operations Plan Update (SOPU) process will begin on June 16. A delivery coordination meeting was held for the SCO tools Kinematic Prediction Tool (KPT)/Inertial Vector Propagator (IVP) version 11. The tools will be used in operations after the delivery of the Mission Sequence Subsystem on June 15. A Deep Space Mission Systems Delivery Review (DDR) was held for the Telemetry, Tracking, Command & Data Management system version 29.1.1. No issues were uncovered. The Mission Support & Services Office will now begin Cassini testing and will develop a plan for infrastructure installation in early July. Uplink Operations sent commands to the spacecraft for the second S11 Live IVP Update mini-sequence. The mini-sequence will begin execution tomorrow. A live movable block mini-sequence will be uplinked over the weekend and will execute on Wednesday, June 8. Friday, June 3 (DOY 154): Commands were sent to the spacecraft today to modify the System Fault Protection Command Loss Timer (CLT) strategy. The CLT limit was increased from 85 hours--roughly 3.5 days--to 5 days. The limit was increased to span the duration of the next RSS occultation experiment. The limit will be commanded back to 85 hours on June 9. Part of the fault protection system monitors communications with the ground. If for any reason a command is not received by the spacecraft before the expiration of the time limit, the spacecraft will assume there is a "problem", call fault protection, and put Cassini into safe mode until the "problem" is resolved. This is a common feature on all spacecraft and CLT commands are sent each time Cassini has a DSN pass to prevent the expiration of the time limit. Participating teams delivered files for the official port for the S14 Science Operations Plan Update process. The files will be merged the beginning of next week. Monday, June 6 (DOY 157): An image of Enceladus and Saturn's rings was Astronomy Picture of the day today. Members of the Visual and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (VIMS) team and Integrated Test Laboratory successfully ran a test of the new SSR region for VIMS command loads and the updated VIMS and ALF tool software which gets the load into the instrument. The Official Port 1 Merge for S14 SOPU is now complete and the products have been placed in the Program file repository. Tuesday, June 7 (DOY 158): Outreach was accepted to give a workshop at the California Science Teachers' Association (CSTA) in October 2005. The workshop will focus on "Reading, Writing, and Rings". A new Cassini poster is due for delivery to Outreach Friday June 10. Wednesday, June 8 (DOY 159): The Radio Science Subsystem (RSS) successfully measured the properties of Saturn's rings and atmosphere by performing an egress radio occultation experiment. The occultation occurred over Goldstone stations 14, 25, and 26 and Madrid stations 63 and 55. All five antennas supported the entire observation. Fourteen open-loop receivers were recording simultaneously. Everything appears to have gone nominally. During the occultation, VIMS and the Ultraviolet Imaging Spectrograph performed a solar occultation ingress experiment and the Cosmic Dust Analyzer measured the dust flux and particle composition during the Enceladus orbit crossing. An aftermarket process assessment meeting for the S16 sequence was held today. This aftermarket process runs for five weeks and addresses proposed discretionary changes that require re-integration of the segments contained in a sequence. At the Assessment meeting, the Project Scientist and participating teams scope out the proposed changes and determine if they will fit within the available workforce "budget". A delivery coordination meeting for the Cassini Archive Tracking System (CATS) software v3 was held today. CATS is a web application tool that tracks required archive submissions into PDS, and allows the project and PDS to accurately and efficiently report on archive submission status. The software was accepted for delivery and will be in use as the first archive volumes are completed this month. Non-targeted encounters of two moons of Saturn--Pallene and Calypso-- occurred today. In a news release dated June 8, JPL announced the possible discovery of a Titan volcano that could be a source of methane in Titan's atmosphere. Images taken in infrared light show a circular feature roughly 30 kilometers in diameter that does not resemble any features seen on Saturn's other icy moons. Scientists interpret the feature as an "ice volcano," a dome formed by upwelling icy plumes that release methane into Titan's atmosphere. The findings appear in the June 9 issue of Nature. Today we celebrate the 380th birthday of Giovanni Domenico Cassini. Born June 8, 1625, Cassini was the first to observe four of Saturn's moons and discovered what is now known as the Cassini Division in Saturn's rings. For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and http://www.nasa.gov/cassini. The visual and infrared mapping spectrometer page is at http://wwwvims.lpl.arizona.edu. The Cassini-Huygens mission 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, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, DC. The Cassini orbiter was designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The visual and infrared mapping spectrometer team is based at the University of Arizona. Contact: Carolina Martinez Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA Phone: 818-354-9382 Additional articles on this subject are available at: http://www.astrobio.net/news/article1595.html http://www.astrobio.net/news/article1596.html http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/050608_titan_volcano.html http://www.spacedaily.com/news/cassini-05zzf.html http://www.spacedaily.com/news/saturn-titan-05x.html http://spaceflightnow.com/cassini/050608titanvolcano.html http://spaceflightnow.com/cassini/050610atlas.html http://spaceflightnow.com/cassini/050609worlds.html http://www.universetoday.com/am/publish/methane_volcano_titan.html __________________________________________________________________________ DEEP IMPACT: NASA ANNOUNCES SPECTACULAR DAY OF THE COMET NASA/JPL release 2005-098 9 June 2005 After a voyage of 173 days and 431 million kilometers (268 million miles), NASA's Deep Impact spacecraft will get up-close and personal with comet Tempel 1 on July 4 (EDT). The first of its kind, hyper-speed impact between space-borne iceberg and copper-fortified probe is scheduled for approximately 1:52 AM EDT on Independence Day (10:52 PM PDT on July 3). The potentially spectacular collision will be observed by the Deep Impact spacecraft, and ground and space-based observatories. "We are really threading the needle with this one," said Rick Grammier, Deep Impact project manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. "In our quest of a great scientific payoff, we are attempting something never done before at speeds and distances that are truly out of this world." During the early morning hours of July 3 (EDT), the Deep Impact spacecraft will deploy a 1-meter-wide (39-inch-wide) impactor into the path of the comet, which is about half the size of Manhattan Island, NY. Over the next 22 hours, Deep Impact navigators and mission members located more than 133 million kilometers(83 million miles) away at JPL, will steer both spacecraft and impactor toward the comet. The impactor will head into the comet and the flyby craft will pass approximately 500 kilometers (310 miles) below. Tempel 1 is hurtling through space at approximately 37,100 kilometers per hour (23,000 miles per hour or 6.3 miles per second). At that speed you could travel from New York to Los Angeles in less than 6.5 minutes. Two hours before impact, when mission events will be happening so fast and so far away, the impactor will kick into autonomous navigation mode. It must perform its own navigational solutions and thruster firings to make contact with the comet. "The autonav is like having a little astronaut on board," Grammier said. "It has to navigate and fire thrusters three times to steer the wine cask- sized impactor into the mountain-sized comet nucleus closing at 23,000 miles per hour." The crater produced by the impact could range in size from a large house up to a football stadium, and from two to 14 stories deep. Ice and dust debris will be ejected from the crater, revealing the material beneath. The flyby spacecraft has approximately 13 minutes to take images and spectra of the collision and its result before it must endure a potential blizzard of particles from the nucleus of the comet. "The last 24 hours of the impactor's life should provide the most spectacular data in the history of cometary science," said Deep Impact Principal Investigator Dr. Michael A'Hearn of the University of Maryland, College Park. "With the information we receive after the impact, it will be a whole new ballgame. We know so little about the structure of cometary nuclei that almost every moment we expect to learn something new." The Deep Impact spacecraft has four data collectors to observe the effects of the collision. A camera and infrared spectrometer, which comprise the High Resolution Instrument, are carried on the flyby spacecraft, along with a Medium Resolution Instrument. A duplicate of the Medium Resolution Instrument on the impactor will record the vehicle's final moments before it is run over by Tempel 1. "In the world of science, this is the astronomical equivalent of a 767 airliner running into a mosquito," said Dr. Don Yeomans, a Deep Impact mission scientist at JPL. "The impact simply will not appreciably modify the comet's orbital path. Comet Tempel 1 poses no threat to the Earth now or in the foreseeable future." Deep Impact will provide a glimpse beneath the surface of a comet, where material from the solar system's formation remains relatively unchanged. Mission scientists expect the project will answer basic questions about the formation of the solar system, by offering a better look at the nature and composition of the frozen celestial travelers we call comets. The University of Maryland is responsible for overall Deep Impact mission management, and project management is handled by JPL. The spacecraft was built for NASA by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corporation, Boulder, CO. For more information about Deep Impact on the Internet, visit http://www.nasa.gov/deepimpact. For information about NASA and agency programs on the Internet, visit http://www.nasa.gov/home/index.html. Contacts: Dolores Beasley NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC Phone: 202-358-1753 D. C. Agle Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA Phone: 818-393-9011 Additional articles on this subject are available at: http://www.astrobio.net/news/article1600.html http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/050607_comet_science.html http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/050609_impact_camera.html http://www.universetoday.com/am/publish/deep_impact_nearing_target.html __________________________________________________________________________ SWRI TO LEAD NASA'S JUNO MISSION, PROVIDE TWO SCIENCE INSTRUMENTS Southwest Research Institute release 6 June 2005 NASA has selected a Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) scientist to lead the next mission to Jupiter. The mission, named Juno, will be the first to perform an in-depth examination of the giant planet. The spacecraft will enter polar orbit around Jupiter to investigate whether the planet has an ice-rock core, measure the amount of water and ammonia in the atmosphere, study atmospheric convection and deep wind profiles, investigate the origin of the magnetic field and examine the polar magnetosphere. "As the largest planet in the solar system, Jupiter contains more matter than all the other planets combined," says Juno Principal Investigator Dr. Scott Bolton, director of the Space Science Department in the SwRI Space Science and Engineering Division. "By determining how much water is in the planet, we complete the inventory of the key ingredients that make up the planet, and that will allow us to figure out the billion-year-old recipe that made the first planets in our solar system." The mission is the second in NASA's New Frontiers Program. Team members now begin a preliminary design study, leading up to a mission review to address schedule, technical and cost risks before NASA confirms the spacecraft for development. SwRI will also provide two science instruments for the mission. JADE, the Jovian Auroral Distributions Experiment, will measure the auroral electron and ion populations along the planet's magnetic field lines and determine which particle populations create the jovian aurora. "JADE will allow us to make the first direct measurements of the particles that precipitate into Jupiter's atmosphere and produce its stunning auroral displays," says Dr. David J. McComas, senior executive director of Space Science and Engineering, who serves as lead co-investigator of the instrument. The second instrument, the Juno Ultraviolet Spectrograph (UVS), will image ultraviolet emissions from the jovian aurora, allowing space scientists to relate these auroral observations with JADE observations of the particle populations that create them. "The Juno UVS will provide Hubble-like images of Jupiter's powerful and dynamic aurora, but from the much better vantage points of directly above the north and south poles," says Dr. G. Randall Gladstone, an Institute scientist at SwRI who serves as the UVS lead co-investigator. For the Juno mission, SwRI is partnering with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which will manage the mission, and Lockheed Martin Space Systems, which will build the spacecraft. A number of U.S. and international scientists from other institutions will also participate. Launch of the $700 million mission will occur no later than June 30, 2010. SwRI also leads NASA's first New Frontiers Program mission, New Horizons, and built three of its payload instruments. Dr. S. Alan Stern serves as principal investigator. The New Horizons mission will send a spacecraft to explore the Pluto-Charon system in 2015 and later move on to target one or more Kuiper belt objects. Contact: Maria Martinez Communications Department Southwest Research Institute PO Drawer 28510 San Antonio, TX 78228-0510 Phone: 210-522-3305 E-mail: mmartinez@swri.org Read the original news release at http://www.swri.org/9what/releases/2005/juno.htm. Additional articles on this subject are available at: http://www.space.com/searchforlife/seti_juno_050609.html __________________________________________________________________________ MER UPDATE: A MOMENT FROZEN IN TIME NASA/JPL release 10 June 2005 On May 19th, 2005, NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit captured this stunning view as the Sun sank below the rim of Gusev crater on Mars. This Panoramic Camera (Pancam) mosaic was taken around 6:07 in the evening of the rover's 489th martian day, or sol. Spirit was commanded to stay awake briefly after sending that sol's data to the Mars Odyssey orbiter just before sunset. This small panorama of the western sky was obtained using Pancam's 750-nanometer, 530-nanometer and 430-nanometer color filters. This filter combination allows false color images to be generated that are similar to what a human would see, but with the colors slightly exaggerated. In this image, the bluish glow in the sky above the Sun would be visible to us if we were there, but an artifact of the Pancam's infrared imaging capabilities is that with this filter combination the redness of the sky farther from the sunset is exaggerated compared to the daytime colors of the martian sky. Because Mars is farther from the Sun than the Earth is, the Sun appears only about two-thirds the size that it appears in a sunset seen from the Earth. The terrain in the foreground is the rock outcrop "Jibsheet", a feature that Spirit has been investigating for several weeks (rover tracks are dimly visible leading up to Jibsheet). The floor of Gusev crater is visible in the distance, and the Sun is setting behind the wall of Gusev some 80 km (50 miles) in the distance. This mosaic is yet another example from MER of a beautiful, sublime martian scene that also captures some important scientific information. Specifically, sunset and twilight images are occasionally acquired by the science team to determine how high into the atmosphere the martian dust extends, and to look for dust or ice clouds. Other images have shown that the twilight glow remains visible, but increasingly fainter, for up to two hours before sunrise or after sunset. The long martian twilight (compared to Earth's) is caused by sunlight scattered around to the night side of the planet by abundant high altitude dust. Similar long twilights or extra-colorful sunrises and sunsets sometimes occur on Earth when tiny dust grains that are erupted from powerful volcanoes scatter light high in the atmosphere. Image credit: NASA/JPL/Texas A&M/Cornell. Additional articles on this subject are available at: http://www.astrobio.net/news/article1597.html http://www.marsdaily.com/news/mars-mers-05zzm.html http://www.marsdaily.com/news/mars-mers-05zzn.html http://www.marsdaily.com/news/mars-mers-05zzo.html http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/opportunity_free_050604.html http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/050608_after_opportunity.html __________________________________________________________________________ MARS EXPRESS UPDATES ESA releases Green Light for the Deployment of the Second Marsis Boom ESA release, 7 June 2005 Following in-depth analyses performed after the deployment of the first MARSIS antenna boom on board Mars Express, ESA has decided to proceed with the deployment of the second 20-meter antenna boom. The full operation will be performed during a time frame starting 13 June and nominally ending on 21 June. A delay in the execution of the second boom deployment was necessary, due to problems encountered with the first deployment in early May this year. During the deployment, one of the antenna hinges (the tenth) got stuck in an unlocked position. Analysis of data obtained from earlier ground testing suggested a potential solution. The Mars Express spacecraft control team at ESA's Spacecraft Operations Centre (ESOC) succeeded in unblocking the hinge by exposing the cold side of the boom to the Sun. This warmed the hinges and the boom quickly became unstuck. In the end, the first boom deployment was completed on 10 May. The lessons learnt during the first boom deployment were used to run new simulations and determine a new deployment scenario for the second boom. This scenario contains an additional sun-heating phase, to get the best possible thermal conditions for all hinges. The deployment of the third (7-meter) third MARSIS boom is not considered critical. It will be commanded only once the ESA ground control team have re-acquired signal from the spacecraft, and made sure with a sequence of tests that the second boom is correctly locked into position and the spacecraft is well under control. After this event, MARSIS, the Mars Express Sub-Surface Radar Altimeter, will enter into a commissioning phase for the next few weeks, before starting to look at Mars's ionosphere during martian daylight, and to probe down below the martian surface during the martian night. Read the original news release at http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Mars_Express/SEMSL01DU8E_0.html. Coprates Chasma and Coprates Catena ESA release, 10 June 2005 These images, taken by the High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) on board ESA's Mars Express spacecraft, show Coprates Chasma, a major trough in the Valles Marineris canyon system. The HRSC obtained these images during orbit 449 with a ground resolution of approximately 48 meters per pixel. The scenes show the region containing the sections of Coprates Chasma and Coprates Catena, over an area centered at about 13.5º South and 300º East, roughly in the center of the Valles Marineris canyon system. The trough of Coprates Chasma appears in the north (right-hand side) of the color image here, and ranges from approximately 60 km to 100 km wide and extends 8-9 km below the surrounding plains. Coprates Catena lies parallel to Coprates Chasma and can be seen in the south (left) of the image as three troughs, ranging from a few kilometers to 22 km wide and up to 5 km deep. These troughs have been modified by erosion, as indicated by the linear features extending from the upper edge of the trough walls. In contrast to the relatively sharp appearance of the upper regions of the trough walls, the lower slopes and the floors of the troughs have a softer appearance, which is probably the result of atmospheric dust. Linear features, prevalent throughout the image and running generally parallel to the major troughs, may be faults. Scientists are unsure of the mechanism responsible for the creation of the Valles Marineris canyon system. Some suggest that the formation of the Tharsis uplift, located west of the canyon system, caused tension and fracturing of the martian crust. Other researchers believe that water may have removed rock material from the subsurface, which caused the surface to collapse. A related theory suggests that large quantities of subsurface ice melted, causing surface collapse. Possibly all of these processes together were active in forming the structure. Valles Marineris provides scientists with a window into the depths of Mars and enables them to study the complex geological and climatic history of the Red Planet. By supplying new data for Valles Marineris, including color and stereo images, the Mars Express HRSC camera aids scientists in this endeavour, ultimately improving our understanding of this fascinating planet. The color images were processed using the HRSC nadir (vertical view) and three color channels. The perspective views were calculated from the digital terrain model derived from the stereo channels. The 3D anaglyph images were created from the nadir channel and one of the stereo channels. Stereoscopic glasses are needed to view the 3D images. Image resolution has been decreased for use on the internet. Read the original news release at http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Mars_Express/SEMIRE1DU8E_0.html. Contact: Fred Jansen Mars Express mission manager E-mail: fjansen@rssd.esa.int Additional articles on this subject are available at: http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/050608_marsis_express.html http://www.spacedaily.com/news/marsexpress-05t.html http://www.universetoday.com/am/publish/second_boom_set_deploy.html http://www.universetoday.com/am/publish/coprates_chasma_mars.html __________________________________________________________________________ MARS GLOBAL SURVEYOR IMAGES NASA/JPL/MSSS release 2-8 June 2005 The following new images taken by the Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) on the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft are now available. Platy Flows (Released 02 June 2006) http://www.msss.com/mars_images/moc/2005/06/02 MOC's 200,000th Image (Released 03 June 2006) http://www.msss.com/mars_images/moc/2005/06/03 Exhuming Crater (Released 04 June 2006) http://www.msss.com/mars_images/moc/2005/06/04 Flow Front and Crater (Released 05 June 2006) http://www.msss.com/mars_images/moc/2005/06/05 Ladon Sedimentary Rocks (Released 06 June 2006) http://www.msss.com/mars_images/moc/2005/06/06 Mars at Ls 230 Degrees (Released 07 June 2006) http://www.msss.com/mars_images/moc/2005/06/07 Chain of Pits (Released 08 June 2006) http://www.msss.com/mars_images/moc/2005/06/08 All of the Mars Global Surveyor images are archived at http://www.msss.com/mars_images/moc/index.html. Mars Global Surveyor was launched in November 1996 and has been in Mars orbit since September 1997. It began its primary mapping mission on March 8, 1999. Mars Global Surveyor is the first mission in a long-term program of Mars exploration known as the Mars Surveyor Program that is managed by JPL for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, DC. Malin Space Science Systems (MSSS) and the California Institute of Technology built the MOC using spare hardware from the Mars Observer mission. MSSS operates the camera from its facilities in San Diego, CA. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Mars Surveyor Operations Project operates the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft with its industrial partner, Lockheed Martin Astronautics, from facilities in Pasadena, CA and Denver, CO. __________________________________________________________________________ MARS ODYSSEY THEMIS IMAGES NASA/JPL/ASU release 6-10 June 2005 Lycus Sulci Dust Avalanches (Released 6 June 2005) http://themis.la.asu.edu/zoom-20050606A.html Hebes Chasma Dust Avalanches (Released 7 June 2005) http://themis.la.asu.edu/zoom-20050607A.html Crater Dust Avalanches (Released 8 June 2005) http://themis.la.asu.edu/zoom-20050608A.html Tikhonravov Crater Dust Avalanches (Released 9 June 2005) http://themis.la.asu.edu/zoom-20050609a.html Crater Dust Avalanches (Released 10 June 2005) http://themis.la.asu.edu/zoom-20050610a.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. __________________________________________________________________________ End Marsbugs, Volume 12, Number 20.