Marsbugs: The Electronic Astrobiology NewsletterVolume 12, Number 18, 23 May 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

Page 2 MAP OF LIFE ON EARTH COULD BE USED ON MARS—FINDING THE "PECULIAR" ANCESTORBy Alison Drain

Page 2 MICROMACHINES TO PRODUCE PROPELLANT AND AIR ON MARSBy Tariq Malik

Page 3 COSMOS EDUCATION: ENGAGING, EMPOWERING, INSPIRINGBy Kevin Hand

Page 3 NASA SCIENTISTS SOLVE MARS SOUTH POLE MYSTERYNASA/ARC release 05-30AR

Page 3 FRIDAY THE 13TH, 2029By Tony Phillips

Page 4 MICROBES, MICROBES EVERYWHEREBy Mitch Sogin

Page 5 MOST SPACE TELESCOPE PLAYS "HIDE & SEEK" WITH AN EXOPLANET; LEARNS ABOUT ATMOSPHERE AND WEATHER OF A DISTANT WORLDCanadian Astronomical Society release

Page 6 PLANETS WITH TWO SUNS LIKELY COMMONBy Michael Schirber

Page 6 EXPECT LIFE TO BE COLDBy Mitch Sogin

Page 7 ARTIFICIAL GRAVITY: NASA SPINS UP NEW STUDYBy Leonard David

Page 7 NASA AMES PARTNERS WITH FIVE NEW EXPLORER SCHOOL TEAMSNASA/ARC release 05-33AR

Page 7 WOMEN RISING TO THE CHALLENGE OF WEIGHTLESSNESSESA release 24-2005

Page 10 DESIGNER PLANTS ON MARSFrom SpaceDaily

Page 10 STUDENT TEAM TO CONDUCT "REAL-WORLD" SCIENCE AT NASANASA/ARC release 05-34AR

Page 11 MARS MASTER PLAN: NASA OUTLINES NEW APPROACH By Leonard David

Page 11 CLUES TO PLANET FORMATION REVEALEDUniversity of Michigan release

Page 11 ASTRONOMERS, AMATEUR SKYWATCHERS FIND NEW PLANET 15,000 LIGHT YEARS AWAYBy Pam Frost Gorder

Announcements

Page 12 PLANS FOR THE PHOENIX MARS LANDING MISSION TO BE UNVEILED AT MARS SOCIETY CONFERENCE 11 MAY 2005Mars Society release

Page 13 NASA ANNOUNCES NEW CENTENNIAL CHALLENGENASA release 05-128

Page 14 MARS SOCIETY CONFERENCE UPDATEBy Maggie Zubrin

Page 14 WORKSHOP ON DUST DEVILS: EARTH AND MARSLunar and Planetary Institute release

Page 14 NEWSCIENTISTSPACE.COM IS LAUNCHEDNew Scientist release

Page 15 SUITED FOR MARS: AN ADVANCED SPACESUITS SYMPOSIUMMars Society release

Page 15 A NEW ISSUE OF THE NAI NEWSLETTER IS AVAILABLENASA Astrobiology Institute release

Mission Reports

Page 15 CASSINI UPDATESMultiple agencies' releases

Page 19 DEEP IMPACT MISSION STATUS REPORTNASA/JPL release 2005-075

Page 19 MER UPDATESNASA/JPL releases

Page 20 MARS EXPRESS UPDATESESA releases

Page 21 MARS GLOBAL SURVEYOR IMAGESNASA/JPL/MSSS release

Page 21 ONE MARS ORBITER TAKES FIRST PHOTOS OF OTHER ORBITERS NASA/JPL image advisory 2005-080

Page 22 MARS ODYSSEY THEMIS IMAGESNASA/JPL/ASU release

Marsbugs: The Electronic Astrobiology Newsletter, Volume 12, Number 18, 23 May 2005

MAP OF LIFE ON EARTH COULD BE USED ON MARS—FINDING THE "PECULIAR" ANCESTORBy Alison DrainWashington University in St. Louis release9 May 2005

A geologist from Washington University in St. Louis is developing new techniques to render a more coherent story of how primitive life arose and diverged on Earth—with implications for Mars. Carrine Blank, Ph.D., Washington University assistant professor of earth and planetary sciences in Arts & Sciences, has some insight concerning terrestrial microbes that could lead to provocative conclusions about the nature of life on Mars and other planets.

Blank approaches the task by resolving phylogenetic trees. These trees, based upon genetic sequencing data, trace the genetic relationships between what we think of as primitive organisms through trait development. The relationships between early forms of life can illuminate the relationships between organisms present on Earth today—which fossil evidence and a method called isotopic fractionation have failed to show conclusively. Blank most recently presented her research at the 2004 annual meeting of the Geological Society of America.

Haves and have-nots

Microorganisms can be divided into haves and have-nots: cells of eukaryotes contain a nucleus, while prokaryotic organisms' cells do not. Prokaryotic organisms encompass archeal and bacterial domains of life. Archeal organisms diverge further into euryarcheota and Crenarcheota lineages. By piecing together genetic sequences of the three types of prokaryotic organisms, Blank creates a genetic flow chart, which can be interpreted to trace the appearance of environmental adaptations across billions of years of evolution. Genes are inherited from parents, but can transfer from one organism to another without reproducing by a process called lateral gene transfer. Modular metabolic genes, which are not critical for cell production, account for most lateral gene transfers between microbes.

Carinne Blank (left) has a method she uses to date ancient life forms that could be helpful for specimens from Mars (right).

"There is a lot we're beginning to understand in terms of bacterial evolution that is still not quite clear," Blank said. "What we're trying to resolve is the evolutionary history of the core of the bacterial cell. The core is that which is not undergoing this lateral gene transfer, or does it extremely rarely."

Jumping genes

Jumping genes may be a headache for researchers, but they serve an important ecological purpose, helping other organisms to succeed in their habitats, and can illuminate trait development across the tree of life.

"We try to construct the core with gene sequences, and then we look at the distribution of traits such as those involved in metabolism by laying it onto the tree," she said.

Timely appearances of certain traits among prokaryotes on the tree of life can betray a trend of habitat divergence, facilitated by lateral gene transfer. The emergence of traits corresponding to measurable changes in the known geologic record allow researchers to date organisms with relative certainty. Blank can then use chronological data to analyze niche specialization, "where these organisms like to grow," among members of each life domain over geologic time.

Habitat divergence among bacteria is consistent with patterns of divergence among the other prokaryotes, Blank's research shows. She notes a pervasive

trend of cyanobacterial organisms diverging from low-salinity environments into marine environments over time.

"We have the ancestral Archeae—it diverges into two major lineages, the Crenarchaeota and the Euryarchaeota, one which grows in marine environments, the other on continents," Blank said. "They grow and diverge for perhaps a billion years, and then they start colonizing each other's environments. The marine Euryarchaeota eventually colonize the terrestrial environments and the Crenarchaeota colonize the marine environments. My point is that it could have taken a very long time for them to come back and to form even more complex ecosystems. So the literal interpretation of these patterns is that early habitat specialization could have lasted for a billion years."

After mapping early habitat divergences onto the tree, Blank observes that the ancestors of each of the three kinds of prokaryotes inhabited one of Earth's three types of hydrothermal systems, which include sulfurous steam vents like those which smatter the Yellowstone caldera, hydrothermal deep-sea vents, and boiling silica-depositing springs.

"Is it a coincidence, then, that we have three hydrothermal habitats and three major groups of prokaryotes? We aren't sure," she said. "This could suggest that we have some really ancient habitat specialization. These lineages specialize in these three habitats, and diverge in these habitats for many hundreds of million years before they start moving into other types of habitats."

The "peculiar" ancestor

It isn't clear why bacteria diversified later, though environmental changes, like periods of global glaciation nicknamed "snowball Earth", could have provided the impetus that demanded microbial adaptation. Whatever the cause, new adaptive microbial traits can be very different from those of their "peculiar" ancestors. It seems that, on some level, humans and bacteria can relate.

"If we see these major patterns of divergence on Earth, we should expect to see similar patterns on life on Mars, that is, if life ever existed there," Blank said. "Not the same patterns, because Mars has had a different history, but we should see trends that are analogous. You would expect to see a peculiar ancestor specialized to a unique niche, eventually diverging into descendants that have very different traits than their ancestor did. These descendents would have adapted to changes that would've happened in Mars's history."

Read the original news release at http://news-info.wustl.edu/tips/page/normal/5152.html.

Additional articles on this subject are available at:http://www.astrobio.net/news/article1556.htmlhttp://www.marsdaily.com/news/mars-life-05k.htmlhttp://www.universetoday.com/am/publish/mapping_life_earth.html.

MICROMACHINES TO PRODUCE PROPELLANT AND AIR ON MARSBy Tariq MalikFrom Space.com11 May 2005

Two teams of researchers are hoping their tiny devices will mean big leaps for future Mars-bound humans, allowing them to carry powerful computers and generate life support materials from the planet’s atmosphere. In one corner, NASA-funded scientists are tweaking microtechnology to produce compact systems that produce breathing oxygen or rocket propellant, vital components of any manned space mission. ...Meanwhile, two Purdue University researchers are adapting microchannel heat sinks—small copper plates lined with numerous grooves each three times the width of a human hair—with conventional refrigeration methods to build more efficient cooling systems.

Read the full article at http://www.space.com/businesstechnology/technology/050511_microcats_050511.html.

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COSMOS EDUCATION: ENGAGING, EMPOWERING, INSPIRINGBy Kevin HandFrom Space.com12 May 2005

"Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known." —Carl Sagan

These are the words on the back of more than 200 T-shirts the SETI Institute donated to Cosmos Education—a grass-roots non-profit dedicated to science and technology education and the role of science and technology in health, the environment, and sustainable development. Our model is simple—we seek to engage, empower, and inspire youth in developing countries through hands-on learning activities and experiments. Students learn about the molecular structure of water by pretending to be oxygen and hydrogen atoms; they learn about how soap works by doing experiments with soap, water, and oil; they learn about the HIV virus by constructing a human chain model of DNA. These and our many other activities capture the curiosity of students and get them asking questions about the world in which they live.

Read the full article at http://www.space.com/searchforlife/seti_cosmoseducation_050512.html.

NASA SCIENTISTS SOLVE MARS SOUTH POLE MYSTERYNASA/ARC release 05-30AR13 May 2005

NASA scientists have solved an age-old mystery by finding that Mars' southern polar cap is offset from its geographical south pole because of two different polar climates. Weather generated by the two martian regional climates creates conditions that cause the red planet's southern polar ice to freeze out into a cap whose center lies about 93 miles (150 kilometers) from the actual south pole, according to a scientific paper included in the May 12 issue of the journal, Nature.

Mars' south polar cap (obscured by dust storms at right). Image credit: NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems.

"Mars' permanent south polar cap is offset from its geographic south pole, which was a mystery going back to the first telescopic observations of Mars," said the paper's lead author, Anthony Colaprete, a space scientist from NASA Ames Research Center, located in California's Silicon Valley. "We found that the offset is a result of two martian regional climates, which are on either side of the south pole," he said.

The scientists found that the location of two huge craters in the southern hemisphere of Mars is the root cause of the two distinct climates.

"The two craters' unique landscapes create winds that establish a low pressure region over the permanent ice cap in the western hemisphere," Colaprete explained.

Just as on Earth, low-pressure weather systems are associated with cold, stormy weather and snow. "On Mars, the craters anchor the low pressure system that dominates the southern polar ice cap, and keep it in one location," Colaprete said.

According to the scientists, the low-pressure system results in white fluffy snow, which appears as a very bright region over the ice cap. In contrast, the scientists also report that "black ice" forms in the eastern hemisphere, where martian skies are relatively clear and warm.

"The eastern hemisphere of the south pole region gets very little snow, and clear ice forms over the martian soil there," Colaprete said. Black ice forms when the planet's surface is cooling, but the atmosphere is relatively warm, according to scientists. "A similar process occurs on Earth when black ice forms over highways," Colaprete explained.

Colaprete's co-authors include Jeffrey Barnes, Oregon State University, Corvallis; Robert Haberle, also of NASA Ames; Jeffery Hollingsworth, San Jose State University Foundation, NASA Ames; and Hugh Kieffer and Timothy Titus, both from the U.S. Geological Survey, Flagstaff, AZ.

Journal reference:Anthony Colaprete, Jeffrey R. Barnes, Robert M. Haberle, Jeffery L. Hollingsworth, Hugh H. Kieffer and Timothy N. Titus, 2005. Albedo of the south pole on Mars determined by topographic forcing of atmosphere dynamics. Nature, 435(7039):184-188, http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v435/n7039/abs/nature03561.html.

Contacts:Dolores BeasleyNASA Headquarters, Washington, DCPhone: 202-358-1753

John BluckNASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CAPhone: 650-604-5026 or 604-9000

Additional articles on this subject are available at:http://www.spacedaily.com/news/mars-water-science-05g.htmlhttp://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0505/14marsmystery/http://www.universetoday.com/am/publish/mars_icecaps_explained.html

FRIDAY THE 13TH, 2029By Tony PhillipsFrom NASA Science News13 May 2005

Friday the 13th is supposed to be an unlucky day, the sort of day you trip on your shoe laces or lose your wallet or get bad news. But maybe it's not so bad. Consider this: On April 13th—Friday the 13th—2029, millions of people are going to go outside, look up and marvel at their good luck. A point of light will be gliding across the sky, faster than many satellites, brighter than most stars.

What's so lucky about that? It's asteroid 2004 MN4—not hitting Earth. For a while astronomers thought it might. On Christmas Eve 2004, Paul Chodas, Steve Chesley and Don Yeomans at NASA's Near Earth Object Program office calculated a 1-in-60 chance that 2004 MN4 would collide with Earth. Impact date: April 13, 2029.

The orbits of Earth and asteroid 2004 MN4.

The asteroid is about 320 meters wide. "That's big enough to punch through Earth's atmosphere," devastating a region the size of, say, Texas, if it hit land, or causing widespread tsunamis if it hit ocean, says Chodas—so much for holiday cheer.

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Asteroid 2004 MN4 had been discovered in June 2004, lost, then discovered again six months later. With such sparse tracking data it was difficult to say, precisely, where the asteroid would go. A collision with Earth was theoretically possible. "We weren't too worried," Chodas says, "but the odds were disturbing."

This is typical, by the way, of newly-discovered asteroids. Step 1: An asteroid is discovered. Step 2: Uncertain orbits are calculated from spotty tracking data. Step 3: Possible Earth impacts are noted. Step 4: Astronomers watch the asteroid for a while, then realize that it's going to miss our planet. "Killer Asteroid!" headlines generally appear between steps 3 and 4, but that's another story.

The trajectory (blue) of asteroid 2004 MN4 past Earth on April 13, 2029. Uncertainty in the asteroid's close-approach distance is represented by the short white bar.

Astronomers knew 2004 MN4 would miss Earth when they found pictures of the asteroid taken, unwittingly, in March 2004, three months before its official discovery. The extra data ruled out a collision in 2029. Instead, what we're going to have is an eye-popping close encounter.

On April 13, 2029, asteroid 2004 MN4 will fly past Earth only 18,600 miles (30,000 km) above the ground. For comparison, geosynchronous satellites orbit at 22,300 miles (36,000 km). "At closest approach, the asteroid will shine like a 3rd magnitude star, visible to the unaided eye from Africa, Europe and Asia—even through city lights," says Jon Giorgini of JPL. This is rare. "Close approaches by objects as large as 2004 MN4 are currently thought to occur at 1000-year intervals, on average."

The asteroid's trajectory will bend approximately 28 degrees during the encounter, "a result of Earth's gravitational pull," explains Giorgini. What happens next is uncertain. Some newspapers have stated that the asteroid might swing around and hit Earth after all in 2035 or so, but Giorgini discounts that: "Our ability to 'see' where 2004 MN4 will go (by extrapolating its orbit) is so blurred out by the 2029 Earth encounter, it can't even be said for certain what side of the sun 2004 MN4 will be on in 2035. Talk of Earth encounters in 2035 is premature."

In January 2004, a team of astronomers led by Lance Benner of JPL pinged 2004 MN4 using the giant Arecibo radar in Puerto Rico. (Coincidentally, the Arecibo dish is about the same size as the asteroid.) Echoes revealed the asteroid's precise distance and velocity, "allowing us to calculate the details of the 2029 flyby," says Giorgini, who was a member of the team along with Benner, Mike Nolan (NAIC) and Steve Ostro (JPL).

More data are needed to forecast 2004 MN4's motion beyond 2029. "The next good opportunities are in 2013 and 2021," Giorgini says. The asteroid will be

about 9 million miles (14 million km) from Earth, invisible to the naked eye, but close enough for radar studies. "If we get radar ranging in 2013, we should be able to predict the location of 2004 MN4 out to at least 2070."

The Arecibo radar in Puerto Rico is coincidentally about the size of asteroid 2004 MN4.

The closest encounter of all, Friday the 13th, 2029, will be a spectacular opportunity to explore this asteroid via radar. During this encounter, says Giorgini, "radar could detect the distortion of 2004 MN4's shape and spin as it passes through Earth's gravity field. How the asteroid changes (or not) would provide information about its internal structure and material composition." Beautifully-detailed surface maps are possible, too.

The view through an optical telescope won't be so impressive. The asteroid's maximum angular diameter is only 2 to 4 arcseconds, which means it will be a starlike point of light in all but the very largest telescopes. But to the naked eye—wow! No one in recorded history has ever seen an asteroid in space so bright. Friday the 13th might not be so bad after all.

Read the original article at http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2005/13may_2004mn4.htm.

MICROBES, MICROBES EVERYWHEREBy Mitch SoginFrom Astrobiology Magazine16 May 2005

Every two years, researchers from the NASA Astrobiology Institute (NAI) gather to discuss their work. The most recent meeting, NAI 2005, was held in Boulder, Colorado, in April 2005. Mitch Sogin, who heads the NAI's Marine Biological Laboratory team, is a molecular evolutionist. He explores the history of life on Earth by studying DNA. Sogin spoke at NAI 2005 about the contributions of molecular biology to the field of astrobiology. In this first of a three-part series, Sogin explains why microbial life is the focus of his work.

I have to confess that when this session was organized, I was very worried about talking about evolution in the solar system. I don't even understand evolution on Earth. And so, at first I thought it would be maximal speculation based on minimal data. But I realized it was an opportunity to talk to both biologists and planetary scientists and physical scientists to try to bring us together in an understanding of what molecular evolutionists do and what molecular ecology is all about.

The title of my talk is "Did/Does Life Exist Elsewhere in the Solar System?" The answer is we simply don't know. The discipline of astrobiology is an exercise that involves exploration. Some of us seek information about the distribution of water and organic material in the solar system. And others of us are interested in the environmental and physiological limits of terrestrial life. These two disciplines converge so that what we're seeing today are heightened expectations that there is life elsewhere in the solar system and beyond.

When the NASA Astrobiology Institute (NAI) first formed, there was a lot of excitement at that time because we were just learning about the cracks on the

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surface of Europa. That was interpreted—and still is—as likely to represent a subsurface liquid water ocean on Europa, maintained by the tidal heating that occurs. That raises the possibility of hydrothermal vent type communities. John Baross would argue that if you have hydrothermal vents, you have life, given enough time.

More recently we've seen an avalanche of information about the idea that Mars has a wet history, at least a past wet history, and the possibility that there is liquid water on Mars today. There are spectacular images from Mars Express which indicate the possibility of frequent ice deposition and removal on Mars. We see these spectacular photographs of water ice on the surface of Mars.

More recently, there's been quite a bit of discussion—it's shown up often in the press—about methane on Mars, and the possibility that it has a biological origin. The alternative is that it's geological. And then there are the results of the Omega spectrometer studies, which show sulfate deposits and other indications that there was at one time standing water on Mars. And then there's new information from Titan about what the atmosphere there is like.

Left: Vertical slice through bedrock at Meridiani shows evidence for layering. Right: Spirit's Adirondack rock, an early science target. Image credit: NASA/JPL.

There's a reciprocal relationship between exploration of microbial diversity and the extremes of life in terrestrial environments, and where we might to go to look for life elsewhere in the universe. As we learn more about terrestrial environments, possibilities continue to expand about what kind of life we might find elsewhere and where we might find it. In our program—mainly I'm referring to the Marine Biological Laboratory at Woods Hole, where I work, but I think it's true throughout the NAI—we take a microbial-centric view of astrobiology when we think about looking for life. That's because the microbial world accounted for all known life forms for nearly 50 to 90 percent of our Earth's history. (The exact percentage depends on how you interpret evolutionary history.)

I would argue that microbes are likely to be the only kind life we're going to find elsewhere in our solar system. Perhaps microbial life is the only kind of life that's going to occur beyond our solar system. In fact, I would make the argument that multicellular life, complex life, is impossible without the microbial world to underlie the fundamental processes, the biogeochemistry that drives our systems.

Many people to argue that 3.9 billion years was the earliest time that we had a sustainable habitable environment on Earth, and that therefore life can't be any older than that. I don't agree with that. I think life actually could be older than that period when heavy bombardment was coming to an end, simply because life could have gotten started multiple times. Or you could imagine that particles sheltering life might have been shot up into the higher atmospheres, and rained back down on the planet when things cooled down. Now that's not a likely scenario, but it's possible. Certainly the molecular clock would argue that life might be 3.8 or 3.9 billion years old.

Left: Cracks, channels and chaotic terrain indicate the possibility of a subsurface ocean on Europa. Image credit: NASA/Galileo. Right: Sulfide minerals on surface of ponded water, Rio Tinto region of Spain, July 2002. Image credit: Carol Stoker, NASA/ARC.

I'd like to point out that microbes—the bacteria, the archaea, the eukaryotes—they're everywhere, or almost everywhere. We find all kinds of microbes in hot environments, sometimes as hot as 121°C (250°F). The only microbes we don't find in hot environments are the eukaryotes, although we do find eukaryotes everywhere else. In extreme cold—microbes can exist at minus 15 to minus 30 Celsius (5 to minus 22 Fahrenheit), inside of solid ice. In high pH (very alkaline) environments; in low pH (very acidic) environments, such as the Rio Tinto. These are the kinds of sites that astrobiologists in the NAI are studying today. Hypersaline environments; desiccated environments like the Antarctic and the Atacama Desert; high-radiation environments; deep-sea and deep subsurface environments; and inside of rocks. Any environment where you can imagine you might have a usable source of chemical energy, one can find life.

Read the original article at http://www.astrobio.net/news/article1559.html.

MOST SPACE TELESCOPE PLAYS "HIDE & SEEK" WITH AN EXOPLANET; LEARNS ABOUT ATMOSPHERE AND WEATHER OF A DISTANT WORLDCanadian Astronomical Society release16 May 2005

MOST, Canada's first space telescope, has turned up an important clue about the atmosphere and cloud cover of a mysterious planet around another star, by playing a cosmic game of "hide and seek" as that planet moves behind its parent star in its orbit. The exoplanet, with a name only an astrophysicist could love, HD209458b (orbiting the star HD209458a), cannot be seen directly in images, so the scientists on the MOST (Microvariability & Oscillations of STars) Satellite Team have been using their space telescope to look for the dip in light when the planet disappears behind the star.

Artist's conception of extrasolar planet, HD209458b, with its atmosphere being boiled off by its star, HD209458a. Image credit: ESA, Alfred Vidal-Madjar.

"We can now say that this puzzling planet is less reflective than the gas giant Jupiter in our own Solar System," MOST Mission Scientist Dr. Jaymie Matthews announced today at the annual meeting of the Canadian Astronomical Society in Montréal. "This is telling us about the nature of this exoplanet's atmosphere, and even whether it has clouds."

Many of the planets discovered around other stars, known as exoplanets or extrasolar planets, hug surprisingly close to their parent stars; HD209458b orbits at only 1/20th of the Earth-Sun distance (an Astronomical Unit or AU). It could never support life as we know it. But understanding HD209458b is a key piece in the puzzle of planet formation and evolution that is revising theories of our own Solar System, and estimates of how common are habitable worlds in our Galaxy. How a giant ball of gas that is larger than the planet Jupiter (which orbits 5 AU from our Sun) got so close to its star, and how its atmosphere responds to the powerful radiation and gravitation fields of that star, are still open questions to exoplanetary scientists.

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"The way this planet reflects light back to us from the star is sensitive to its atmospheric composition and temperature," describes Jason Rowe, a Ph.D. student at the University of British Columbia who processed the MOST data. "HD209458b is reflecting back to us less than 1/10,000th of the total visible light coming directly from the star. That means it reflects less than 30-40% of the light it receives from its star, which already eliminates many possible models for the exoplanetary atmosphere." By comparison, the planet Jupiter would reflect about 50% of the light in the wavelength range seen by MOST.

"Imagine trying to see a mosquito buzzing around a 400-Watt streetlamp. But not at the street corner, or a few blocks away, but 1000 km away!" explains Dr. Matthews. "That's equivalent to what we're trying to do with MOST to detect the planet in the HD209458 system."

The planet was detected directly earlier this year in the infrared by NASA's US$720M Spitzer Space Observatory. At a wavelength of 24 micrometers, about 50,000 times longer than the light waves seen by human eyes, the exoplanet HD209458b is actually faintly glowing, with what physicists call "thermal emission." MOST looks at the Universe in the same wavelength range as the eye. By combining the Spitzer far-infrared thermal result with the MOST visible light reflection limit, theoreticians are now able to develop a realistic model of the atmosphere of this so-called "hot Jupiter."

And MOST has not given up on HD209458b. "It can orbit, but it can't hide," quips Dr. Matthews. "MOST will put this system under a 45-day stakeout at the end of the summer to continue to improve our detection limit. Eventually, the planet will emerge from the noise and we'll have a clearer picture of the composition of the exoplanet atmosphere and even its weather—temperature, pressure and cloud cover."

A scientific paper on these results will be submitted soon, by Jason Rowe and Dr. Jaymie Matthews (UBC), Dr. Sara Seager (Carnegie Institute of Washington), Dr. Dimitar Sasselov (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics), and the rest of the MOST Science Team, with members from UBC, the University of Toronto, Université de Montréal, St. Mary's University, and the University of Vienna.

Dr. Seager, a world leader in the field of modeling exoplanet atmospheres, emphasizes the challenge of this kind of science: "We're like weather forecasters trying to understand winds and clouds on a world we can't even see. It's hard enough for meteorologists to tell you whether it will be cloudy tomorrow in your hometown here on Earth. Imagine what it's like to try to forecast weather on a planet 150 light years away!"

Dr. Sasselov is also excited by MOST's early findings: "This capability of MOST is paving the way to the great prize—the discovery of Earth-sized planets. The search for other worlds like home is now on." Dr. Matthews can't resist adding, "Not bad for a space telescope with a mirror the size of a pie plate and a price tag of Can$10M, eh?"

MOST (Microvariability & Oscillations of STars) is a Canadian Space Agency mission. Dynacon Inc. of Mississauga, Ontario, is the prime contractor for the satellite and its operation, with the University of Toronto Institute for Aerospace Studies (UTIAS) as a major subcontractor. The University of British Columbia (UBC) is the main contractor for the instrument and scientific operations of the MOST mission. MOST is tracked and operated through a global network of ground stations located at UTIAS, UBC and the University of Vienna.

Contact:Dr. Jaymie Matthews, UBC Phone: 604-822-2696 or 604-734-7602 E-mail: matthews@astro.ubc.ca

Read the original news release at http://www.astro.umontreal.ca/~casca/PR/Casca2005_Matthews.html.

Additional articles on this subject are available at:http://www.spacedaily.com/news/extrasolar-05zc.htmlhttp://www.universetoday.com/am/publish/probing_atmosphere_extrasolar.html

PLANETS WITH TWO SUNS LIKELY COMMONBy Michael SchirberFrom Space.com17 May 2005

In the Star Wars saga, the Skywalker clan has its roots on Tatooine—a desert-covered planet revolving around two suns. A theoretical investigation has explored the likelihood for worlds like this to exist. And it looks like the nearest Tatooine may be closer than a galaxy far, far away. That’s because more than half of the stars in our galaxy have a stellar companion. And yet, of the 130 or so currently known exoplanets (none of which are Earth-like), only about 20 of them are around so-called binaries. The percentage may grow higher. The current ratio is affected by an observational bias: planet hunters tend to avoid binaries because the star-star interactions can hide the planet signatures. Scientists discussed the issue earlier this month at a gathering of exoplanet hunters at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore.

A dim double star system cataloged as Gliese 623 lies 25 light-years from Earth, in the constellation of Hercules. The individual stars of this binary system were distinguished for the first time when the Hubble Space Telescope's Faint Object Camera recorded this image in June 1994. They are separated by 200 million miles—about twice the Earth/Sun distance. On the right, the fainter Gliese 623b is 60,000 times less luminous than the Sun and approximately 10 times less massive. The fuzzy rings around its brighter companion, Gliese 623a, are image artifacts. Habitable planets may be possible around binary systems like this one. Image credit: C. Barbieri (Univ. of Padua), NASA, ESA.

Read the full article at http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/050517_binary_stars.html.

EXPECT LIFE TO BE COLDBy Mitch SoginFrom Astrobiology Magazine

In a recent talk at a NASA Astrobiology Institute (NAI) conference, Mitch Sogin, who heads the NAI's Marine Biological Laboratory team, discussed how studying microbial organisms on Earth can help scientists in the search for life on other worlds. In this second of a three-part series, Sogin argues that astrobiologists need to learn more about cold-adapted organisms on Earth. On other worlds in our solar system, the places we can get to most easily are frozen.

In the context of looking for life elsewhere, the organisms that I think we should spend most of our time studying are the psychrophiles (cold-adapted organisms). Because life beyond Earth, at least in environments that we can access relatively easily, are likely to be cold, we have to pay attention to psychrophilic biology. This should also guide some of the decisions we make or issues we pursue regarding planetary protection.

If we were to find organisms near the surface of Mars, it might well be that they have adapted to grow under very low water activities; they might even be endoliths (organisms that live inside rocks). But they will almost certainly be psychrophiles. If you go to Europa, if there are hydrothermal vent types of communities there, you might expect to find thermophiles and hyperthermophiles. And, of course barophiles (these are organisms that live

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at very high pressures). But closer to the surface, we'd be more likely to find psychrophiles.

Jody Deming's lab has found bacteria living within tiny brine pockets in sea ice. Using a DAPI stain, which stains the nucleic acids of organisms with a fluorescent dye, Deming and her colleagues have found clear evidence that there are organisms entrapped in this ice, and that they actually are growing. Diatoms, which are eukaryotes, also inhabit this environment.

This affects how we need to think about planetary protection. Planetary protection is an important issue with regard to Mars, but I flip back and forth as to how important it is. With new information we have about Mars, we're left with the impression that there's a greater probability that we're going to find life on Mars and therefore that there's greater likelihood that life on Earth might be able to survive on Mars. But then I start to think about what it takes for organisms, and what we've learned about the difficulty of culturing organisms in the laboratory. And so if we deliver organisms to Mars, is it likely that they're going to find conditions that are compatible with their growth?

Think of it as a laboratory experiment. I would imagine that very few of the organisms that might be delivered are going to be capable of growth. And then they have an added challenge: They're going to be delivered near the surface, and even if they were to find wet environments to live in, they still have to deal with extreme conditions that involve daily excursions through eutectic freezing points. So, how fast can these organisms possibly grow?

I would grant you that some of these organisms might survive long enough to live during a future warmer, wetter period in Mars's climatic fluctuations. But I think it's unlikely that they're going to grow very quickly in today's conditions on Mars, and I don't expect them to grow to sufficient quantities that they're going to interfere with life-detection experiments over the next 50 years.

When we think about exploring microbial life elsewhere in the solar system, my guess is that they're going to be cold-loving, at least the environments that we're going to have easy access to. And so, for my money, I think planetary protection, which up till now has focused on heat-resistant endospores, should be more concerned about the psychrophiles that have a chance of growing in these cold environments.

Read the original article at http://www.astrobio.net/news/article1563.html.

ARTIFICIAL GRAVITY: NASA SPINS UP NEW STUDYBy Leonard DavidFrom Space.com18 May 2005

Imagine being onboard that first human expedition to Mars. Representing all of humankind you take your historical one small step, one giant leap onto the surface… only to find your legs give way and you wind up flat on your backpack in front of a worldwide television audience.

On extended space treks crews are subjected to a number of physiologic effects due to exposure to microgravity. Since the earliest days of plotting out human space exploration goals, the detrimental impacts of weightlessness on the human body have long been a worry. Now a new NASA/university collaboration will systematically study how artificial gravity could be a way to beef up the overall health of crews on future space exploration jaunts.

Read the full article at http://www.space.com/businesstechnology/050518_tech_wednesday.html.

NASA AMES PARTNERS WITH FIVE NEW EXPLORER SCHOOL TEAMSNASA/ARC release 05-33AR18 May 2005

NASA yesterday announced the 50 new 2005 Explorer Schools. The NASA Explorer Schools are the heart of a unique educational program that reaches elementary-to-high-school pupils in all 50 states, Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia. Five of the new Explorer Schools teams in the western United States will establish a three-year partnership with NASA Ames Research Center, located in California's Silicon Valley, to provide their students with NASA science and technology experiences and access to unique NASA

resources and materials. The school teams are: Nikiski North Star and Sterling Elementary Schools located in Alaska's Kenai Peninsula; Hellgate Elementary School, Missoula, MT; Ed Von Tobel Middle School, Las Vegas, NV; Toppenish Middle School, Toppenish, WA; and Johnson Junior High School, Cheyenne, WY.

"NASA will need a robust workforce to carry out the Vision for Space Exploration. The Explorer School program looks to fulfill the Vision by inspiring the next generation of explorers," said NASA's Chief Education Officer Dr. Adena Williams Loston. "The program provides the opportunity to explore, discover and understand through educational activities. It includes fun, challenging adventures tailored to promote learning and studying science, mathematics, engineering and technology," she said.

The NASA Explorer School (NES) program is one of four major agency educational initiatives. Since its inauguration in 2003, the NES program has established three-year partnerships annually with 50 schools. The partnerships include students, teachers and education administrators serving grades four through nine, from diverse communities across the country. Schools in the program are eligible to receive grants of up to $17,500 over the three-year period to support student engagement in science and mathematics.

During the partnership, NASA Explorer School teams work with agency personnel and other partners to develop and implement strategic plans for staff and students. The plans promote and support the use of NASA content and programs to address the teams' local needs in mathematics, science and technology education.

Each summer, teachers participate in one-week professional development workshops at one of NASA's 10 field centers. They receive $500 stipends for both summer and school year activities. The NES program also reaches out to the students' families and communities by providing access to interactive Web-based NASA learning adventures and other special opportunities. The announcement completed a week of activities during the 2005 Leadership Institute/2004 NASA Explorer Schools Student Symposium at NASA's Johnson Space Center, Houston. It included workshops and tours of the space center for students and educators attending the symposium.

Eighty seven percent of all NASA Explorer Schools are in high-poverty areas, and 76 percent represent predominantly minority communities. Ninety-eight percent of the 2005 class is in high- poverty areas, and82 percent is in predominantly minority communities; 19 are in Hispanic communities.

The Vision for Space Exploration is a bold new course into the cosmos, a journey that will return the space shuttle safely to flight, complete the construction of the International Space Station, and take humans back to the moon and eventually to Mars and beyond.

"Perhaps someone in a NASA Explorer School will be the first to walk on Mars," Loston said.

For a list of NASA Explorer Schools on the Internet, visit http://explorerschools.nasa.gov. For information about NASA education programs on the Internet, visit http://education.nasa.gov. For information about NASA and agency programs on the Internet, visit http://www.nasa.gov/home/index.html.

Contact:Jonas DinoNASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CAPhone: 650-604-5612 or 650-604-9000E-mail: Jonas.Dino@nasa.gov

WOMEN RISING TO THE CHALLENGE OF WEIGHTLESSNESSESA release 24-200519 May 2005

Following 60 days of "bedrest" simulating the effects of weightlessness on the body, the first volunteers in the WISE (Women International Space Simulation for Exploration) study have been getting back on their feet, They all speak of having had a wonderfully enriching experience both in scientific and human terms. A press conference attended by those in charge of the study and volunteers is to be held on 2 June. The volunteers in question are twelve women, drawn from seven European countries. Since March they have been confined to bed at the MEDES (French Institute of Space Medicine and

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Physiology) space clinic in Toulouse, in what is the longest female bedrest experiment ever conducted within the European Community.

For these two months, they have been confined to bed, lying at a 6° angle, their feet raised slightly above their heads. In such a position it is possible to induce in the body phenomena similar to those encountered by astronauts when subjected to weightlessness for long periods, such as a loss of muscle mass and capacity for effort followed by a reduction in bone mass. A better understanding of the mechanisms governing this adaptation of the body to weightless conditions will be invaluable when it comes to developing counter measures for astronauts. It will also have applications on Earth, for example in the treatment of those in need of long-term hospitalization, and more generally, of the effects of physical inactivity on health. Experiments of this type have already been carried out, notably in two three-month sessions involving male volunteers in 2001 and 2002. However, the WISE study is the first long-duration bedrest program to be conducted in Europe using female subjects.

Some wanted a challenge, others to do their bit

From the time preparations get under way for the bedrest phase to the rehabilitation phase once they are back on their feet, the twelve volunteers will have spent three months at the MEDES clinic, in what they all agreed was an extraordinary experience. Some, out of a spirit of adventure, signed up as a way of taking on yet another challenge; this was the case with Marjo from Finland, who had already toured the world, or the sport-loving Dorotha from Poland, who lives in Sweden, works in Ireland and previously studied in Italy! "It's a way of testing your limits," explained Elisabeth from Germany, who, like Polish Beata, had tried her hand at parachuting prior to joining the experiment.

Volunteers kept in touch with family and friends through phone calls and the internet. Image credit: ESA.

Others, such as Monica from the Czech Republic, saw the three-month period as a way of taking some time out from their daily lives, while at the same time being of service to the community. This was also a factor for one of the five French women taking part, Laurence, who had already been involved in drug trials and did not really consider it to be a challenge: "I needed to take some time out from my normal life, to have a change of scene. In the event, I learned a lot. It is also a way of exploring your inner self and forming a clearer understanding of what you are capable of."

Similarly, Delphine, a piano teacher from France, described the study as "a personal challenge, and a way of discovering my physical capabilities, but also a new experience, a way of becoming involved in space activities and making a worthwhile contribution."

The twelve women were involved in scientific tests from a very early stage. From the moment they volunteered, they were kept fully informed about the tests they would have to undergo and also of all the expected scientific benefits.

"We were kept very well informed," adds Marjo. "We were even given presentations on bedrest. Here they really make you feel involved." Elisabeth continues, "To begin with I felt just like a little child, wanting to know everything and people were really very nice, answering all our questions."

According to Nadine, another French volunteer, who normally works for temping agencies, the effect of this very open approach was to make her all

the more inquisitive and motivated: "I'm taking part in something that's really important to science and medicine but also to international cooperation. It's a unique experiment to which I've made my own small contribution."

Lying with your head in the stars

Half way through, the twelve volunteers had a visit from an important guest, Claudie Haigneré, the French minister for European Affairs, who had previously been an ESA astronaut, taking part in two missions and spending a total of 25 days in space. This also brought home the extent to which knowledge of how the female body reacts to weightless conditions is limited due to the small number of space flights involving women. Only three women have spent six months or more in space, compared with 48 men (including 20 who have spent more than a year and one more than two years).

Volunteers' physiological and psychological statuses were monitored throughout the trial. Image credit: ESA.

Isabelle from France, who works in the food industry, is very conscious of the importance of the experiment: "It's quite amazing when you stop to think about it: what we have achieved has never been done before."

"We really feel like we have taken part in a space program," says Dorotha. "There's been talk about it everywhere and that's something we are aware of at all times. The scientists explain their experiments to us and we are always learning a lot. In fact, it's very much a two-way process since we are participants in their work."

"We feel very involved in the experiments and tests; in fact we're members of the team," adds Monica. "One could even say that we are the most important members of the team and that's a huge responsibility."

Beata, a young mother, takes a broader view, saying, "Space research, expeditions to Mars: these are really fascinating and important things. I know I'll never go into space but at least I'll know I've done all I could for research, for astronauts and for the future and I'm happy when I think that in my own little way I've made a useful contribution."

"One day women will go to Mars," explain Monica and Laurence, "and knowing we will to some extent have made that possible makes us feel as if we have somehow been part of that mission."

Two months in the twinkling of an eye

All the volunteers said that they were surprised at how the 60 days have flown by.

"We were far too busy to ever get bored," jokes Marjo.

In reality, between examinations, physical exercise and psychological monitoring sessions, the days go by very quickly. As Laurence and Nadine point out, "that is also because we are not able to move from our beds and even taking a shower (while lying down) is a time-consuming business."

For those with time on their hands, there is no shortage of things to do: reading, watching TV, using the Internet, but also lessons in Spanish, Portuguese or computing. And especially something which is particularly

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popular with all the volunteers: a visit from the physiotherapists for their daily massage.

The volunteers say they don't suffer too much from the lack of visits because they are in contact with close friends and family every day by phone. "My partner is doing his best to get by without me," says one, with a big beaming smile. Another says, "I speak to my 4-year old son every day on the phone. Of course I miss him but I suppose it is only for three months."

Andromède mission crew members, ESA astronaut Claudie Haigneré, Victor Afanassiev and Konstantin Kozeev, land in Kazakhstan after a 10 day mission to the International Space Station (31 October 2001). Image credit: ESA/CNES.

They have all been surprised not to suffer more from sore backs and headaches, or even mental fatigue, something which is confirmed by the medical team: there has not been a higher incidence of headaches than in a group of women not undergoing bedrest.

That is not to say, however, that there are no effects arising from simulated weightlessness, as Elisabeth points out: "I feel fine, except for the fact that from time to time I forget I've got legs. You are not aware of losing muscle mass but you can see it has occurred."

In the space of two months, friendships have formed between the volunteers and relationships with the scientific and medical teams have also become much stronger.

"They really look after our every little need," says Isabelle. Nadine goes on to say, "It's really terrific the amount of attention we receive. It's so important to us the way the teams are prepared to listen."

"There is a very close relationship with the medical staff and teams. It's nothing like a standard doctor-patient relationship," says Delphine. "Here we all work together, and everything is done to shield us from stress and worry; it is then up to us to do all we can to make their job easier."

A truly enriching experience

When asked what they have got out of the experience, the volunteers claim to be more than satisfied, some even going as far as to say they have changed, and were delighted to find they had learned more about themselves and others. "You discover all kinds of things about yourself. It's amazing how easily both your body and mind adapt," notes Laurence. According to Dorotha, "It's a

truly enriching experience. I've learned so much about myself and have met lots of really interesting people."

Beata summarizes her experience as follows: "It has really enabled me to have a much broader worldview; I really have learned so much. I now have a better understanding of why we go into space, what we do there and how there's really nothing routine and straightforward about it."

"I've gained so much more confidence and self-knowledge," says Delphine. "A bedrest study is a really introspective thing. When I first arrived, I began by thinking about the staff at the clinic and the research they were doing, but as time went on I began to think about space activities and then humanity as a whole. Being cut off from the world, while at the same time being there to contribute something to it really is a lesson in tolerance and open-mindedness."

When asked whether they would be willing to continue with the study for another month it is Dorotha who best sums up the general feeling: "I think I could have but now that I know I'll soon be getting up, I want to get walking again, even though I know it won't be easy straight away."

They all had the same message of encouragement for the volunteers for the second session due to take place in the autumn: "If you're in good health, are open-minded and capable of being patient and want to do your bit for the future, for our children and for space exploration, then why not give it a go!"

Initial results

On 2 June, as this first session of the WISE study draws to a close, a press conference will be organized at the MEDES space clinic, at the Rangueil hospital in Toulouse. Volunteers will be on hand to talk about their experience. Senior figures from ESA, CNES and MEDES, who have been conducting this study in conjunction with NASA and the Canadian Space Agency, will present the initial results from this WISE study session as well as information on preparations for the second session scheduled for the autumn (see attached program). Media representatives wishing to attend this press conference are requested to apply using the attached form.

For more detailed information, please contact: Franco BonacinaESA Media Relations DivisionPhone: +33(0)1.5369.7155Fax: +33(0)1.5369.7690

Dieter IsakeitDirectorate of Human Spaceflight, Microgravity and Exploration ProgrammesPhone: +31(0)71.565.5451Fax: +31(0)71.565.8008

An additional article on this subject is available at http://www.space-travel.com/news/spacetravel-05zi.html.

WISE bedrest study initial results: meet experts and participants Rangueil CHU Hospital , Avenue Jean Poulhes, Toulouse Thursday 2 June

Program

10:30 Registration11:00 "Overview of bedrest studies within ESA’s Human Spaceflight and

Exploration Programme Directorate" by Didier Schmidt, Head of the Life Science Unit, ESA

11:10 "CNES contribution to bed-rest studies" by Guillemette Gauquelin-Koch, CNES

11:20 "Medical aspects of the WISE study" by Dr Arnaud Beck, Coordinating investigator for the WISE study, MEDES

11:30 "Preliminary results of the WISE study" by Dr Peter Jost, Project Manager for the WISE study, ESA

11:40 "Clinical application and the next bedrest campaign" by Laurent Braak, Executive Manager, MEDES

11:50 Q&A with the participants12:30 End of Press Conference; Light snacks13:30 End of event The press conference application follows on the next page.

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Press conference applicationWISE bedrest study initial results: meet experts and participants Thursday 2 June 2005, 11:00 - 12:30 CHU Rangueil, Avenue Jean Poulhes, Toulouse

Surname: ___________________________ First name: _________________________

Media organization: ______________________________________________________

Address: _________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

Phone: _____________________________ Fax: ________________________________

Mobile: ____________________________ E-mail: _____________________________

( ) Will be attending ( ) Will not be attending

Please fax this form back to:Anne-Marie RémondinESA Media Relations DivisionFax: +33(0)1.53.69.7690

DESIGNER PLANTS ON MARSFrom SpaceDaily19 May 2005

Take the cold tolerance of bacteria that thrive in arctic ice, add the ultraviolet resistance of tomato plants growing high in the Andes Mountains, and combine with an ordinary plant. What do you get? A tough plant "pioneer" that can grow in martian soil.

Like customizing a car, NASA-funded scientists are designing plants that can survive the harsh conditions on Mars. These plants could provide oxygen, fresh food, and even medicine to astronauts while living off their waste. They would also improve morale as a lush, green connection to Earth in a barren and alien world. The research is being sponsored by the NASA Institute for Advanced Concepts (NIAC), which investigates revolutionary ideas that could greatly advance NASA's missions in the future.

Read the full article at http://www.spacedaily.com/news/mars-base-05d.html.

STUDENT TEAM TO CONDUCT "REAL-WORLD" SCIENCE AT NASANASA/ARC release 05-34AR19 May 2005

During the week of May 23-27, a team of high school students will have a unique opportunity to conduct its own research using one of NASA's state-of-the-art, ground-based hypergravity facilities. The team of high school students from Troy, MI, named the "Centrifu-G's", won the national Hyper-G contest in January. After winning the contest, the team has conducted experiments with the help of NASA advisors in preparation for its visit to NASA Ames Research Center in California's Silicon Valley. The team will conduct research at Ames using the 8-foot centrifuge, a machine that creates artificial gravity by spinning.

"Hypergravity is levels of gravity above one 'G,' or greater than Earth's gravity," said Jeff Smith, assistant chief of the Ames Gravitational Research Branch. "NASA researchers conduct hypergravity experiments on 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 may change in space or on another planet. This knowledge is essential for the successful realization of the Vision for Space Exploration.

The Hyper-G ISS Centrifuge High School Team Biology Competition allows teams of high school-aged students from across the country to compete by proposing hyper-gravity (increased gravity) experiments.

Centrifu-G's team members will study wound healing in the flatworm, planaria (genus Dugesia), which has many physiological systems in common with human beings. Students hypothesized that flatworms exposed to hypergravity will experience a slower rate of regeneration.

"Studying the combined processes of wound healing and gravity stress in these tiny animals may provide clues as to how wounds will heal in space or on the surface of Mars or the moon, where gravity is less," Smith said.

During the students' visit to Ames, their teacher will help guide them through the scientific process, while learning about hands-on methods in biology, physics and mathematics as they relate to NASA's exploration biology research. In addition, NASA astronaut Janice Voss, a veteran of five space flights, will be the keynote speaker at a student team reception on May 26.

"We are extremely excited to work with the NASA scientists to conduct our experiment. The best part of this entire experience is knowing that this will greatly impact the students' futures, perhaps even inspire them to want to pursue space studies," said Rebecca Johns, Centrifu-G team advisor and a biology teacher at Troy High School.

A team of scientists and engineers from NASA has been guiding the student team through every step of the experimental process. Experts in the field of

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planarian regeneration from the Forsyth Institute Planarian Research Center, Boston, Mass., also have volunteered their expertise to help conduct the experiment.

For more information about the Hyper-G competition on the Web, visit http://lifesci.arc.nasa.gov. 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, CAPhone: 650-604-1939 or 650-604-9000E-mail: nveronico@mail.arc.nasa.gov

MARS MASTER PLAN: NASA OUTLINES NEW APPROACH By Leonard DavidFrom Space.com20 May 2005

As the Spirit and Opportunity rovers continue their extended studies of Mars, NASA's Mars program appears headed for change. The shift will be driven by a variety of factors including technical and budget issues, as well as a "rebalancing" of science objectives. NASA has been engaged since last year in what the agency calls a road-mapping effort to flesh out the details of a Mars master plan that would lead to an expeditionary crew landing on that remote world.

One scenario that has been under active discussion is slipping the mission of the mobile, nuclear-powered Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) from 2009 to 2011. Another possibility was building two MSL rovers to double the data that could be gathered during that mission and reduce program risk.

James Garvin, the chief scientist at NASA headquarters in Washington, said the space agency's science program is undergoing a "rebalancing." He said the status of MSL is still under review, but also said he thinks the prospect for launching two MSL rovers "is long gone."

Read the full article at http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/050520_mars_masterplan.html.

CLUES TO PLANET FORMATION REVEALEDUniversity of Michigan release23 May 2005

The most detailed measurements to date of the dusty disks around young stars confirm a new theory that the region where rocky planets, such as Earth, form is much farther away from the star than originally thought. These first definitive measurements of planet-forming zones offer important clues to the initial conditions that give birth to planets. Understanding planet formation is key to understanding Earth's origins, yet this remains a mysterious process, said John Monnier, assistant professor of astronomy at the University of Michigan and lead author on the paper, "The near-infrared size luminosity relations for Herbig Ae/Be disks" in a recent edition of Astrophysical Journal.

Very young stars are surrounded by thick, rotating disks of gas and dust, which are expected to eventually disappear as material is either pulled into the star, is blown from the disk, or collects into larger pieces of debris. This transition marks the leap from star formation to planet formation. The scientists examined the innermost region of such disks where the star's energy heats the dust to extremely high temperatures. These dusty disks are where the seeds of planets form, where dusty particles stick together and eventually grow to large masses. However, if the dust orbits too close to the star, it evaporates, shutting off any hope of planet formation. It's important to know where the evaporation begins since it has a dramatic effect on planet formation, Monnier said. The initial temperature and density of dust surrounding young stars are critical ingredients for advanced computer models of planet formation.

For the study, scientists looked at young stars that are about one and a half times the mass of the sun. "We can study these stars more in-depth because they are brighter and easier to see," Monnier said.

In the last decade or so, beliefs about the systems that build planets have changed drastically with the onset of powerful observatories that can take

more precise measurements, Monnier said. They found that measurements thought to be accurate were actually very different than originally thought.

Stellar nurseries in the Orion Nebula. Image credit: European Southern Observatory.

For this work, scientists used the two largest telescopes in the world linked together to form the Keck Interferometer. This ultra-powerful duo acts as the ultimate zoom lens allowing astronomers to peer into planetary nurseries with 10X the detail of the Hubble Space Telescope. By combining the light from the two Keck Telescopes, researchers were able to achieve the capabilities of a single telescope that spans a football field, but for a fraction of the cost, Monnier said.

Other key authors were Rafael Millan-Gabet and Rachel Akeson of the Michelson Science Center. Other key institutions included the Caltech-run, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the W. M. Keck Observatory in Kamuela, Hawaii. The Keck Interferometer was funded by NASA and developed and operated by Jet Propulsion Lab, W. M. Keck Observatory, and the Michelson Science Center.

For more information on Monnier, visit http://www.astro.lsa.umich.edu/~monnier/. For U-M Department of Astronomy, visit http://www.astro.lsa.umich.edu. For the Keck Observatory, visit http://www2.keck.hawaii.edu/ .

Journal reference:J. D. Monnier et al., 2005. The near-infrared size-luminosity relations for Herbig Ae/Be disks. Astrophysical Journal, 624:832-840, http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/ApJ/journal/issues/ApJ/v624n2/61763/brief/61763.abstract.html.

Contact:Laura BaileyPhone: 734-647-7087 or 734-647-1848E-mail: baileylm@umich.edu

Read the original news release at http://www.umich.edu/news/index.html?Releases/2005/May05/r052305.

An additional article on this subject is available at http://www.universetoday.com/am/publish/rocky_planets_further_away.html.

ASTRONOMERS, AMATEUR SKYWATCHERS FIND NEW PLANET 15,000 LIGHT YEARS AWAYBy Pam Frost GorderOhio State University release23 May 2005

An international collaboration featuring Ohio State University astronomers has detected a planet in a solar system that, at roughly 15,000 light years from Earth, is one of the most distant ever discovered. In a time when technology is starting to make such finds almost commonplace, this new planet—which is roughly three times the size of Jupiter—is special for several reasons, said Andrew Gould, professor of astronomy at Ohio State. The technique that

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astronomers used to find the planet worked so well that he thinks it could be used to find much smaller planets—Earth-sized planets, even very distant ones. And because two amateur astronomers in New Zealand helped detect the planet using only their backyard telescopes, the find suggests that anyone can become a planet hunter.

Gould and his colleagues have submitted a paper announcing the planet to Astrophysical Journal Letters, and have posted the paper on a publicly available Internet preprint server, http://arXiv.org . The team has secured use of NASA's Hubble Space Telescope in late May to examine the star that the planet is orbiting.

Left: Andrew Gould. Image credit: OSU. Right: 1.3 m Warsaw Telescope, Las Campanas Observatory, Chile. Image credit: OGLE.

The astronomers used a technique called gravitational microlensing, which occurs when a massive object in space, like a star or even a black hole, crosses in front of a star shining in the background. The object's strong gravitational pull bends the light rays from the more distant star and magnifies them like a lens. Here on Earth, we see the star get brighter as the lens crosses in front of it, and then fade as the lens gets farther away.

On March 17, 2005, Andrzej Udalski, professor of astronomy at Warsaw University and leader of the Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment, or OGLE, noticed that a star located thousands of light years from Earth was starting to move in front of another star that was even farther away, near the center of our galaxy. A month later, when the more distant star had brightened a hundred-fold, astronomers from OGLE and from Gould's collaboration (the Microlensing Follow Up Network, or MicroFUN) detected a new pattern in the signal—a rapid distortion of the brightening—that could only mean one thing.

"There's absolutely no doubt that the star in front has a planet, which caused the deviation we saw," Gould said.

Because the scientists were able to monitor the light signal with near-perfect precision, Gould thinks the technique could easily have revealed an even smaller planet.

"If an Earth-mass planet was in the same position, we would have been able to detect it," he said.

OGLE finds more than 600 microlensing events per year using a dedicated 1.3-meter telescope at Las Campanas Observatory in Chile (operated by Carnegie Institution of Washington). MicroFUN is a collaboration of astronomers from the US, Korea, New Zealand, and Israel that picks out those events that are most likely to reveal planets and monitors them from telescopes around the world.

"That allows us to watch these events 24/7," Gould said. "When the sun rises at one location, we continue to monitor from the next."

Two of these telescopes belong to two avid New Zealand amateur astronomers who were recruited by the MicroFUN team. Grant Christie of Auckland used a 14-inch telescope, and Jennie McCormick of Pakuranga used a 10-inch telescope. Both share co-authorship on the paper submitted to Astrophysical Journal Letters. Two other collaborations—the Probing Lensing Anomalies NETwork (PLANET) and Microlensing Observations in Astrophysics (MOA)—also followed the event and contributed to the journal paper.

Ohio State scientists on the project included Darren DePoy and Richard Pogge, both professors of astronomy, and Subo Dong, a graduate student. Other partners hail from Warsaw University in Poland, Princeton University,

Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Universidad de Concepción in Chile, University of Manchester, California Institute of Technology, American Museum of Natural History, Chungbuk National University in Korea, Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute, Massy University in New Zealand, Nagoya University in Japan, and the University of Auckland in New Zealand.

Artist's conception of an extrasolar planet with moons. Image credit: NASA.

This is the second planet that astronomers have detected using microlensing. The first one, found a year ago, is estimated to be at a similar distance.

Gould's initial estimate is that the new planet is approximately 15,000 light years away, but he will need more data to refine that distance, he said. A light year is the distance light travels in a year—approximately six trillion miles.

The OGLE collaboration is funded by the Polish Ministry of Scientific Research and Information Technology, the Foundation for Polish Science, the National Science Foundation, and NASA. Some MicroFUN team members received funding from the National Science Foundation, Harvard College Observatory, the Korea Science and Engineering Foundation, and the Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute.

Contacts:Andrew GouldPhone: 614-292-1892E-mail: gould@astronomy.ohio-state.edu

Pam Frost GorderPhone: 614-292-9475E-mail: Gorder.1@osu.edu

Read the original news release at http://researchnews.osu.edu/archive/nuplanet.htm.

An additional article on this subject is available at http://www.universetoday.com/am/publish/amateurs_help_extrasolar.html.

PLANS FOR THE PHOENIX MARS LANDING MISSION TO BE UNVEILED AT MARS SOCIETY CONFERENCE 11 MAY 2005Mars Society release12 May 2005

Dr. Peter Smith, the Principal Investigator of the Phoenix Mars lander will present the plans for the mission at the 8th International Mars Society convention, University of Colorado, Boulder, August 11-14, 2005. The Phoenix mission was selected by NASA as the first mission to be flown as part of the Mars Scout program, a highly competitive program that allows diverse groups based within industry, academia or government to propose their own missions, and compete for funding based on comparative merit in science, cost and risk. Under the name "Mars Discovery," this program was first proposed by the Mars Society at its Founding Convention in 1998 as an essential way to enrich the robotic Mars exploration program with a broad array of highly creative concepts drawn from across the scientific community.

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In 2000 NASA instituted the concept, and subsequently a competition was held, with Phoenix being selected in August 2003 from a field of over thirty competing concepts. Phoenix will land near the martian north pole in May 2008 to search for evidence that may help resolve the question of the past or present existence of life on the Red Planet. It will do so by making use of the dormant 2001 Mars lander who planned flight was cancelled after the failure of the Mars Polar lander in 1999. This spacecraft will use a soft landing system employing rocket thrusters, instead of airbags. Such soft landing systems will be essential for future human mission

The Phoenix team is led by Dr. Peter Smith and the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory at the University of Arizona in partnership with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Lockheed Martin and the Canadian Space Agency. Further discussion of the Phoenix mission by Dr. Smith is presented below.

The 8th international Mars Society convention will include over 100 talks bearing on all aspects of human and robotic Mars exploration at settlement. If you would like to speak, send an abstract of no more than 300 words by May 31, 2005 to msabstracts@aol.com. While written papers are not required for presentation, we have published most of the written papers delivered at are conferences in book form through Univelt or Apogee books, and we plan to continue that practice with further volumes in the future. Registration for the convention is now open at www.marssociety.org.

Mission summary by Dr. Peter Smith

Briefly, our mission is to land in the northern polar region of Mars (about 70°N latitude) in May 2008 and to expose the upper few feet of surface material using a robotic arm to find the ice that was discovered by the Odyssey mission in 2002. The history of this ice and its interaction with the martian atmosphere will be studied throughout the 3-month primary mission. This ice-rich soil may be one of the few habitable environments on Mars where a biological system can survive.

Our mission is visually represented by the fire and water themes in our logo, designed by Isabelle Tremblay in Canada. Our Canadian partners are providing a capable weather station that provides daily pressure and temperature measurements as well as a sophisticated laser system to scan the lower layer of the atmosphere to determine its turbulence and cloudiness. Samples collected from selected depths from the surface to the putative ice layer are treated in several ways. Some are placed into tiny ovens and cooked to drive off vapors; most sedimentary minerals decompose at high temperature. These vapors are tested in a mass spectrometer to find their composition. Organic material will present an easily identified signature. Another test adds water (brought from Earth) to a special beaker prepared with a small sample of soil. The mixture is stirred and the chemistry of the water is determined. Saltiness, acidity, and oxidants can quickly be determined giving us a good description of the environmental conditions to be found when the ice melts. The final test is to examine samples with a high power microscope to understand the shapes of the grains. An atomic force microscope provided by our Swiss colleagues gives the ultimate resolution of the tiniest grains.

All these tests are documented with images. During descent, we take a nested set of ever higher resolution images of our landing site. These serve to locate us within orbital images. After our landing, using an advance propulsion system, the panoramic imager sweeps the horizon for full color, stereoscopic views. High resolution views of landforms, rocks, and even Danish magnets on the spacecraft deck help us understand the local geology. During digging a camera on the robotic arm examines the sampling and the trenching activities to help us in deciding which soils to sample. The microscopes round out the imaging experiments giving us an unprecedented range of scale from 10s of kilometers to 10s of microns; the ultimate in powers of ten from a single mission.

Since the final selection of the Phoenix Scout mission in August of 2003, we have experienced rapid growth and maturation as a project. The six instruments that compose our science payload have all been through their preliminary reviews and are now in the construction and test phase of their development. The flight system, the mothballed2001 lander, has been thoroughly inspected at Lockheed Martin in preparation for the first major project review in February 2005. Completion and testing of the spacecraft will start in April culminating in a launch in August 2007 from Cape Canaveral in Florida. This year promises to bring rapid progress toward

the completion of our flight hardware so that we can begin testing 16 months before launch.

The Phoenix mission rises from the ashes of previous missions and, after a safe landing on Mars, will take another important step toward understanding our neighboring planet. The rover missions have studied the ancient environments where water created rock layers in the ancient past. Phoenix will try to understand the current processes shaping the important northern plains. Are any signatures of martian life hidden just beneath the surface where icy soil can periodically melt?

Science goals

The Phoenix lander seeks to verify the presence of the martian HolyGrail: water and habitable conditions. In doing so, the mission strongly complements the four goals of NASA's Mars Exploration Program.

Goal 1: Determine whether life ever arose on Mars Continuing the Viking missions' quest, but in an environment know to be water-rich, Phoenix searches for signatures of life at the soil- ice interface just below the martian surface. Phoenix will land in the artic plains, where its robotic arm will dig through the dry soil to reach the ice layer, bring the soil and ice samples to the lander platform, and analyze these samples using advanced scientific instruments. These samples may hold the key to understanding whether the martian arctic is a habitable zone where microbes could grow and reproduce during moist conditions.

Goal 2: Characterize the climate of Mars Phoenix will land during the retreat of the martian polar cap, when cold soil is first exposed to sunlight after a long winter. The interaction between the ground surface and the martian atmosphere that occurs at this time is critical to understanding the present and past climate of Mars. To gather data about this interaction and other surface meteorological conditions, Phoenix will provide the first weather station in the martian polar region, with no others currently planned. Data from this station will have a significant impact in improving global climate models of Mars.

Goal 3: Characterize the geology of Mars As on Earth, the past history of water is written below the surface because liquid water changes the soil chemistry in definite ways. Some scientists speculate the landing site for Phoenix may have be been a deep ocean in the planet's distance past leaving evidence of sedimentation. If fine sediments of mud and silt are found at the site, it may support the hypothesis of an ancient ocean. Alternatively, coarse sediments of sand might indicate past flowing water, especially if these grains are rounded and well sorted. Using the first true microscope on Mars, Phoenix will examine the structure of these grains to better answer these questions about water's influence on the geology of Mars.

Goal 4: Prepare for human exploration. The Phoenix Mission will provide evidence of water ice and assess the soil chemistry in martian arctic. Water will be a critical resource to future human explorers and Phoenix may provide appreciable information on how water may be acquired on the planet. Understanding the soil chemistry will provide understanding of the potential resources available for human explorers to the northern plains.

For further information about the Mars Society, visit our web site at www.marssociety.org.

NASA ANNOUNCES NEW CENTENNIAL CHALLENGENASA release 05-12819 May 2005

NASA, in collaboration with the Florida Space Research Institute (FSRI), today announced a new Centennial Challenges prize competition. The MoonROx (Moon Regolith Oxygen) challenge will award $250,000 to the first team that can extract breathable oxygen from simulated lunar soil before the prize expires on June 1, 2008.

For the MoonROx challenge, teams must develop hardware within mass and power limits that can extract at least five kilograms of breathable oxygen from simulated lunar soil during an eight-hour period. The soil simulant, called JSC-1, is derived from volcanic ash. The oxygen production goals represent technologies that are beyond existing state-of-the-art.

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NASA's Centennial Challenges promotes technical innovation through a novel program of prize competitions. It is designed to tap the nation's ingenuity to make revolutionary advances to support the Vision for Space Exploration and NASA goals.

"The use of resources on other worlds is a key element of the Vision for Space Exploration," said NASA's Associate Administrator for the Exploration Systems Mission Directorate, Craig Steidle. "This challenge will reach out to inventors who can help us achieve the Vision sooner," he added.

"This is our third prize competition, and the Centennial Challenges program is getting more and more exciting with each new announcement. The innovations from this competition will help support long-duration, human and robotic exploration of the moon and other worlds," said Brant Sponberg, NASA's Centennial Challenges program manager.

"Oxygen extraction technologies will be critical for both robotic and human missions to the moon," said FSRI Executive Director Sam Durrance. "Like other space-focused prize competitions, the MoonROx challenge will encourage a broad community of innovators to develop technologies that expand our capabilities," he added.

The Centennial Challenges program is managed by NASA's Exploration Systems Mission Directorate. FSRI is a state-wide center for space research. It was established by Florida's governor and legislature in 1999.

For more information about Centennial Challenges on the Internet, visit http://centennialchallenges.nasa.gov. For more information about NASA and agency programs on the Internet, visit http://www.nasa.gov/home/index.html. For information about the Florida Space Research Institute on the Internet, visit http://www.fsri.org.

Contacts:Michael Braukus or J. D. HarringtonNASA Headquarters, Washington, DCPhone: 202-358-1979 or -5241

Edward EllegoodFlorida Space Research Institute, FLPhone: 321/452-2653 x204

Additional articles on this subject are available at:http://www.space.com/news/050519_moonrox_challenge.htmlhttp://www.universetoday.com/am/publish/air_lunar_soil.html

MARS SOCIETY CONFERENCE UPDATEBy Maggie ZubrinMars Society release

At this time of year there is no place on earth more beautiful than Colorado. The meadows are a vivid green with emerging wildflowers in streaks of blue and yellow. The sky is almost azure and crisp. Elk and deer graze on the shoulders of the winding mountain roads while red tail hawks glide tranquilly on the fragrant breeze. Above it all stand the mountains, still robed in winter white. This morning I head up to Boulder to finalize details of the convention at the University of Colorado. It will be a beautiful drive, a time for mellow contemplation and contentment.

The conference schedule is beginning to shape up. Plenary speakers include Peter Diamandis of the X-Prize foundation and International Space University, Peter Smith of the University of Arizona discussing his NASA scout mission, Stan Borowski on Nuclear Propulsion and many more. The song contest entrants this year have been fantastic and the finals will be a highlight of the convention. The conference facilities, in the club house above Coors Stadium, have a magnificent view of the front range of mountains and are air conditioned and accessible by elevator.

We are looking forward to seeing so many of our old friends and hoping to make many new friends as well. Deadline for early registration is fast

approaching. Remember, your membership must be up to date as of the first day of the conference in order to take advantage of member rates. If you have any questions or difficulties with registering for the convention, please contact me at MarsSocInfo@aol.com.

Your erstwhile executive director has a somewhat busy schedule this summer, so please send your abstracts in as early as possible. Remember, we are interested in hearing from as many voices as possible. Topics include all aspects of science and engineering relating to Mars Exploration but are not limited to research, but also cover politics, funding, art, poetry, theology, farming, architecture and any aspect of human society as it relates to Mars exploration or settlement. It's your special contribution that makes our convention so unique in the field. Send your abstract of roughly 300 words to MSAbstracts@aol.com.

Host hotel information

The host hotel for the convention this year is The Boulder Inn. The Boulder Inn is a short walk from the conference venue. Here is the hotel information and lots more from Ari Rubin, Director of Sales. He asks that anyone needing a room with two beds reserve ASAP, as availability is limited. This letter is to confirm your group rate at the Best Western Boulder Inn. Please have your guests call 800-233-8469 and reference the following information to receive your group discount. Group code: "MARS" Group Dates: August 10-13, 2005 Group Rates: $84 for a room with one bed and $89 for a room with two

beds

Property DescriptionProminently located directly across from the University, the Boulder Inn gives guests easy access to Boulder's principal attractions, premier shopping, and fabulous dining. Stylish, well-appointed rooms reflect a gracious ambiance, found throughout the hotel. During your visit, enjoy our complimentary continental breakfast, free in-room high speed internet access, and 24-hour business center. Other guest facilities include a large outdoor pool, sauna, hot tub, on-site restaurant, and conference center. Our multilingual staff is well known for exceptional personalized service to both business and leisure guests. Unmatched levels of courtesy and comfort, coupled with the captivating backdrop of the majestic Rocky Mountains, will guarantee your perfect stay.

Check in: 3:00 PMCheckout: 11:00 AMComplimentary breakfast served 6:30 AM to 10:00 AM; includes: juices, 3 cereals, English muffins, bagels, doughnuts, assorted fresh fruit, and coffee.

Pictures of the hotel and additional information are available at www.boulderinn.com.

WORKSHOP ON DUST DEVILS: EARTH AND MARSLunar and Planetary Institute release20 May 2005

A workshop will be held September 19-20, 2005, in Flagstaff, Arizona, to discuss recent results from field studies, simulations, laboratory experiments, and observations of active dust devils on Mars. To receive additional information or to register, contact Ronald Greeley at greeley@asu.edu. To apply for student travel support, contact Marguerite Syvertson of the Mars Program Office (mls@jpl.nasa.gov or 818-354-6492).

NEWSCIENTISTSPACE.COM IS LAUNCHEDNew Scientist release20 May 2005

It's been 14 Billion years in the making; now it's here: www.NewScientistSpace.com.

NewScientistSpace.com is a new web site from New Scientist. NewScientistSpace.com brings you the latest news and discoveries from the universe around us. Prepare to be amazed; visit www.NewScientistSpace.com today.

Updated daily, www.NewScientistSpace.com includes the latest space and astronomy news, and contains features on:

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The Solar System Space Technology Human Spaceflight Astronomy

We also keep you updated with in-depth Special Reports on the big stories of the moment. Online now we report on: Mars Rovers Return of the Space Shuttle Cassini: Mission to Saturn Astrobiology

SUITED FOR MARS: AN ADVANCED SPACESUITS SYMPOSIUMMars Society release20 May 2005

Imagine you're 5 kilometers from the habitat module on Mars and your spacesuit has just sprung a leak which will kill you in a few minutes. You really need a repair kit fast. Fortunately you have one and your partner on the EVA applies a fabric cuff made with contractile polymers that with a flip of a switch quickly seals the leak.

Currently we use have no spacesuit built for traversing rough terrain on planetary surfaces which is light enough, can be use for weeks and is field serviceable. The only spacesuits designed, built and used for surface exploration on another planetary body have been the 12 Apollo A7L's and A7LB's used on the Moon's surface six times for just a few hours each. They were truly works of great genius but after only a few hours of use they showed signs of wear. The Moon has very abrasive dust and the bearings which allowed free wrist movement began to show signs of failure as dust got into the works.

To address spacesuits designed issues the Mars Society will launch the first annual Advanced Spacesuits Symposium. With the advances in relevant technologies, such as smart fabrics, electroactive polymers and the demands of the president's new vision for space exploration comes a time to look again at the spacesuit. To protect a human on the surface of a planet a spacesuit must be as complicated as a manned spacecraft making it the most critical piece of human to machine interface hardware possible. Any future surface spacesuit design needs to successfully operate hundreds of hours in dusty environments. This places demands on future spacesuits, which will far exceed the Moon Suits capabilities.

"Suited for Mars: An Advanced Spacesuits Symposium" will take place Friday the 12th of August 1:00 PM to 5:00 PM at the 8th International Mars Society convention that will be held at the University of Colorado, Boulder, August 11-14, 2005.

Aerospace professionals from throughout the industry who have worked on or are simply interested in advanced spacesuit concepts are invited to attend this symposium where we plan to gather all the major players in the field.

Deadlines: 31 May 05 (abstract), 12 August 05 (full paper). Abstracts should be sent via email to msabstract@aol.com.

The Mars Society was founded in 1998 and is a nonprofit organization that promotes the goal of human exploration of the Red Planet. Currently the Mars Society operates two research facilities. Flashline Mars Arctic Research Station (FMARS) located on Canada's Devon Island in the Arctic Circle and the Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS) located in the desert southwest of the United States. The Mars Society has chapters and membership worldwide. For more information about the Mars Society, or to register for the conference, visit www.marssociety.org.

A NEW ISSUE OF THE NAI NEWSLETTER IS AVAILABLENASA Astrobiology Institute release20 May 2005

A new issue of the NAI Newsletter is available: Volume 3, Number 8, May 20th, 2005, http://nai.arc.nasa.gov/newsletter/05202005/index.cfm.

In this issue of the NAI Newsletter: Recently Published Research from the NAI David Jewitt elected to National Academy of Sciences Earth System Processes 2 JENAM 2005 Astrobiology Sessions

Please send news items, comments, and suggestions to the NAI Newsletter editor, Julie Fletcher at jfletcher2@arc.nasa.gov.

CASSINI UPDATESMultiple agencies' releases

Huygens Team Releases First Enhanced Mosaics of TitanBy Lori Stiles, University of Arizona release, 16 May 2005

Scientists on Huygens' Descent Imager Spectral Radiometer (DISR) experiment have generated new views of Saturn's giant moon, Titan. The European Space Agency's Huygens probe descended onto Titan on January 14, 2005. The University of Arizona-led DISR team released mosaics made from raw, unprocessed images days after Huygens landed, but they continue processing the data.

This stereographic projection of Descent Imager/Spectral Radiometer images from the European Space Agency's Huygens probe combines 60 images in 31 triplets, projected from a height of 3,000 meters (9,843 feet) above the black "lakebed" surface. The bright area to the north (top of the image) and west is higher than the rest of the terrain, and covered in dark lines that appear to be drainage channels. Image credit: ESA/NASA/JPL/University of Arizona.

The team now has produced the first enhanced mosaic images. They used special image projection techniques in combining a series of images taken as Huygens rotated on its axis 20 kilometers, or 12.4 miles, above Titan's surface. The images are online at the DISR web site, http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/~kholso/ and the European Space Agency web site, http://www.esa.int/esaCP/index.html.

DISR took a series of photographs of the moon's surface in sets of three, or triplets, as Huygens descended through Titan's atmosphere. The images partially overlap because the probe rotated during the descent and because the fields-of-view of different cameras overlapped. Scientists used physical features seen in more than one image to piece mosaics together like jigsaw puzzles.

The new mosaics are stereographic and gnomonic (pronounced 'no-mahn-ic') projections. These are different ways of showing Titan's three-dimensional surface in two dimensions. Stereo projection squeezes the entire visible surface into one image, so it shows size, area, distance and perspective of

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landscape features, said Mike Bushroe of the UA Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, DISR senior staff engineer. Gnomonic projection is the kind found in maps that navigators and aviators use to determine the shortest distance between two points. Gnomonic projection makes the surface appear flat and distorts scale at the map or mosaic outer edges.

In the new stereographic "fish-eye" view of Titan's surface, the bright area to the north (top of image) and west is higher than the rest of the terrain. The bright area is laced with dark lines believed to be drainage channels leading down to what appears to be a shoreline with river deltas and sand bars.

This mosaic from the Descent Imager/Spectral Radiometer camera on the European Space Agency's Huygens probe combines 17 image triplets, projected from an altitude of 800 meters (2,625 feet). The area covered is approximately 1,300 meters (4,265 feet) across (north at the top of the image). The smallest visible objects visible are less than five meters (16 feet) across, and the dark channels are 30 to 40 meters (98 to 131 feet) wide. Image credit: ESA/NASA/JPL/University of Arizona.

Scientists think the channels are cut by flowing liquid methane. Precipitation run off carved the dense network of narrow channels and features with sharp branching angles, researchers theorize. Sapping or sub-surface flows may have created the short, stubby channels that join at 90-degree angles, they add. The largest run off channel starts at about the 12 o'clock position from an inlet on the shoreline and stretches to the left. The largest sapping channel starts at the 9 o'clock position and continues in a straight line up and left. The dark wide corridor to the west just below the sapping channel is believed to be a major flow channel that empties into the mud flats of the lakebed.

The bright shapes to the northeast and east look to be ridges of ice gravel that are slightly higher than the flats around them. The probe is thought to have landed just southwest of the semi-circular shape. Researchers can't yet explain the light and dark areas to the south.

The gnomonic projection was made from images taken as the probe approached the landing site, and as surface features sharpened. North is at the top of the image. What appears to be a ridge of ice boulders thrusting up through darker lakebed material runs between lower left and upper right in this mosaic. The ice boulders are thought to slow the major flow from the west, causing the fluid to pond on the northwest side of the image and layering the dark material into sediment. Seeps between the boulders cut the sediment into channels as the fluid flows southeast.

University of Arizona Lunar and Planetary Laboratory scientist Martin Tomasko leads the DISR team. Team members are based throughout the United States and Europe, with the largest contributing groups from the UA in the United States, from the Max Planck Institute in Germany, and the Paris Observatory in Meudon, France.

Cassini Significant Events for 5-11 May 2005NASA/JPL release, 13 May 2005

The most recent spacecraft telemetry was acquired Wednesday from the Goldstone tracking station. 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 .

Last week the Cassini Radio Science Subsystem (RSS) along with the Radio Science Systems Group (RSSG) conducted their first ring and atmospheric occultation experiment, and broke a number of records in the process. Three frequency bands were transmitted by the spacecraft and received at the stations of the Deep Space Network; S-, X-, and Ka-band at two polarizations in one-way mode referenced to the ultra stable oscillator. Five stations supported occultation entry simultaneously. A total of 14 open-loop receivers was operated remotely by the RSSG simultaneously, six Radio Science Receivers (RSR) at Goldstone, four at Canberra, and four Very Long Baseline Interferometry Receivers, two at each complex.

Each RSR was recording data at multiple bandwidths leading to a total of almost 200 GBytes of data. This experiment also marked the first time ever of recording Ka-band science data over DSS-34. A special spacecraft limb-tracking maneuver was utilized. This experiment was aimed at studying the ring structure, particle size distribution, and dynamics, as well as the ionospheric composition and atmospheric temperature-pressure profiles.

Among the other "firsts" achieved with this experiment are:1) First diametric ingress-egress radio occultation of Saturn's rings2) First near-equatorial ingress-egress radio occultation of Saturn's

atmosphere and ionosphere3) First planetary radio occultation conducted using three frequencies (X-,

S-, and Ka-bands), transmitted simultaneously from a spacecraft.4) First rings or atmospheric occultation conducted using Ka-band.5) First detected forward scattered signal from Saturn's rings observed at1. S- and Ka-band (X-band scattering was detected by Voyager).6) First detectable man-made radio signals (X/S/Ka) observed during radio

occultation by Saturn's dense Ring B (Voyager X/S signals were blocked by the optically thick Ring B).

This week the Optical Remote Science instruments continued observations of Saturn. The Visual and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (VIMS) imaged the entire rings system while Cassini was still near apoapse, the Ultraviolet Imaging Spectrograph (UVIS) performed mosaics of Saturn's inner magnetosphere, and the fields and particles instruments performed a magnetospheric boundary campaign also near apoapse.

Thursday, May 5 (DOY 125):

Uplink Operations sent commands to the spacecraft today to execute a memory readout (MRO) for the Ion and Neutral Mass Spectrometer, clear the CDS error logs and execute MROs for CDS and ACS, verify and MRO all partitions, MRO the actions log, non interfering, and interfering error logs. What can we say, it was an MRO kind of day. (:>)

Science Planning gave a Cassini presentation at a dinner for the CalTech Y support group. The event brought 110 people to JPL. Cassini Outreach introduced Cassini education resources and the kids section of the web site to 75 educators who host after school programs throughout the Los Angeles area. The educators spent the day at JPL learning about the different opportunities available to them.

Friday, May 6 (DOY 126):

The Cassini Imaging Science Team (ISS) has reported the discovery of a new satellite of Saturn, designated S/2005 S 1, orbiting within the Keeler gap in Saturn's outer A ring. The object had been previously inferred from the presence of features observed on the outer edge of the Keeler gap and was discovered in six images taken over 16 min on May 1 from a time-lapse sequence of narrow- angle-camera exposures that were targeted to the illuminated side of the outer edge of the A ring.

S/2005 S 1 was subsequently found in 32 (7 km/pixel) low-phase images taken of the F ring on April 13 (spanning 18 minutes) and again in two high-resolution (3.54 km/pixel) low-phase images taken on May 2, when its 7-km disk was resolved. The satellite orbits Saturn every 0.594 days at a distance of

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136500 km. The estimated geometric albedo is 0.5. The data at this time are too coarse to yield any statistically significant orbital eccentricity or inclination.

The Spacecraft Operations Office (SCO) radiated an ACS Reaction Wheel Assembly bias to the spacecraft today. The file will execute on DOY 133, Friday of next week.

System Engineering, the Mission Support and Services Office, and other interested stakeholders attended the Deep Space Mission Systems TPS V14.1 Jumpstart Server delivery review. This is the fundamental software product that is used to upgrade all Cassini workstations prior to the installation of telemetry, command, Spacecraft Operations, and Mission Sequence Subsystem software. The review identified no major problems.

ISS used the Automated Sequence Processor (ASP) process to load one of the two flight software patches. This patch was not loaded at the last power cycle because it was still in development. All teams and offices participated in this month's NASA/Cassini Quarterly Review.

Monday, May 9 (DOY 129):

The S11 background sequence was approved today at a final sequence approval meeting. Uplink of instrument expanded block (IEB) files began later in the day with the sequence itself scheduled to go up to the spacecraft on Wednesday. Execution will begin on Friday the 13th.

SCO hosted an uplink readiness review for ACS flight software version A8.7.2. This is a patch delivery that updates parameters. The Software Review/Certification Requirements meeting will be held Wednesday and the software will be uplinked on May 26.

Wednesday, May 11 (DOY 131):

Science Planning hosted a Tour Science Talk today. ISS presented some of their results on Enceladus.

ACS V8.7.2 passed its Software Review/Certification Requirements meeting and is now ready for uplink to the spacecraft. The S13 Project Briefing / Waiver Approval Meeting was held today. S13 is significant in that it is the first time the Program has had to consider splitting the background sequence into two parts. The reason for considering the split is that at this time in development it is just too large to fit into the region of memory assigned to the background sequence. Development is continuing and multiple avenues are being pursued both to reduce the size of the sequence and to develop the process necessary to successfully uplink a two-part sequence. A final decision, to split or not, will be made in early June.

In a memo released today it was announced that a number of Cassini Flight team members are to be recognized with NASA Board Action Space Act Awards.Although the announcement was released this week, the actual ceremony will be held on June 21. Recipients include developers for LMBRRK and Predicts software, Cassini Downlink and Reconciliation Architecture - Cassini Downlink and Reconciliation Subsystem (CDRS), Cassini Main Engine Cover Assembly, and Automation of Ground Processing to Track Spacecraft Memory.

Cassini Significant Events for 12-18 May 2005NASA/JPL release, 20 May 2005

The most recent spacecraft telemetry was acquired Wednesday from the Goldstone tracking station. The Cassini spacecraft is in an excellent state of health and is operating normally. Information on the present position and speed of the Cassini spacecraft may be found on the "Present Position" web page located at http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/operations/present-position.cfm.

On-board science activities this week for the Optical Remote Sensing (ORS) instruments include Ultraviolet Imaging Spectrograph (UVIS) mosaics of Saturn's inner magnetosphere, an Imaging Science Subsystem (ISS) ansa movie of the Encke division and a medium resolution color scan of the rings performed jointly by ISS, the Composite Infrared Spectrometer (CIRS) and Visual and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (VIMS). The suite of Magnetospheric and Plasma Science (MAPS) instruments, which include the Cassini Plasma Spectrometer (CAPS), Cosmic Dust Analyzer (CDA), Ion and Neutral Mass Spectrometer (INMS), Magnetometer Subsystem (MAG),

Magnetospheric Imaging Instrument (MIMI) and Radio and Plasma Wave Science (RPWS), will simultaneously perform low-rate magnetospheric surveys.

Thursday, May 12 (DOY 132):

Today a combined Cassini Design Team meeting and Instrument Operations Working Group was held so that topics of interest to both groups could be presented at one time. On the agenda was a demonstration of a Cassini adaptation of a new configuration management system. The second item was presented by Mission Planning and addressed the ongoing development of the maneuver cancellation process.

Friday, May 13 (DOY 133):

Spacecraft Operations Office (SCO) personnel held a flight software (FSW) uplink procedure walk-through in preparation for sending the CAPS, CDA, and ISS FSW up to the spacecraft. Uplinks are scheduled to begin next week.

Navigation released the orbit determination (OD) solution today for the DOY 140-143 Live Inertial Vector Propagator (IVP) update and DOY 141 Live Moveable Block. The live update process for both changes was started.Teams will spend the weekend analyzing the OD in preparation for a Go/No Go meeting to be held Monday.

Today the S10 Sequence Leads officially handed the keys of the spacecraft over to the S11 leads. S11 runs for 35 days from 2005-134T02:50:00 to 2005-169T01:34:00, May 14 through June 18. There are no Orbit Trim Maneuvers or targeted encounters during this sequence, but there are two non-targeted flybys, one each of Enceladus and Titan. The Radio Science Subsystem (RSS) will continue their occultation campaign with VIMS and UVIS also performing occultation experiments.

Saturday, May 14 (DOY 134):

Thirty Cassini Program staff volunteered for JPL's annual open house held this weekend May 14-15. Cassini displays included a 1/10-scale model of the Cassini spacecraft and beautiful images taken by the instruments aboard Cassini. In addition, a series of four display banners depicting Saturn's moons, spectacular rings, Titan, and Saturn were debuted along with an updated version of the Ring World DVD. The DVD was shown 22 times over the weekend and over 20,000 Cassini Mission bookmarks were distributed. Additional Cassini members volunteered in other display areas and handed out maps, answered questions and greeted our guests both days.

Cassini Outreach and local Saturn Observation Campaign members held two local viewing events May 13 and 14. Over 650 excited viewers saw the planet Saturn with its beautiful rings and the Cassini division plus five of the eight visible moons, including Titan and Iapetus. During the Saturday event, in a local city park, three additional people brought their own telescopes to share with the public.

Sunday, May 15 (DOY 135):

RSS conducted Operations Readiness tests on both Saturday and Sunday. These tests are performed on a regular basis prior to each of the occultation events between now and September. The second of eight occultation observations occurs on May 21.

Monday, May 16 (DOY 136):

Science Planning kicked off the Science Operations Plan Update Process for S14 today. The go was given at today's Go/No Go Live Update meeting. The necessary files will be generated, and uplinked to the spacecraft on Wednesday. The Live IVP update will begin execution on Thursday May 19, and the Live Movable Block will execute on Saturday the 21st. A Titan Atmospheric Working Group meeting was held today.

ISS performed a test in the Integrated Test Laboratory of cold start procedures and of camera readout timing. Analysis of the test will begin as soon as the data is received from the lab.

Tuesday, May 17 (DOY 137):

Spacecraft Operations Office (SCO) personnel held a flight software (FSW) uplink procedure walk-through in preparation for sending the ACS version

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8.7.2 FSW up to the spacecraft. Uplink will occur on May 26.

The S13 Science and Sequence Update Process kickoff meeting was held today. Stripped sequence files were sent out to the team members for review, and the first cut at the Sub-Sequence Generation products was produced.

Wednesday, May 18 (DOY 138):

Today the Rings Target Working Team hosted a Rings Science Highlight Meeting. This was an open meeting for Cassini-Huygens Project personnel, and anyone interested in a preview of rings science objectives and activities. The meeting encompassed an overview of all the rings science that has been planned for the first set of inclined orbits (revs 6 thru 14). The meeting was presented via teleconference with presentations made from all around the US. A Huygens-eye view of Titan's surface is Astronomy Picture of the Day today.

The moon Dione is eclipsed here by the narrow band of Saturn's rings, which in this image display one of the interesting ways that they transmit light. Dione is 1,118 kilometers (695 miles) across. Researchers using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope noticed during the 1995 Saturn ringplane crossing that the brightness of the rings when viewed nearly edge-on was dominated by the F ring. In this image, the near and far edges of the F ring form the bright upper and lower boundaries of the rings. The dark strip in between is not empty (otherwise Dione would likely be visible there), but rather represents the material in the A and B rings. This view shows principally the Saturn-facing hemisphere on Dione. The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on March 13, 2005, at a distance of approximately 2.1 million kilometers (1.3 million miles) from Tethys. Resolution in the image is 13 kilometers (8 miles) per pixel. Image credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute.

Cassini Radio Signals Decipher Saturn Ring StructureNASA/JPL release 2005-083, 23 May 2005 The Cassini spacecraft has obtained the most detailed look ever at Saturn's rings, including the B ring, which has eluded previous robotic explorers. Its structure seems remarkably different from its two neighbors, rings A and C. The origin of Saturn's rings is a mystery. The rings are an enormous, complex structure. From edge-to-edge, the ring system would not even fit in the distance between Earth and the Moon. The seven main rings are labeled in the order they were discovered. From the planet outward, they are D, C, B, A, F, G and E. During a recent radio experiment, Cassini mapped this structure with clarity never before available. This is the first of many such observations Cassini will be conducting over the summer.

"The structure of those remarkable rings is a sight to behold. All ring features appear to be populated by a broad range of particle sizes that extend to many meters in diameter at the upper end," said Dr. Essam Marouf, Cassini radio science team member and professor of electrical engineering, San Jose State University, San Jose, CA.

Marouf said that at the lower end, particles of about 5 centimeters (roughly 2 inches) in diameter or less seem to be scarce in ring B and inner ring A. In rings C and outer ring A, particles of less than about 5 centimeters (2 inches) in diameter seem to be abundant. Cassini found that the inner and outer parts of ring B contain rings that are hundreds of kilometers wide (hundreds of miles) and vary greatly in the amount of material they contain. A thick, 5,000-kilometer-wide (3,100-mile) core contains several bands with ring

material that is nearly four times as dense as that of ring A and nearly 20 times as dense as that of ring C. The dramatically varying structure of ring B is in sharp contrast to the relatively flat structure of ring A or the gentle, wavy structure of ring C, where many dense, narrow and sharp-edged ringlets permeate its outer part.

Specially designed Cassini orbits place Earth and Cassini on opposite sides of Saturn's rings, a geometry known as occultation. Cassini conducted the first radio occultation observation of Saturn's rings on May 3, 2005. Purple color indicates regions where there is a lack of particles of size less than 5 centimeters (about 2 inches). Green and blue shades indicate regions where there are particles smaller than 5 centimeters (2 inches) and 1 centimeter (less than one third of one inch). The saturated broad white band near the middle of ring B is the densest region of ring B, over which two of the three radio signals were blocked at 10-kilometer (6-mile) resolution, preventing accurate color representation over this band. From other evidence in the radio observations, all ring regions appear to be populated by a broad range particle size distribution that extends to boulder sizes (several to many meters across). Image credit: NASA/JPL.

Cassini also detected more than 40 wavy features called "density waves" in ring A, many near its outer region, close to the moons orbiting just outside the ring. The density wave observations will tell more about the ring surface mass density, its vertical thickness and other physical properties. "A marvelous array of waves, caused by gravitational interactions with nearby moons, has been uncovered throughout ring A," said Marouf. "We also see a major density wave in the dense ring B. Some of these waves have been seen in Voyager and other Cassini observations, but not in this large number and not with this exceptional clarity."

Cassini conducted this first radio occultation observation of Saturn's rings, atmosphere and ionosphere on May 3, 2005. An occultation means that if you watch Cassini from Earth, Cassini would appear occulted, or hidden, behind the rings. During a radio occultation, Cassini sends a radio signal from the spacecraft through the rings to Earth. Scientists then watch how the strength of the radio signal is affected as the signal passes through ring material. The denser a ring is, the weaker the signal received. The experiment helps scientists map the distribution of the amount of ring material and determine the ring particle sizes.The occultation was the first ever to use three radio signals of different frequencies (called Ka, X and S) transmitted simultaneously from a spacecraft to Earth-receiving stations of NASA's Deep Space Network. Ring particles of different sizes affect each frequency differently.

The Cassini tour was specifically designed to optimize the geometry of the first radio occultation experiment and seven other occultations scheduled from May to September 2005. These observations are at the heart of Cassini's fundamental science objectives of characterizing and understanding Saturn and its ring system. During its lifetime, Cassini will obtain 20 radio occultations and 80 stellar occultations, providing far more detailed knowledge of the ring structures.

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This simulated image was constructed from the measured optical depth profiles of the Cassini Division and ring A. It depicts the observed structure at about 10 kilometers (6 miles) in resolution. The image shows the ring A region using a different color scheme to enhance the view of a remarkable array of over 40 wavy features called "density waves" uncovered in the May 3 radio occultation throughout ring A. Color is used to represent information about ring particle sizes based on the measured effects of the three radio signals. Shades of red indicate regions where there is a lack of particles less than 5 centimeters (about 2 inches) in diameter. Green and blue shades indicate regions where there are particles of sizes smaller than 5 centimeters (2 inches) and 1 centimeter (less than one third of an inch), respectively. Image credit: NASA/JPL.

For images and information on the Cassini mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and http://www.nasa.gov/cassini.

The Cassini-Huygens mission to Saturn and Titan is a joint mission of NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Italian Space Agency (ASI). ESA supplied and manages the Huygens probe that descended to Titan's surface January 14, 2005. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington, DC. NASA funded the Descent Imager-Spectral Radiometer, which was built by Lockheed Martin.

Contact:Carolina MartinezJet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CAPhone: 818-354-9382

Additional articles on this subject are available at:http://www.astrobio.net/news/article1558.htmlhttp://www.spacedaily.com/news/cassini-05zx.htmlhttp://www.spacedaily.com/news/cassini-05zy.htmlhttp://www.spacedaily.com/news/cassini-05zz.htmlhttp://www.spacedaily.com/news/saturn-titan-05w.htmlhttp://www.spacedaily.com/news/cassini-05zza.htmlhttp://spaceflightnow.com/cassini/050510wavemaker.htmlhttp://spaceflightnow.com/cassini/050514rhea.htmlhttp://www.universetoday.com/am/publish/new_moon_saturn_waves.htmlhttp://www.universetoday.com/am/publish/iapetus_consume_saturn_ring.htmlhttp://www.universetoday.com/am/publish/dione_tethys_saturn.htmlhttp://www.universetoday.com/am/publish/mosaic_titan_surface.htmlhttp://www.universetoday.com/am/publish/titan_atmosphere_familiar.htmlhttp://www.universetoday.com/am/publish/enceladus_above_rings.html

DEEP IMPACT MISSION STATUS REPORTNASA/JPL release 2005-07513 May 2005

Fifty-nine days before going head-to-head with comet Tempel 1, NASA's Deep Impact spacecraft successfully executed the second trajectory correction maneuver of the mission. The burn further refined the spacecraft's trajectory, or flight path, and also moved forward the expected time of the Independence Day comet encounter so impact would be visible by ground- and space-based observatories. The 95-second burn—the longest remaining firing of the spacecraft's motors prior to comet encounter—was executed on May 4. It changed Deep Impact's speed by 18.2 kilometers per hour (11.3 miles per hour).

Spacecraft performance has been excellent, and this burn was no different," said Rick Grammier, Deep Impact project manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA. "It was a textbook maneuver that placed us right on the money."

Right on the money is where Deep Impact has to be to place a 1-meter-long (39-inch) impactor spacecraft in the path of a comet about as big as the island of Manhattan that is bearing down on it at 37,100 kilometers per hour (6.3 miles per second). At the same time, from a very comet-intimate distance of 500 kilometers (310 miles), a flyby spacecraft will be monitoring the event. This all occurs in the wee hours of July 4 at 1:52 AM Eastern time (July 3, 10:52 PM Pacific time)—at a distance of 133.6 million kilometers (83-million miles) from Earth.

"With this maneuver our friends working the Hubble Space Telescope are assured a ringside seat," said Deep Impact Principal Investigator Dr. Michael A'Hearn of the University of Maryland, College Park. "Their observations, along with space telescopes Chandra and Spitzer and numerous ground-based observatories, will provide us with the most scientific bang for our buck with Deep Impact."

Deep Impact is comprised of two parts, a "flyby" spacecraft and a smaller "impactor." The impactor will be released into the comet's path before a planned high-speed collision on July 4. The crater produced by the impact could range in size from the width of a large house up to the size of a football stadium, and from 2 to 14 stories deep. Ice and dust debris will be ejected from the crater, revealing the material beneath.

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 comet Tempel 1 at a speed of about 37,100 kilometers per hour (23,000 miles per hour).

The overall Deep Impact mission management for this Discovery class program is conducted by the University of Maryland in College Park, MD. Deep Impact project management is handled by JPL. The spacecraft was built for NASA by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corporation, Boulder, CO.

Current mission updates are available at http://deepimpact.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/update-200505.html. For more information about Deep Impact on the Internet, visit http://www.nasa.gov/deepimpact. For more information about NASA on the Internet, visit http://www.nasa.gov.

Contacts:D.C. AgleJet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CAPhone: 818-393-9011 Dolores Beasley/Erica Hupp NASA Headquarters, Washington, DCPhone: 202-358-1753/1237

Additional articles on this subject are available at:http://www.spacedaily.com/news/comet-05l.htmlhttp://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0505/15deepimpact/http://www.universetoday.com/am/publish/deep_impact_2nd_correction.html

MER UPDATESNASA/JPL releases20 May 2005

Spirit finished work at the target "Reef". Over the weekend (May 14 and 15), Spirit performed work using the instruments on the robotic arm on a target informally called, "Davis" on "Jibsheet". Work included use of the microscopic imager, the rock abrasion tool brush, a long alpha particle X-ray spectrometer integration, and a long Mössbauer spectrometer integration. Spirit spent 2 sols (May 17 and 18) driving to "Larry's Outcrop". Upon arrival, Spirit took detailed navigation camera and panoramic camera observations in support of possible robotic arm work on Larry's Outcrop. Spirit remains in excellent health. Total odometry as of May 19, 2005, is 4,368.07 meters (2.71 miles).

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Opportunity continues to make inch-by-inch progress toward getting out of the dune where it has been dug-in since sol 446 (April 26).

Sol 467 (May 17): Opportunity was commanded to rotate its wheels enough to have rolled 4 meters (13 feet) if there were no slippage. It advanced 2.1 centimeters (0.8 inch) through the loose material of the dune.

Sol 468: A commanded motion of 8 meters (26 feet) was executed this sol. Forward progress was about 4 centimeters (1.6 inches).

Sol 469: A 2-meter (7-foot) drive was commanded, and Opportunity advanced about 1 centimeter (0.4 inch).

Sol 470 (May 20): The rover was sent commands for a 12-meter (39-foot) drive. This drive incorporates larger step sizes, lower current limits for the drive motors, and a lower bogie angle limit.

Current MER updates are available at http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/status.html.

Additional articles on this subject are available at:http://www.astrobio.net/news/article1555.htmlhttp://www.marsdaily.com/news/mars-mers-05zx.htmlhttp://www.marsdaily.com/news/mars-mers-05zzb.htmlhttp://www.marsdaily.com/news/mars-mers-05zzc.htmlhttp://www.space.com/missionlaunches/ap_050512_rover_stuck.htmlhttp://www.spacedaily.com/news/mars-mers-05zw.htmlhttp://www.spacedaily.com/news/mars-mers-05zy.htmlhttp://www.spacedaily.com/news/mars-mers-05zz.htmlhttp://www.spacedaily.com/news/mars-mers-05zza.htmlhttp://www.spacedaily.com/news/mars-mers-05zzd.html

MARS EXPRESS UPDATESESA releases

First MARSIS boom successfully deployedESA release, 11 May 2005

This is an impression of how the first stage of deployment looks for the Mars Express MARSIS experiment. The 13 segments of the first 20-meter boom have sprung out and locked into place. The MARSIS experiment will map the Martian sub-surface structure to a depth of a few kilometers. The instrument's 40-meter long antenna booms will send low frequency radio waves towards the planet, which will be reflected from any surface they encounter. Image credit: ESA.

Thanks to a maneuver performed on 10 May 2005 at 20:20 CET, ESA flight controllers have successfully completed the deployment of the first boom of the MARSIS radar on board ESA's Mars Express spacecraft. After the start of the deployment of the first 20-meter boom on 4 May, analysis by flight controllers at ESA’s European Space Operations Centre, Darmstadt, Germany, had shown that although 12 out of the 13 boom segments were in place, one of the outermost segments, possibly No. 10, had deployed but was

not locked into position. Deployment of the second (20 m) and third (7 m) booms was suspended pending a full analysis and assessment of the situation.

As prolonged storage in the cold conditions of outer space could affect the fiberglass and Kevlar material of the boom, the mission team decided to slew (or swing) the 680 kg spacecraft so that the Sun would heat the cold side of the boom. It was hoped that as the cold side expanded in the heat, it would force the unlocked segment into place. After an hour, Mars Express was pointed back to Earth, and contact re-established at 04:50 CET on 11 May. A detailed analysis of the data received showed that all segments had successfully locked and Boom 1 was fully deployed. The operations to deploy the remaining two booms could be resumed in a few weeks, after a thorough analysis and investigation of the Boom 1 deployment characteristics.

The Mars Express Sub-Surface Sounding Radar Altimeter (MARSIS) experiment is to map the martian sub-surface structure to a depth of a few kilometers. The instrument's 40-meter long antenna booms will send low frequency radio waves towards the planet, which will be reflected from any surface they encounter. MARSIS is one of the seven science experiments carried on board Mars Express, one of the most successful missions ever flown to the Red Planet. Mars Express was launched on 2 June 2003 and entered Mars orbit in December 2003.

Read the original news release at http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Mars_Express/SEMY3R5TI8E_0.html.

Mars Express photographed by Mars Global SurveyorESA release, 19 May 2005

ESA’s Mars Express spacecraft was photographed by NASA's Mars Global Surveyor on 20 April 2005. This is the first successful imaging of any spacecraft orbiting another planet taken by another spacecraft orbiting that planet.

This image was taken by the Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) on NASA's Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft on 20 April 2005. It is a composite of two views of Mars Express taken from distances of about 250 and 370 kilometers. Mars Express appears as a narrow blur rather than as a well-defined spacecraft shape, about 1.5 meters high and 15 meters long, which is consistent with the viewing distance, pixel scale and encounter geometry. The MOC can resolve features on the surface of Mars as small as few meters from an orbital altitude of 350 to 405 kilometers. It can resolve objects smaller than one meter across from an altitude of 100 kilometers. Image credit: NASA/JPL/MSSS.

The picture is a composite of two views of Mars Express that the NASA spacecraft took with its on-board Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC), from distances of about 250 and 370 kilometers. Mars Express appears in the image as a narrow blur rather than as a well-defined spacecraft shape. This is due to the large distance between the two spacecraft when the two images could be taken and due to a strong effect of apparent motion which could not be corrected for. Mars Express appears to be about 1.5 meters high and 15 meters long, which is consistent with the viewing distance, pixel scale and encounter geometry. The components of Mars Express when viewed from the same angle as this image can be seen in an artist's rendition.

Since January 2004, Mars Express has been orbiting the Red Planet in a highly elliptical polar orbit, now ranging between 310 and 10 080 kilometers from the planet’s surface. Mars Global Surveyor has been orbiting Mars since September 1997 in a near-circular near-polar orbit, currently at an average altitude of 380 kilometers during its mapping phase. Mars Express operations are managed by the ESA’s European Space Operations Centre (ESOC),

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Darmstadt, Germany. Mars Global Surveyor is managed by JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, DC.

Contact:Fred Jansen, ESA Mars Express Mission ManagerE-mail: fjansen@rssd.esa.int

Read the original news release at http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Mars_Express/SEMI5QZCU8E_0.html.

Additional articles on this subject are available at:http://www.astrobio.net/news/article1560.htmlhttp://www.astrobio.net/news/article1562.htmlhttp://www.space.com/missionlaunches/050512_marsis_boom.htmlhttp://www.spacedaily.com/news/marsexpress-05r.htmlhttp://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0505/11marsradar/http://www.universetoday.com/am/publish/first_marsis_boom_fixed.html

MARS GLOBAL SURVEYOR IMAGESNASA/JPL/MSSS release5-18 May 2005

The following new images taken by the Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) on the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft are now available.

MGS Finds Viking Lander 2 and Mars Polar Lander (Maybe) (Released 05 May 2005)http://www.msss.com/mars_images/moc/2005/05/05

Stokes Crater Dunes (Released 06 May 2005)http://www.msss.com/mars_images/moc/2005/05/06

Old Crater (Released 07 May 2005)http://www.msss.com/mars_images/moc/2005/05/07

Russell Dune Gullies (Released 08 May 2005)http://www.msss.com/mars_images/moc/2005/05/08

MGS MOC Best Views of Viking Lander 1 and Mars Pathfinder (Released 09 May 2005)http://www.msss.com/mars_images/moc/2005/05/09

Mars at Ls 211 Degrees (Released 10 May 2005)http://www.msss.com/mars_images/moc/2005/05/10

Athabasca Streamlines (Released 11 May 2005)http://www.msss.com/mars_images/moc/2005/05/11

Spring Defrosting (Released 12 May 2005)http://www.msss.com/mars_images/moc/2005/05/12

Gullied Wall (Released 13 May 2005)http://www.msss.com/mars_images/moc/2005/05/13

Old Crater Bottom (Released 14 May 2005)http://www.msss.com/mars_images/moc/2005/05/14

Inverted Channels (Released 15 May 2005)http://www.msss.com/mars_images/moc/2005/05/15

Cross-Cutting Faults (Released 16 May 2005)http://www.msss.com/mars_images/moc/2005/05/16

Mars at Ls 211 Degrees (Released 17 May 2005)http://www.msss.com/mars_images/moc/2005/05/17

Broken Sedimentary Rocks (Released 18 May 2005)http://www.msss.com/mars_images/moc/2005/05/18

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.

ONE MARS ORBITER TAKES FIRST PHOTOS OF OTHER ORBITERS NASA/JPL image advisory 2005-08019 May 2005

Photographs from NASA's Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft released today are the first pictures ever taken of a spacecraft orbiting a foreign planet by another spacecraft orbiting that planet. The new images of the European Space Agency's Mars Express and NASA's Mars Odyssey are available on the Internet from NASA at http://www.nasa.gov/vision/universe/solarsystem/mgs-images.html and from Malin Space Science Systems, the San Diego company that built and operates the camera, at http://www.msss.com/mars_images/moc/2005/05/19/index.html.

MOC images and a computer drawing of the Mars Odyssey spacecraft. Image credit: NASA/JPL/MSSS.

Mars Express was passing about 155 miles away when the Mars Orbiter Camera on Mars Global Surveyor photographed it on April 20. The next day, the camera caught Mars Odyssey passing 56 to 84 miles away. All three spacecraft are moving at almost 7,000 miles per hour, and at 62 miles distance the field-of-view of the Mars Orbiter Camera is only 830 yards across. If timing had been off by only a few seconds, the images would have been blank.

MOC image and artist's rendition of the Mars Express spacecraft. Image credit: NASA/JPL/MSSS.

The images were obtained by the Mars Global Surveyor operations teams at Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver; JPL and Malin Space Science Systems. Mars Global Surveyor has been orbiting Mars since 1997, Mars Odyssey since 2001. Both are managed for NASA by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, CA. Mars Express has been in orbit since late 2003. Contacts:Guy Webster Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CAPhone: 818-354-6278 Michael Ravine Malin Space Science Systems, San Diego, CA

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Phone: 858-552-2650 x500 Dolores Beasley NASA Headquarters, Washington, DCPhone: 202-358-1753

Additional articles on this subject are available at:http://www.astrobio.net/news/article1566.htmlhttp://www.spacedaily.com/news/mars-surveyor-05a.htmlhttp://www.universetoday.com/am/publish/photo_mars_odyssey_orbit.html

MARS ODYSSEY THEMIS IMAGESNASA/JPL/ASU release9-20 May 2005

Auream Chaos (Released 9 May 2005)http://themis.la.asu.edu/zoom-20050509a.html

Aureum Chaos: Another View (Released 10 May 2005)http://themis.la.asu.edu/zoom-20050510a.html

Coprates Chasma (Released 11 May 2005)http://themis.la.asu.edu/zoom-20050511a.html

Hebes Chasma Wall (Released 12 May 2005)http://themis.la.asu.edu/zoom-20050512a.html

Candor Chasma (Released 13 May 2005)http://themis.la.asu.edu/zoom-20050513a.html

Deuteronilus Mensae (Released 16 May 2005)http://themis.la.asu.edu/zoom-20050516a.html

Antoniadi Crater (Released 17 May 2005)http://themis.la.asu.edu/zoom-20050517a.html

Moreux Crater Dunes (Released 18 May 2005)http://themis.la.asu.edu/zoom-20050518a.html

Mawrth Valles (Released 19 May 2005)http://themis.la.asu.edu/zoom-20050519a.html

Downstream in Mawrth Valles (Released 20 May 2005)http://themis.la.asu.edu/zoom-20050520a.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 18.

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