Marsbugs: The Electronic Astrobiology Newsletter Volume 12, Number 30, 2 September 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) DISCOVERY OF "YOUNG" MATERIAL IN METERORITES DEFIES LINEAR THEORY OF SOLAR SYSTEM'S ORIGIN By Sonnet L'abbé 2) MALAYSIA FLOATS PLANS TO SET FOOT ON THE MOON By Kuala Lumpur 3) M DWARFS: THE SEARCH FOR LIFE IS ON (INTERVIEW WITH TODD HENRY) By Henry Bortman 4) FEASIBILITY OF FUTURE NUCLEAR-POWERED SPACECRAFT NOT YET KNOWN National Academies release 5) PHOENIX MARS LANDER: STRONG ARMING THE RED PLANET By Leonard David 6) LIFE IN JAPAN'S ACIDIC HOT SPRINGS By Hiromi Kagawa 7) THE LURE OF EUROPA By Ron Greeley 8) ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY ISSUES STATEMENT ON THE FUTURE OF UK PLANETARY SCIENCES Royal Astronomical Society release Announcements 9) SOFFEN TRAVEL GRANTS AVAILABLE NASA Academy release 10) NASA AWARDS STATE EDUCATION GRANTS NASA release 05-235 11) NASA INVITES STUDENTS TO CONDUCT REAL-WORLD SCIENCE NASA/ARC release 05-43-AR 12) MARS SOCIETY CONFERENCE DVDS NOW AVAILABLE Mars Society release Mission Reports 13) CASSINI UPDATES NASA/JPL releases 14) NASA'S DURABLE SPIRIT SENDS INTRIGUING NEW IMAGES FROM MARS NASA/JPL release 2005-141 15) MARS GLOBAL SURVEYOR IMAGES NASA/JPL/MSSS release 16) NASA'S MARS RECONNAISSANCE ORBITER MAKES SUCCESSFUL COURSE CORRECTION NASA/JPL release 2005-140 _____________________________________________________________________ DISCOVERY OF "YOUNG" MATERIAL IN METERORITES DEFIES LINEAR THEORY OF SOLAR SYSTEM'S ORIGIN By Sonnet L'abbé University of Toronto release 18 August 2005 A U of T scientist has found unexpectedly "young" material in meteorites--a discovery that breaks open current theory on the earliest events of the solar system. A paper published today in the August issue of Nature reports that the youngest known chondrules-- the small grains of mineral that make up certain meteorites--have been identified in the meteorites known as Gujba and Hammadah al Hamra. Researchers who have studied chondrules generally agree that most were formed as a sudden, repetitive heat, likely from a shock wave, condensed the nebula of dust floating around the early Sun. Thinking that an analysis of the chondrules in Gujba and Hammadah al Hamra would be appropriate for accurately dating this process, U of T geologist Yuri Amelin, together with lead author Alexander Krot of the University of Hawaii, studied the chondrules' mineralogical structure and determined their isotopic age. "It soon became clear that these particular chondrules were not of a nebular origin," says Amelin. "And the ages were quite different from what was expected. It was exciting." Amelin explains that not only were these chondrules not formed by a shock wave, but rather emerged much later than other chondrules. "They actually post-date the oldest asteroids," he says. "We think these chondrules were formed by a giant plume of vapour produced when two planetary embryos, somewhere between moon-size and Mars-size, collided." What does this mean in the grand scheme of things? The evolution of the solar system has traditionally been seen as a linear process, through which gases around the early sun gradually cooled to form small particles that eventually clumped into asteroids and planets. Now there is evidence of chondrules forming at two very distinct times, and evidence that embryo planets already existed when chondrules were still forming. "It moves our understanding from order to disorder," Amelin admits. "But I'm sure that as new data is collected, a new order will emerge." Financial support for this project was provided by NASA and the Canadian Space Agency. Contact: Professor Yuri Amelin Geological Survey of Canada Phone: 613-995-3471 E-mail: yamelin@nrcan.gc.ca Read the original news release at http://www.news.utoronto.ca/bin6/050818-1567.asp. An additional article on this subject is available at http://www.astrobio.net/news/article1688.html. _____________________________________________________________________ MALAYSIA FLOATS PLANS TO SET FOOT ON THE MOON By Kuala Lumpur From Agence France-Presse and SpaceDaily 27 August 2005 A Malaysian could be walking on the moon by 2020 if the country's current space program proves to be successful, the country's science and technology minister Jamaludin Jarjis said Saturday. "We must show to the world Malaysia can send its first astronaut to the International Outer Space Station. We must look at our capabilities," Jamaludin was quoted as saying by the Bernama news agency. If Malaysia is "justified to embark on the mission, we will do it," he added. Russia is to send Malaysia's first cosmonaut into space by 2007 as part of a scientific mission aboard the International Space Station. Nearly 900 candidates are undergoing a series of rigorous tests to be selected in Malaysia's 25 million dollar space program. Read the full article at http://www.spacedaily.com/news/lunar- 05zq.html. An additional article on this subject is available at http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/ap_050829_malaysia_moon.html. _____________________________________________________________________ M DWARFS: THE SEARCH FOR LIFE IS ON (INTERVIEW WITH TODD HENRY) By Henry Bortman From Astrobiology Magazine 29 August 2005 When you look up at the night sky, none of the stars you see are M dwarfs. These diminutive stars, much smaller and dimmer than our own sun aren't bright enough to see with the naked eye. Yet M dwarfs (also known as red dwarfs) are by far the most common stars around, comprising some 70 percent of all the stars in our galaxy. Historically, scientists interested in the search for extrasolar life have shied away from studying M dwarfs. Because they put out much relatively paltry amounts of light and heat, compared to the sun, the general feeling among scientists was that they were unlikely to host habitable planets. But at a recent Workshop on the Habitability of Planets Orbiting M Stars, sponsored by the SETI Institute in Mountain View, California, a group of astronomers and biologists got together to reconsider the question. The impetus: The SETI Institute is building a massive radio telescope array to search for radio signals from extraterrestrial civilizations; they want to know whether to include M dwarfs in their list of search targets. Astrobiology Magazine's managing editor, Henry Bortman, caught up with Todd Henry, one of the workshop's participants, at the conclusion of the workshop. Henry is a professor of astronomy at Georgia State University, in Atlanta, Georgia. His research focuses on detecting and cataloging all of the stars within 25 parsecs [about 82 light years] of the sun. He is particularly interested in M dwarfs. Astrobiology Magazine (AM): You've just sat through a two-and-a-half- day workshop on the habitability of planets orbiting M-dwarf stars. What came out of this meeting? Todd Henry (TH): I think we saw a paradigm shift. There has been a little momentum building in the last few years that M dwarfs are not so inhospitable for life on a planet going around them. But this is the first major shift that I've seen. I came to this meeting still with a question mark - although M dwarfs are my favorite kinds of star, and I think we should be looking at them. The question mark for me was, Do other people really believe this, or is it just sort of talk? And what are the real problems? And I expected in two-and- a-half days to have a couple real dragons raise their ugly heads and say, "This is a major problem; it really isn't going to work." And none of them appeared. Now, I think we have a fairly optimistic group, because the people who were here would not have come if they didn't think M-dwarfs were worth at least looking at. But I really expected something to pop up, and nothing did. AM: Maybe I should back up and ask: What is an M dwarf? TH: An M dwarf is the smallest kind of star there is. They have masses ranging from about 50 percent of the Sun's mass down to about 8 percent of the Sun's mass. That's a huge range, as far as stars are concerned. Because, for example, the amount of light coming to our eyes, if we were on a planet going around an M dwarf, would vary from one end of the range to the other by a factor of about 10 thousand. So you have a lot of different environments around M dwarfs. AM: And the Sun is a G type star? TH: Right. The sun is a G dwarf. G stars account for about 5 percent of all the stars in the Universe. And M dwarfs are at least 70 percent. AM: So when you look up at the sky at night, most of the stars you see are M dwarfs? TH: No. There's not a single M dwarf you can see when you look at the sky. They're so faint compared to the stars you do see at night, that even with binoculars, you have to know exactly where to look to see one. So astronomers have sort of struggled studying those. And they tend to get ignored because they're harder to study. AM: How many M dwarfs are known now? TH: Within 33 light years, which is 10 parsecs, there are 240 known M dwarfs. There are definitely more. Stars with a spectral type of G, like our sun, there are only 21. So you've already got a factor of about 12 more of the little red guys than we do of the yellow ones. AM: Historically, most scientists thought M dwarfs were unlikely candidates as host stars for habitable worlds. Why? TH: The problem for the M dwarfs is that their habitable zones are very narrow. You would have to put a planet right in that narrow habitable zone for it to have liquid water on its surface. But if you integrate the total amount of habitable zone around M dwarfs versus G dwarfs, you get about the same amount. Because there are so many more M dwarfs. AM: So your odds of finding a planet in the habitable zone around any specific M dwarf are slim, but the total amount of habitable zone around all M dwarfs combined is equal to the total amount around sun- like stars. TH: Right. And the bonus is that the M dwarfs, on average--if you had to look at 100 M dwarfs or 100 G dwarfs--are so much closer. So my bet is that we're going to find life on something going around an M dwarf before we find it around a G dwarf. AM: What have been some of the other arguments against the habitability of M dwarfs? TH: The big argument has always been that to put a planet in the so- called habitable zone [of an M dwarf], you have to move it in so close to the star - because the star is so much cooler and has less radiation - that it locks, just like the moon tidally locks to the Earth. And so you have the same face of the planet facing the star all the time. And if you do that, it has been said, that you'd be boiling away any atmosphere or ocean on the side facing the star and it would be trapped on the dark side and would freeze out. It turns out that's probably not right. The locking would occur. But it doesn't take that much atmosphere to redistribute the heat. So if you have a little bit more than the Earth's atmosphere--I think that is what's required, but it depends on what molecules are in the atmosphere--you can actually stir the atmosphere up enough and move the heat around the planet. So it doesn't matter if it's tidally locked or not. You still have a good temperature on the whole surface. Some of it's faced toward the star, some of it's facing away from the star, and it doesn't seem to matter. That was the biggest hurdle to get over. Then there were all kinds of details that go along with that. Not all planets would be tidally locked. There could be another planet in the system that forces it to be in some sort of resonance that would keep it spinning. You could have a slightly eccentric orbit that makes it wobble and librate like the moon does, back and forth. So the details can get you out of a lot of problems. AM: You said that having an atmosphere a little thicker than Earth's could overcome the tidal-locking problem. But wouldn't being closer to the star mean that stellar radiation would be more likely to blow out the atmosphere completely? TH: That is one of the big problems we came up with. I think that is the largest dragon-head that we saw, that you can sputter away the whole atmosphere--in about a billion years was the back-of-the- envelope calculation. That really needs to be cleared up. That may be the biggest danger. But you can get away from that as well. If you have a lot of radiation hitting a planetary surface and there's liquid on it, you're going to be creating atmosphere really quickly, as well. So you may sputter a lot away, but you might just keep regenerating it, so it's not a problem. AM: Anything else? TH: The other big gotcha was the intensity of the solar flares--we've sort of known about this for a while--whether you get X-rays and ultraviolet problems. When you're an organism sitting on a planet's surface, you really care about several things coming at you. One is X-rays, because they can damage any molecular structure that gets established. One is ultraviolet, for the same sort of reason, at slightly lower energies. One is particles that are coming from the star itself. And you might also worry about whether or not the spots on the stars change the overall flux of the radiation, whether you get enough visible or infrared radiation. Each of those four things could have been a major problem. But we pretty much decided that there were always ways around them. The best argument against the UV rays and the X-rays in particular is that an M dwarf emits most of that in the first billion years of its life. And once you're through that, then it gets pretty nice. So all the bad stuff happens early. So you just wait. You just wait for your habitable zone to stabilize and your star to stabilize. And then you've got billions of years to play around with the chemistry on the surface. AM: So, your general conclusion is..? TH: M dwarfs are great. M dwarfs are definitely good. M dwarfs are back on the table. Read the original article at http://www.astrobio.net/news/article1694.html. _____________________________________________________________________ FEASIBILITY OF FUTURE NUCLEAR-POWERED SPACECRAFT NOT YET KNOWN National Academies release 30 August 2005 NASA should commission detailed mission studies to examine the feasibility, performance, cost, and complexity of using nuclear- powered spacecraft for future robotic and human missions, says a new report from the National Research Council. Although nuclear power appears to have significant advantages for a variety of exploration missions, NASA should determine first if the required technologies are fast, efficient, safe, and affordable, the report says. Read the report online at http://books.nap.edu/catalog/11432.html. _____________________________________________________________________ PHOENIX MARS LANDER: STRONG ARMING THE RED PLANET By Leonard David From Space.com 31 August 2005 NASA's next Mars lander, the Phoenix mission, will head for the northern arctic region of the red planet in 2007, not only ready to dig for subsurface water ice but also probe for habitats of present day life. True to its namesake, Phoenix has risen from the ashes of two unsuccessful attempts to reach Mars: The ill-fated Mars Polar Lander that was lost at the planet in 1999 and a Mars Surveyor Program lander that was cancelled and mothballed in 2000. Work on preparing Phoenix for its Earth departure has reached the half-way point. Many of the scientific instruments for Phoenix were already built, needing little or no modification for Mars duties. Still, the craft is undergoing extensive testing and technological tweaking. Read the full article at http://www.space.com/businesstechnology/050831_phoenix_tech.html. _____________________________________________________________________ LIFE IN JAPAN'S ACIDIC HOT SPRINGS By Hiromi Kagawa From Space.com 1 September 2005 It's been nearly a dozen years since I came to America from Japan. I nostalgically recall the hot springs there, with people relaxing in the steamy water, as well as wild monkeys sinking down to their neck in the pools, sporting frozen whiskers and heads covered in snow. But there is a lot more life in Japan's hot springs than human beings and monkeys. I would like to describe some organisms that frequent these hot springs, not for relaxation, but because they actually require such hot springs (or a similar environment) to survive. Observations of bacteria-like organisms in hot springs were made early in the 1900s, but their isolation, cultivation, characterization, and biochemical study only really began in the 1960s. The organisms currently holding the record for living at the highest temperatures have been discovered in geothermal springs in the ocean. Some examples are Pyrolobus fumarii (235°F), Pyrodictium occultum (230°F), and Methanopyrus kandleri (230°F). They belong to a group of organisms called archaea that look like bacteria, but have features of both prokaryote (non-nucleated cells, such as bacteria) and eukaryote (nucleated cells, such as found in animals and plants) life. Read the full article at http://www.space.com/searchforlife/seti_hot_springs_050901.html. _____________________________________________________________________ THE LURE OF EUROPA By Ron Greeley From Astrobiolgy Magazine 1 September 2005 The discovery that Jupiter's moon Europa most likely has a cold, salty ocean beneath its frozen icy crust has put Europa on the short list of objects in our solar system that astrobiologists would like to study further. At the Earth System Processes II conference in Calgary, Canada, Ron Greeley, planetary geologist and professor of geology at Arizona State University in Phoenix, Arizona, gave a talk summing up what is known about Jupiter and its moons, and what remains to be discovered. There have been six spacecraft that have explored the Jupiter system. The first two were Pioneer spacecraft in the 1970s that flew by the Jupiter system and made some brief observations. Those were followed by the Voyager I and II spacecraft, which gave us our first detailed views of the Galilean satellites. But most of the information we have has come from the Galileo mission. More recently, there was a flyby of the Cassini spacecraft that went by Jupiter and made observations on its way to Saturn, where it is currently in operation. But nearly everything we know about the geology of the Jupiter system, and in particular the Galilean satellites (Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto), came from the Galileo mission. Galileo gave us an incredible wealth of information that we're still in the process of analyzing today. There are four Galilean satellites. Io, the innermost, is volcanically the most active object in the solar system. It derives its internal energy from tidal stressing in the interior, as it is being pushed-pulled between Europa and Jupiter. The explosive volcanism we see there is very impressive. There are plumes that are ejected some 200 kilometers (124 miles) above the surface. We also see effusive volcanism in the form of lava flows erupting onto the surface. These are very high-temperature, very fluid flows. On Io we see these flows extending for hundreds of kilometers across the surface. All of the Galilean satellites are in elliptical orbits, which means that sometimes they're closer to Jupiter, other times they're farther away, and they're being pushed-pulled by their neighbors. That generates internal friction to sufficient levels, in the case of Io, to melt the interior and "drive" the volcanoes. The same processes are taking place on Europa. And there is a possibility of silicate volcanism taking place beneath the icy crust on Europa. Ganymede is the largest satellite in the solar system. It has an outer icy shell. We think that it has a sub-ice ocean of liquid water over a silicate core and perhaps a small internal metallic core. Ganymede has been subjected to geologic processes since its formation. It has a complex history, dominated by tectonic processes. We see a combination of very old features and very young features. We can see complex facture patterns on its surface that crosscut older fracture patterns. The surface is fractured into blocks that have been shifted about on the overriding, apparently liquid, interior. We also see the impact history dating from the period of early bombardment. Unscrambling the tectonic history of Ganymede is a work in process. Callisto is the outermost of the Galilean satellites. It, too, has been subjected to impact bombardment, reflecting the early accretion history of the solar system in general, and the Jupiter system in particular. The surface is dominated by craters of all sizes. But we were surprised by the apparent lack of very tiny impact craters. We see very tiny impact craters on its neighbor, Ganymede; we don't see them on Callisto. There is some process, we think, that is erasing the small craters--but only in selected areas on the moon. This is a mystery that has not been resolved: What is the process that is removing the tiny craters in some areas, or alternatively, might they not have formed there for some reason to begin with? Again, this is a topic of ongoing research. What I want to talk about primarily, though, is Europa. Europa is about the size of Earth's moon. It is primarily a silicate object, but it has an outer shell of H2O, the surface of which is frozen. The total volume of water that covers its silicate interior exceeds all of the water on Earth. The surface of that water is frozen. The question is: What's beneath that frozen shell? Is there solid ice all the way to the bottom, or is there a liquid ocean? We think there is liquid water beneath the icy crust, but we don't really know that for sure. Our ideas are based on models, and like all models, they are subject to further study. The reason we think that there is a liquid ocean on Europa is from the behavior of the induced magnetic field around Europa that was measured by the magnetometer on Galileo. Jupiter has an enormous magnetic field. It, in turn, induces a magnetic field, not only on Europa, but also on Ganymede and Callisto. The way that induced magnetic field behaves is consistent with the presence of a subsurface salty liquid ocean, not just on Europa, but also on Ganymede and Callisto. We do know that the surface is water ice. We know that there are non-ice components present, which includes various salts. And we know that the surface has been geologically processed: it has been fractured, healed, broken up repeatedly. We also see relatively few impact craters on the surface. That indicates that the surface is geologically young. Europa could even be geologically active today. Images of one region, in particular, show a surface that has been severely broken up. The icy plates have been broken apart and shifted into new positions. Material has oozed between the cracks, then apparently frozen, and we think that this could be one of the places where there was upwelling material, perhaps driven by the tidal heating I talked about earlier. We tend to forget the scale of things in the planetary sciences. But these icy blocks are huge. When we think about future exploration, we would like to get down on the surface and make certain key measurements. So we have to think about spacecraft systems that could land in this kind of terrain. Because it is these places that might have material derived from below the ice, they are the highest priority for exploration. And yet, as is often the case in planetary exploration, the most interesting places are the most difficult to get to. So what would we like to know? First and most fundamental is the "ocean notion." Does liquid water exist or not? Is the ice shell thick or thin? If there is an ocean there, how thick is that icy crust? This is very important to know when we think about exploring a possible liquid ocean on Europa: If we want to get into the ocean, how deep must we go through the ice? What is the age of the surface? We say "young," but that's only a relative term. Is it thousands, hundreds of thousands, millions, or even billions of years old? The models allow for quite a spread in ages, based on the impact crater frequency. What are the environments there today that are favorable for astrobiology? And what were the environments in the past? Were they the same, or have they changed through time? The answers to these questions require new data. Another thing that drives our interest in exploring the Galilean satellites is trying to understand their geological histories. To some extent, the diversity that we see, from Io to Europa to Ganymede and Callisto, can be linked to the amount of tidal energy that's driving the system. Maximum tidal energy drives the volcanism that is so dominant on Io. At the other extreme, very little tidal energy on Callisto results in the preservation of the impact-cratering record. Europa and Ganymede are in between these two extreme cases. The total surface area of the three icy moons of Jupiter (Europa, Ganymede and Callisto) is greater than the surface area of Mars, and, in fact, is about equivalent to the entire land surface of Earth. So when we discuss the exploration of the icy Galilean satellites, there is a lot of terrain to cover. As for future exploration, let me share a little history. Three years ago, NASA established the Prometheus project. The Prometheus project involves the development of nuclear power and nuclear propulsion, something that had not been considered seriously for quite some time. The first mission to be flown in the Prometheus project was the Jupiter Icy Moons Orbiter, or JIMO. The goal was to explore the three icy moons within the context of the Jupiter system. It was a very ambitious project. Well, earlier this year JIMO was cancelled. But it looks as though this coming year there will be approval for a geophysical orbiter for Europa. The initial steps for getting that spacecraft underway are being considered now. Europa is a very high priority for exploration, and in recognition of that priority, this mission is likely to happen. Why are we so interested in Europa? When we talk about astrobiology, we consider the three ingredients for life: water, the right chemistry, and energy. Their presence doesn't mean that the magic spark of life ever happened, but those are the things that we think are required for life. And so, as I outlined, all three of Jupiter's icy moons are potential targets. But Europa is the highest priority, because it seems to have the maximum internal energy. So, of course, first we would like to know: Is there an ocean, yes or no? Then, what's the three-dimensional configuration of the icy crust? We know that organisms can live in fractures and cracks in Arctic ice. Such cracks are likely to be present on Europa, too, and could be niches that are of high interest for astrobiology. Then we want to map the organic and inorganic surface compositions. We see in the data that exist today that the surface is heterogeneous. It's not just pure ice on the surface. There are some areas that seem to be richer in non-ice components than other places. We want to map that material. We also want to map interesting surface features and identify the places that are most important for future exploration, including landers. Then we want to understand Europa in the context of the Jupiter environment. For example, how does the radiation environment imposed by Jupiter affect surface chemistry on Europa? Ultimately, we want to get down on the surface, because there are a number of things that we can do only from the surface. We have a great wealth of data from the Galileo mission, and hope to have even more from the potential Europa mission, but it's remote-sensing data. Next, we want to get a lander onto the surface that could make some critical ground-truth measurements, to place the remote-sensing data into context. And so within the scientific community, we feel that the next mission to Europa and the Jupiter system ought to have a landed package of some kind. But whether this will actually happen or not, stay tuned! Read the original article at http://www.astrobio.net/news/article1697.html. _____________________________________________________________________ ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY ISSUES STATEMENT ON THE FUTURE OF UK PLANETARY SCIENCES Royal Astronomical Society release 2 September 2005 The Royal Astronomical Society (RAS) has issued a statement calling for continued growth in funding of planetary sciences in the UK and for more universities to consider establishing planetary science departments. The statement, which has been put together by leading Fellows of the RAS, draws attention to the multidisciplinary nature of Solar System studies in the 21st Century and highlights the need to support a broad range of expertise, if the UK is to maintain its world leading status in the field. Dr. Mike Hapgood, of Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, who has led the study said, "This is an important time in the worldwide development of planetary science. Our ability to study the Solar System is advancing rapidly--in particular through a greater ability to fly scientific instruments to other planets. The UK can make a leading contribution to the international development of planetary science, as demonstrated by the expertise developed in planetary landers, based on experience gained from Beagle 2 and, more recently, the highly successful Huygens mission." The RAS statement identifies ground-based telescopes as an area where the UK planetary science community has not exploited opportunities to the full and suggests that ground-based studies of the Solar System should be given a higher priority and profile. The potential of planetary missions to engage the public with science is also highlighted in the statement. In view of the difficulties in encouraging young people into science and engineering disciplines, Vice-Chancellors and Provosts are encouraged to recognize both the attractiveness of this area to students and the ability of UK researchers to attract funding. The statement acknowledges that extra government spending in astronomical research in recent years has been necessary and welcome. However, the report warns that funding must continue to increase if the government wishes to capitalize on the interest generated by recent missions such as Cassini Huygens, and highlights the importance of independent scientific review in allocating extra spend. The statement praises recent growth in the open debate of present and future scientific paths and emphasizes that this must continue if the planetary science community is to maintain a focused direction and make the most efficient use of resources available. Full details of the statement can be found on the RAS web site at http://www.ras.org.uk/. Contacts: Dr. Mike Hapgood Rutherford Appleton Laboratory Chilton Didcot, Oxfordshire, OX11 0QX Phone: +44 (0) 1235 446520 Fax: +44 (0) 1235 445848 E-mail: M.A.Hapgood@rl.ac.uk Anita Heward RAS Communications Officer Braemar House, Braemar Close Godalming, Surrey, GU7 1SA Phone: +44 (0)1483-420904 Mobile: 07778 538449 E-mail: anitaheward@btinternet.org _____________________________________________________________________ SOFFEN TRAVEL GRANTS AVAILABLE NASA Academy release August 2005 The Gerald A. Soffen Memorial Fund is pleased to announce the 2005 Travel Grant application opportunity for undergraduate and graduate students pursuing studies in fields of space science and engineering. The Travel Grants, in the amount of $500, enable student recipients to attend professional meetings to present their research. The 2005 Travel Grant application deadline is October 15, 2005. Jerry Soffen, a biologist by training, led a distinguished career in NASA, including serving as the Project Scientist for Viking and as an architect for the NASA Astrobiology Institute. The Travel Grant continues Jerry's dedication to educating and involving future generations in space science and engineering pursuits. Application materials and instructions are located on the Soffen Fund web site at http://nasa-academy.org/soffen/travelgrant/. Questions regarding the application or application process may be sent to travelgrant@nasa- academy.org. _____________________________________________________________________ NASA AWARDS STATE EDUCATION GRANTS NASA release 05-235 30 August 2005 To help inspire the next generation of leaders and explorers, the agency awarded NASA Explorer School Partnerships for Sustainability grants to six state coalitions partnering with NASA Explorer Schools. The grants, awarded in cooperation with the National Alliance of State Science and Mathematics Coalitions (NASSMC), Arlington, VA, support the formation and operation of partnerships committed to strengthening and sustaining NASA Explorer Schools beyond the initial three years of agency funding. The NASA Explorer Schools Partnerships for Sustainability is designed to inspire students to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. It also addresses the critical need to improve education for students in underserved and underrepresented communities. NASA Explorer Schools Partnerships for Sustainability proposals are solicited annually, and awards have been made to 18 states. Grants were awarded to: Idaho Science, Mathematics, and Technology Coalition in partnership with Kenneth J. Carberry Intermediate School, Emmett, ID. Maine Mathematics and Science Alliance in partnership with Biddeford Middle School and John F. Kennedy Memorial School, Biddeford, ME. Maryland Mathematics and Science Coalition in partnership with Eastern Middle School, Silver Spring, MD. New Hampshire Mathematics, Science & Technology Coalition in partnership with Mascoma Valley Regional High School, Canaan, NH. Coalition for the Advancement of Science and Mathematics Education in Oklahoma in partnership with Sasakwa Public School, Sasakwa, OK. Wisconsin Science Network in partnership with Cumberland Middle School, Cumberland, WI. The partnerships include institutions recognized as NASA Explorer Schools in 2003 and 2004 and state-based organizations. The partnerships, a coalition of business, education and public policy leaders, are united by a vision to improve science, technology, engineering and mathematics education. The NASA Explorer Schools program sends science and mathematics teachers to NASA centers during the summer to acquire new resources and technology tools. The program uses NASA's unique content, experts and resources to make learning science, mathematics and technology more appealing to students. The program, sponsored by NASA's Office of Education, annually establishes a three-year partnership between NASA and 50 new Explorer School teams. The teams of teachers and education administrators represent diverse communities across the country. During the commitment period, NASA education specialists and scientists provide investigation opportunities and professional development to the teams to spark innovative science and mathematics instruction directed at students in grades four through nine. For information about NASSMC programs and solicitations on the Web, visit http://www.nassmc.org. For information about the NASA Explorer Schools Program on the Web, visit http://explorerschools.nasa.gov/. For information about NASA's education programs on the Web, visit http://education.nasa.gov/. For information about NASA and agency programs on the Web, visit http://www.nasa.gov/home/index.html. Contacts: Renee Juhans NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC Phone: 202-358-1712 Jessica Venable NASSMC, Arlington, VA Phone: 703-516-5974 _____________________________________________________________________ NASA INVITES STUDENTS TO CONDUCT REAL-WORLD SCIENCE NASA/ARC release 05-43-AR 30 August 2005 NASA scientists are working to inspire the next generation of explorers by inviting high school students to participate in the 2005 Hyper-G Competition, a nationwide science contest beginning Sept. 1, 2005. Teams of students will compete for the opportunity to conduct their own research using one of NASA's state-of-the-art, ground-based, hypergravity facilities at NASA Ames Research Center, located in California's Silicon Valley. "Hypergravity is levels of gravity above one G, or greater than Earth's gravity," said Dr. Jeff Smith, Ames assistant chief of the Gravitational Research Branch. "NASA researchers conduct hypergravity experiments using centrifuges to understand how gravity causes changes in humans and other living organisms," he explained. Understanding how a particular species changes in hypergravity helps scientists predict and better understand how the species will change in space or on another planet, which is essential for the successful realization of the Vision for Space Exploration. To participate, a team of high school students needs to submit a short notice of intent that describes an idea for a scientific experiment. Later in the fall, the young explorers will follow up with an experimental proposal detailing the plan of their research. All teams that submit proposals will receive feedback from a team of NASA scientists and engineers. "All you need to participate in this competition is an idea. By having an idea and asking a question you become a scientist just like those at NASA. We will support you in discovering ways to answer your question through research," said B.J. Navarro, project manager and assistant chief of the Science Payloads Operations Branch at NASA Ames. The selected team and its adult advisor will receive an all-expense- paid visit to NASA Ames to conduct their experiment and tour NASA facilities. During their visit, students will apply their classroom knowledge to the real world of science and engineering. Teachers will have the unique opportunity to guide their students through the scientific process while being exposed to current NASA exploration biology research. During May 2005, students from Troy High School, Troy, MI, who won the first Hyper-G Competition, studied the effects of hypergravity on flat-worm (planaria) regeneration and behavior. The students were known as the "Centrifu-G" team. "The best part of this entire experience was knowing how greatly this impacted my students' futures, perhaps even inspiring them to want to pursue space studies," said Rebecca Johns, "Centrifu-G" team advisor and biology teacher at Troy High School. For more information about the Hyper-G competition, visit http://lifesci.arc.nasa.gov/outreach.html. For information about NASA and agency programs on the Internet, visit http://www.nasa.gov. Contact: 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 _____________________________________________________________________ MARS SOCIETY CONFERENCE DVDS NOW AVAILABLE Mars Society release 2 September 2005 Professionally shot DVD recordings of all talks given at the 8th International Mars Society Covention, held August 8-11 2005 at the University of Colorado, Boulder, are now available for sale. Individual disks containing a complete plenary talk or several standard track talks are available for $20 each. The complete 47 DVD set can be obtained for $450. The tapes may be purchased from the producers at http://www.lostartsmedia.com/AM/MarsConferenceViaMars2005.html. A percentage of every sale will help fund the work of the Mars Society. _____________________________________________________________________ CASSINI UPDATES NASA/JPL releases Cassini Significant Events for 18-24 August 2005 NASA/JPL release, 26 August 2005 The most recent spacecraft telemetry was acquired Wednesday, August 24, from the Goldstone 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. Thursday, August 18 (DOY 230): A sponge bit meeting was held today as part of S15 sequence development. Sponge bits represent available data volume that is given away to the science teams during the first cycle of preliminary sequence development in the Science and Sequence Update Process (SSUP). No further changes are expected to DSN allocations, so much of the data volume that was being held as margin is given to the teams for science. Prior to the meeting, the Science Planning lead determines how much extra data volume is available and teams request data volume that they need. If more data volume is requested than is available, negotiations are made during the meeting. Friday, August 19 (DOY 231): Just prior to periapsis, which will occur tomorrow at 232T11:15, the Composite and Infrared Spectrometer (CIRS) along with the Imaging Science Subsystem (ISS) and the Ultraviolet Imaging Spectrograph (UVIS) tracked cloud and storm features across the face of Saturn. Slow scans with the infrared detectors were used to determine tropospheric thermal structure at high spatial resolution. Temperature anomalies will be correlated with motions and features in images taken by ISS. A talk was given at noon today in Von Karman Auditorium entitled "26Al in Iapetus--Consequences for the Formation and Evolution of the Saturnian System." This seminar was about the dynamics and shape of Iapetus, a distant satellite of Saturn, and how it turns out to yield crucial clues for unveiling the history of the Saturnian nebulae and the Solar System. With its short half-life, 26Al has been used as a fine-scale chronometer to date events occurring in the early history of the Solar System. Iapetus is the first case among planetary satellites where other models cannot suffice and heat from Calcium- Aluminum Inclusions (CAI) is absolutely required. This allows us to date the age of Iapetus as 4.565 8 ? 0.000 6 Gy. This sets a lower bound on the age of Saturn, the upper bound being the age of the CAIs. This result has important consequences for our understanding of the Saturnian system and provides new constraints for models for the formation of the outer Solar System. Implications for the geology of Iapetus and the other Saturnian satellites was also discussed. A test of the Titan-7 flyby sequence was successfully performed in the Integrated Test Laboratory (ITL) using the new 050720 reference trajectory, incorporating the higher T-7 flyby altitude. The T-7 flyby will occur on September 7. The Main Engine cover was fully deployed or "closed" this morning. Telemetry values are consistent with a nominal deployment. The deployment telemetry data will be queried for subsequent analysis and sent to JPL Division 35 personnel for modeling and tracking the use of this hardware. The official delivery port occurred as part of the Science Operations Plan Update process for S16. The merged products are currently being run through the end-to-end pointing validation process by ACS. A Project Briefing and Waiver Disposition Meeting is scheduled for August 31. Saturday, August 20 (DOY 232): Non-targeted Flybys occurred today of Tethys at 122,750 km and Telesto at 105,340 km. Sunday, August 21 (DOY 233): Six of the eight scheduled Ion and Neutral Mass Spectrometer (INMS) SSR Instrument Expanded Block (IEB) loads for S14 were uplinked today. Normally these IEBs would have gone up later in the week along with the other instrument IEBs and background sequence. The files were sent up early due to a scheduling conflict with uplink of OTM-029 and the resulting shortened uplink window. The remaining IEB files and background sequence will be sent up beginning on Friday August 28. The S14 DOY 248 live update schedule for the Pandora/Titan Inertial Vector Propagator (IVP) update and the Radio Science (RSS) DOY 250 Saturn occultation Live Movable Block was sent out to the S14 distribution list. The kickoff meeting for this process is scheduled for Monday August 29. The four Sequence Change Requests (SCR) approved at the S14 final SCR/waiver approval meeting earlier this week were incorporated into the "g" version of the background sequence. The sequence products were then published to the program file repository, and the sequence of events, space flight operations schedule, and DSN keywords files will be published tomorrow. The RSS Live Movable block remained at its PSIV2 "b" version since no changes were needed in the final sequence development phase. Monday, August 22 (DOY 234): The T6 flyby of Titan today was outbound with a closest distance of 3660 km at 08:54 GMT. This is one of the few flybys of Titan with opportunities for far-infrared limb sounding by CIRS both inbound and outbound. Unlike nadir measurements that intercept the surface, limb sounding allows the instrument to measure temperatures in the lower stratosphere region. The temperature data, along with pressure and aerosol measurements, was collected near 55 degrees south latitude. For the Dual Technique Magnetometer (MAG), this flyby was an opportunity to study an exotic dayside wake/tail region. During T6, the upstream side of magnetospheric flow relative to Titan was also the night side. These conditions may allow the frozen-in magnetic field to convect through the night side ionosphere and interact with Titan's interior afterwards. Additional science activities for this encounter included the acquisition by ISS of high-resolution images also at high southern latitudes south of Xanadu. UVIS, riding on the CIRS observations, performed spectroscopy for constituent identification, and the Cosmic Dust Analyzer continued to map dust densities and dust dynamical properties within Titan's orbit. At closest approach, the Optical Remote Sensing instruments scanned across the South Pole conducting the first detailed investigation of the southern polar region, an area noted for cloud formation and evolution and possibly even a lake. Tuesday, August 23 (DOY 235): An Encounter Strategy Meeting for Titan-6 and Titan-7 was held today. This will cover Orbit Trim Maneuvers 29-31, and a period from the T6 flyby on August 22, to the T7 flyby on September 7. Signatures have been obtained for all three RADAR archive Software Interface Specification (SIS) documents. At this time, all outstanding archive SISs have been approved. This marks a formal transition of the Archiving task from development to operations. The initial delivery of data products was on July 1, with future deliveries scheduled every three months. Wednesday, August 24 (DOY 236) A Cassini picture of Epimetheus, a small moon of Saturn, was selected as Astronomy Picture of the Day today. A query on the APOD web site yielded over 100 images from Cassini. Members of the Spacecraft Operations Office (SCO) have placed files for OTM-29 in the program file repository. As of today, Navigation has delivered the final maneuver solution, ACS has begun Flight Software Development System testing, the sequence leads have merged the maneuver files with the background sequence, and all SCO subsystems have begin their checklists on the merged products. OTM- 29 is scheduled to be uplinked to the spacecraft and executed on Thursday, August 25. The final sequence approval meeting for S14 was held today. Uplink of sequence products will continue as scheduled on Friday. Check out the Cassini web site at http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov for the latest press releases and images. Cassini Finds Enceladus Tiger Stripes are Really Cubs NASA/JPL release 2005-139, 30 August 2005 The Cassini spacecraft has discovered the long, cracked features dubbed "tiger stripes" on Saturn's icy moon Enceladus are very young- -between 10 and 1,000 years young. These findings support previous results showing the moon's southern pole is active. The pole had episodes of geologic activity as recently as 10 years ago. These cracked features are approximately 130 kilometers long (80 miles), spaced about 40 kilometers (25 miles) apart and run roughly parallel to one another. The cracks act like vents. They spew vapor and fine ice water particles that have become ice crystals. This crystallization process can be dated, which helped scientists pin down the age of the features. "There appears to be a continual supply of fresh, crystalline ice at the tiger stripes, which could have been very recently resurfaced," said Dr. Bonnie Buratti. She is a team member of the Cassini visual and infrared mapping spectrometer at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA. "Enceladus is constantly evolving and getting a makeover." This finding is especially exciting because ground-based observers have seen tiny Enceladus brighten as its south pole was visible from Earth. Cassini allows scientists to see close up that the brightening is caused by geologic activity. When NASA's Voyager 2 spacecraft flew over the moon's north pole in 1981, it did not observe the tiger stripes. Cassini's visual and infrared mapping spectrometer shows water ice exists in two forms on Enceladus: in pristine, crystalline ice and radiation-damaged amorphous ice. When ice comes out of the "hot" cracks, or "tiger stripes," at the south pole, it forms as fresh, crystalline ice. As the ice near the poles remains cold and undisturbed, it ages and converts to amorphous ice. Since this process is believed to take place over decades or less, the tiger stripes must be very young. "One of the most fascinating aspects of Enceladus is that it is so very small as icy moons go, but so very geophysically active. It's hard for a body as small as Enceladus to hold onto the heat necessary to drive such large-scale geophysical phenomena, but it has done just that," said Dr. Bob Brown. Brown is a team leader for the visual and infrared mapping spectrometer at the University of Arizona, Tucson. "Enceladus and its incredible geology is a marvelous puzzle for us to figure out." Adding to the already mounting evidence for an active body is the correlation of results from multiple instruments. Cassini's cameras provided detailed images of the south polar cap, in which the tiger stripe fractures were found to be among the hottest features. The timing of the craft's ion and neutral mass spectrometer and the cosmic dust analyzer observations seems to indicate the vapor and fine material are originating from the "hot" polar cap region. These data also indicate the production of water vapor and ejection of fine material are connected, as they are in a comet. This suggests that vapor and dust-sized icy material are coming from the tiger stripes. Enceladus is on a short list of bodies in our solar system where scientists have found internal activity. The others are the volcanoes on Jupiter's moon Io and geysers on Neptune's moon Triton. Data for these measurements were taken during Cassini's closest flyby on July 14, 2005. The spacecraft came within 175 kilometers (109 miles) of the surface of Enceladus. Enceladus is 500 kilometers (314 miles) across and has the most reflective surface in the solar system. 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 Cassini-Huygens mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, DC. JPL designed, developed and assembled the Cassini orbiter. Contacts: Carolina Martinez Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA Phone: 818-354-9382 Erica Hupp or Dolores Beasley NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC Phone: 202-358-1237 or -1753 Additional articles on this subject are available at: http://www.spacedaily.com/news/cassini-05zzy.html http://www.spacedaily.com/news/cassini-05zzz.html http://spaceflightnow.com/cassini/050826illusion.html http://spaceflightnow.com/cassini/050826tethys.html http://spaceflightnow.com/cassini/050829pandora.html http://spaceflightnow.com/cassini/050830enceladus.html http://www.universetoday.com/am/publish/saturn_ring_a_moon_pan.html http://www.universetoday.com/am/publish/enceladus_united_kingdom.html http://www.universetoday.com/am/publish/lookout_for_spokes.html http://www.universetoday.com/am/publish/cassini_finds_young_tiger_str ipes.html _____________________________________________________________________ NASA'S DURABLE SPIRIT SENDS INTRIGUING NEW IMAGES FROM MARS NASA/JPL release 2005-141 1 September 2005 Working atop a range of martian hills, NASA's Spirit rover is rewarding researchers with tempting scenes filled with evidence of past planet environments. "When the images came down and we could see horizon all the way around, that was every bit as exhilarating as getting to the top of any mountain I've climbed on Earth," said Chris Leger, a rover planner at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA. The summit sits 82 meters (269 feet) above the edge of the surrounding plains. It is 106 meters (348 feet) higher than the site where Spirit landed nearly 20 months ago. Spirit and twin rover, Opportunity, successfully completed their three-month prime missions in April 2004. They have inspected dozens of rocks and soil targets since then, continuing their pursuit of geological evidence about formerly wet conditions on Mars. "Spirit has climbed to the hilltop and looked over the other side, but NASA did not do this just to say we can do it. The Mars rovers are addressing fundamental questions about martian history and planetary environments," said NASA's Mars Exploration Program Director Doug McCuistion. The crest of "Husband Hill" offers Spirit's views of possible routes into a basin to the south with apparently layered outcrops. Shortly after Spirit landed, it observed a cluster of seven hills about 3 kilometers (2 miles) east of its landing site. NASA proposed naming the range "Columbia Hills" in tribute to the last crew of Space Shuttle Columbia. The tallest of the hills commemorates Rick Husband, Columbia's commander. Volcanic rocks covering the plain Spirit crossed on its way to the hills bore evidence of only slight alteration by water. When Spirit reached the base of the hills five months after landing, it immediately began finding rocks with wetter histories. "This climb was motivated by science," said Steve Squyres of Cornell University, Ithaca, NY. Squyres is principal investigator for the rovers' science instruments. "Every time Spirit has gained altitude, we've found different rock types. Also, we're doing what any field geologist would do in an area like this: climbing to a good vantage point for plotting a route." Researchers are viewing possible routes south to apparently layered ledges and to a feature dubbed "home plate," which might be a plateau of older rock or a filled-in crater. The landing site and the Columbia Hills are within Gusev Crater, a bowl about 150 kilometers (95 miles) in diameter. The crater was selected as the landing site for the Spirit rover because the shape of the terrain suggests the crater once held a lake. Volcanic deposits appear to have covered any sign of ancient lakebed geology out on the plain, but scientists say the hills expose older layers that have been lifted and tipped by a meteorite impact or other event. "We're finding abundant evidence for alteration of rocks in a water environment," said Ray Arvidson of Washington University, St. Louis, MO. Arvidson is deputy principal investigator for the rovers' science instruments. "What we want to do is figure out which layers were on top of which other layers. To do that it has been helpful to keep climbing for good views of how the layers are tilted to varying degrees. Understanding the sequence of layers is equivalent to having a deep drill core from drilling beneath the plains." Both Spirit and Opportunity have been extremely successful. Their solar panels are generating plenty of energy thanks to repeated dust- cleaning events. Spirit has driven 4,827 meters (3.00 miles), and Opportunity 5,737 meters (3.56 miles). JPL manages the Mars Exploration Rover project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate. For images and information about the rovers and their discoveries on the Web, visit http://www.nasa.gov/vision/universe/solarsystem/mer_main.html or http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov. For information about NASA and agency programs on the Internet, visit http://www.nasa.gov/home. Contacts: Guy Webster Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA Phone: 818-354-6278 or -5011 Dolores Beasley NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC Phone: 202-358-1753 Additional articles on this subject are available at: http://www.spacedaily.com/news/mars-mers-05zzzr.html http://www.spacedaily.com/news/mars-mers-05zzzs.html http://www.spacedaily.com/news/mars-mers-05zzzt.html http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0509/01marsrovers/ _____________________________________________________________________ MARS GLOBAL SURVEYOR IMAGES NASA/JPL/MSSS release 25-31 August 2005 The following new images taken by the Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) on the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft are now available. Terby's Rocks (Released 25 August 2005) http://www.msss.com/mars_images/moc/2005/08/25 Amazonis Yardangs (Released 26 August 2005) http://www.msss.com/mars_images/moc/2005/08/26 East Candor's Rocks (Released 27 August 2005) http://www.msss.com/mars_images/moc/2005/08/27 Layered Slope (Released 28 August 2005) http://www.msss.com/mars_images/moc/2005/08/28 Frosty Dunes (Released 29 August 2005) http://www.msss.com/mars_images/moc/2005/08/29 Mars at Ls 269 Degrees (Released 30 August 2005) http://www.msss.com/mars_images/moc/2005/08/30 Meridiani Crater (Released 31 August 2005) http://www.msss.com/mars_images/moc/2005/08/31 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. _____________________________________________________________________ NASA'S MARS RECONNAISSANCE ORBITER MAKES SUCCESSFUL COURSE CORRECTION NASA/JPL release 2005-140 30 August 2005 NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter successfully tested its main engines by making a successful trajectory adjustment for reaching the red planet on March 10, 2006. The spacecraft fired all six main thrusters for 15 seconds on Saturday, August 27. The engine burn followed a 30-second burn of six smaller thrusters, which settled propellant in the craft's fuel tank for smoother flow. The spacecraft's orientation was adjusted prior to the burns to point the engines in the proper direction for the maneuver. The spacecraft returned to the regular cruise-phase attitude after the trajectory adjustment. "This maneuver accomplished two goals at once," said Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Deputy Mission Manager Dan Johnston of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA. "It adjusted our trajectory toward our Mars target point, and it gave us a valuable checkout of the orbit-insertion engines." The target point is 395 kilometers (245 miles) above the surface of Mars. Initial analysis of navigational data indicates this first flight path correction successfully changed the spacecraft's velocity by the intended 7.8 meters per second (17.4 miles per hour). Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter's velocity relative to the Sun is 32,856 meters per second (73,497 miles per hour). The six main engines won't be used again until the craft arrives at Mars. The next burn will last about 25 minutes. It will slow Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter enough for the planet's gravity to capture the spacecraft into orbit. Each main engine produces approximately 38 pounds of thrust. The three remaining opportunities scheduled for fine-tuning the trajectory before March will use smaller engines. Each smaller engine produces approximately five pounds of thrust. "We intentionally designed the initial trajectory after launch with a bias in it so this first correction maneuver would be large enough to let us use the main engines," Johnston said. The next milestone for the mission is today. Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter will turn on its instruments to check their condition. The spacecraft was launched Aug. 12, and it is in excellent health. It has traveled approximately 6 million kilometers (3.7 million miles) since launch. It has 95.9 million kilometers (59.6 million miles) still to fly before reaching Mars. The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter mission will examine Mars in unprecedented detail from low orbit. Mission science objectives include studying water distribution--including ice, vapor or liquid-- as well as geologic features and minerals. It will also support future missions to Mars by examining potential landing sites and by providing a relay for communications back to Earth. The mission is managed by JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, for the NASA Science Mission Directorate. Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, is the prime contractor for the project and built the spacecraft. For information about the MRO on the Web, visit http://www.nasa.gov/mro. For information about NASA and agency programs on the Web, visit http://www.nasa.gov/home/index.html. Contacts: Guy Webster Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA Phone: 818-354-6278 Dolores Beasley NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC Phone: 202-358-1753 An additional article on this subject is available at http://www.spacedaily.com/news/mars-mro-05o.html. _____________________________________________________________________ End Marsbugs, Volume 12, Number 30.