MARSBUGS:  The Electronic Exobiology Newsletter
Volume 3, Number 4, 17th June, 1996.

Co-editors:

David Thomas, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Idaho, Moscow,
ID, 83843, USA, thoma457@uidaho.edu.

Julian Hiscox, Microbiology Department, BBRB 17, Room 361, University of
Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294-2170, USA, 
Julian_hiscox@micro.microbio.uab.edu.

MARSBUGS is published on a weekly to quarterly basis as warranted by the
number of articles and announcements. Copyright exists with the co-editors,
except for specific articles, in which instance copyright exists with the
author/authors.  E-mail subscriptions are free, and may be obtained by
contacting either of the editors. Contributions are welcome, and should be
submitted to either of the two editors. Contributions should include a short
biographical statement about the author(s) along with the author(s)'
correspondence address.  Subscribers are advised to make appropriate inquiries
before joining societies, ordering goods etc.

INDEX

1)	SPACE COMMERCIALIZATION AND TECHNOLOGY DEMONSTRATIONS HIGHLIGHT SHUTTLE
MISSION STS-77
NASA Release 96-83

2)	SPACE STATION AIR PURIFICATION SYSTEM COMPLETES MAJOR TEST
NASA Release 96-96

3)	MARS PATHFINDER STATUS
Tony Spear

4)	MARS GLOBAL SURVEYOR STATUS
Glenn Cunningham

5)	MARS GLOBAL SURVEYOR DONS ITS SCIENCE PAYLOAD
JPL Press Release

6)	CHEMICAL MEASUREMENTS OF COMET HYAKUTAKE SUGGEST A NEW CLASS OF COMETS
NASA Release 96-108

7)	NASA ROBOT MAY ENHANCE BRAIN SURGERY
NASA Release 96-110

8)	CALL FOR PAPERS--THE CASE FOR MARS VI

9)	OBJECTIVE OF THE CASE FOR MARS VI
Tom Meyer 

10)	SPECIAL OPPORTUNITY FOR EDUCATORS [concurrent with CFM VI]

11)	WHAT'S NEW ON THE CASE FOR MARS WEB SITE?

12)	THE CASE FOR MARS VI REGISTRATION AND PRESENTATION RESPONSE FORM
-----------------------------------------------------------

SPACE COMMERCIALIZATION AND TECHNOLOGY DEMONSTRATIONS HIGHLIGHT SHUTTLE 
MISSION STS-77
NASA Release 96-83

[Sorry, but this comes a little late.  --eds.]

NASA's fourth Shuttle mission of 1996 is devoted to the continuing effort to
help open the commercial space frontier.  During the flight, designated
STS-77, Endeavour and a six-person crew will perform microgravity research
aboard the commercially owned and operated SPACEHAB Module.  Endevour's crew
also will deploy and retrieve a research satellite and perform rendezvous
operations with a test satellite.

Launch of Endeavour is currently targeted for May 16, 1996 at approximately
6:32 a.m. EDT from Kennedy Space Center's Launch Complex 39-B.  The STS-77
mission is forecast to last 10 days, 0 hours, 37 minutes.  The actual STS-77
flight duration will be determined by power consumption and the amount of
cryogenic fuel available to support Endeavour's electrical power system
depending on how close to the target launch date Endeavour actually begins its
mission.  Mission Control in Houston will closely monitor power consumption
along with cryo reserves.  Shuttle managers will have the option of shortening

the mission one day if necessary.  An on-time launch and full 10-day mission
duration will result in a landing on May 26 at 7:09 a.m. EDT at Kennedy Space
Center's Shuttle Landing Facility, FL.

The STS-77 crew is commanded by John Casper, making his fourth Shuttle flight.
 The pilot for the mission, Curt Brown, is making his third flight.  There are
four mission specialists assigned to the flight.  Andrew Thomas, serving as
Mission Specialist-1, is making his first flight.  Mission Specialist-2 is Dan
Bursch is making his third flight.  Mario Runco, serving as Mission
Specialist-3, also is making his third flight.  Mission Specialist-4 is
Canadian astronaut Marc Garneau, who is flying in space for the second time.

Over 90 percent of the payloads aboard Endeavour are being sponsored by NASA's
Office of Space Access and Technology, Washington, DC, through its Commercial
Space Centers and their industrial affiliates.  Primary payloads include
experiments flying aboard the pressurized, commercially-developed SPACEHAB
Module, the Inflatable Antenna Experiment to be deployed aboard the
free-flying Spartan-207 carrier spacecraft, and a suite of four technology
experiments known as "TEAMS," in the Shuttle's payload bay.

Additionally, secondary experiments on the flight will include a "Brilliant 
Eyes" cryo-cooling experiment, a facility for examining the effect of
microgravity on small aquatic creatures, and a small facility for examining
the microgravity effects on simple living systems.

In 1990 NASA contracted SPACEHAB, Inc. for the lease of their SPACEHAB Space
Research Laboratories for a series of flights.  STS-77 marks the fourth flight
of the SPACEHAB under this contract.

The SPACEHAB single module will be carrying nearly 3,000 pounds of experiments
and support equipment for 12 commercial space product development payloads in
the areas of biotechnology, electronic materials, polymers and agriculture as
well as several experiments for other NASA payload organizations.  One of
these, the Commercial Float Zone Facility (CFZF) has been developed through
international collaboration between the U.S., Canada and Germany. It will heat
various samples of electronic and semi-conductor material through the float
zone technique.

Another facility on SPACEHAB will be the Space Experiment Facility (SEF),
which will grow crystals by vapor diffusion. This experiment is expected to
yield large, defect-free crystals that are important for electronic
applications and remote sensing.

In addition to the SPACEHAB module, the Goddard Space Flight Center's 
deployable Spartan 207 is another one of the primary payloads on this flight
and the most ambitious Spartan mission to date. It will deploy and test the
Inflatable Antenna Experiment (IAE).  The IAE experiment is meant to lay the
groundwork for future technology development in inflatable space structures
and will be launched and inflated like a balloon on orbit.  The experiment
will validate the deployment (inflation) and performance of a large inflatable
antenna during a ninety- minute mission.  The antenna structure then will be
jettisoned and the Spartan spacecraft recovered at mission end.

Inside Endeavour's cargo bay will be four experiments called Technology 
Experiments for Advancing Missions in Space (TEAMS):  The Global Positioning
System (GPS) Attitude and Navigation Experiment (GANE) will determine to what
accuracy the GPS system can supply attitude information to a space vehicle;
the Vented Tank Resupply Experiment (VTRE) will test improved methods for
in-space refueling; the Liquid Metal Thermal Experiment (LMTE), which will
evaluate the performance of liquid metal heat pipes in microgravity
conditions, and the Passive Aerodynamically Stabilized Magnetically Damped
Satellite (PAMS) payload will be a technology demonstration of the principle
of aerodynamic stabilization in the upper atmosphere of low-Earth orbit.  
Cameras on the Shuttle will record the PAMS satellite as it is deployed. Later
during the mission the Shuttle will rendezvous with the satellite on two
separate days and will point the PAMS measuring system, while cameras aboard
the Shuttle record the satellite's movements.

The Brilliant Eyes Ten Kelvin Sorption Cryocooler Experiment (BETSCE) carries
an instrument that can quickly cool infrared and other sensors to near
absolute zero using the evaporation of hydrogen.  BETSCE is a technology
demonstration experiment to show that cryocoolers of this type, called
"sorption coolers," can operate in the absence of gravity.  
Sorption coolers have essentially no vibration, are very efficient at these 
cold temperatures, and can operate reliably for over 10 years.

NASA's Office of Life and Microgravity Sciences and Applications, Washington,
DC, is responsible for two experiments. The two experiments are the Aquatic
Research Facility (ARF), and the Biological Research In a Canister (BRIC).

The ARF is a joint Canadian Space Agency/NASA project and will be making its
first flight into space on Endeavour.  The ARF allows sophisticated
investigations with a wide range of small aquatic species.  The facility will
permit scientists to investigate the process of fertilization, embryo
formation and development of calcified tissue and feeding behaviors of small
aquatic organisms while in microgravity.

The BRIC payload has flown several times.  The focus on this flight will be on
the tobacco hornworm during its metamorphosis period.  This study will examine
the synthesis of protein necessary to form muscle.  Analysis will be made
using the hemolymph (blood), flight muscle, intersegmental muscles and cuticle
of the insect.  This study will clarify the mechanism(s) behind one endocrine
system in insects which may aid in research on endocrine systems in general,
including those of humans when subject to microgravity effects.
------------------------------------------------------------

SPACE STATION AIR PURIFICATION SYSTEM COMPLETES MAJOR TEST
NASA Release 96-96

The system that will purify the air aboard the International Space Station 
recently passed a major test at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, 
Huntsville, AL.  The month-long test evaluated the system's ability to control
carbon dioxide, oxygen and air pressure inside the Station's living and
laboratory quarters.

Simulating the breathing activity of a crew of four, engineers injected carbon
dioxide and water vapor, and removed oxygen from the school bus-size,
6,200-cubic-foot test module throughout the 30-day test to evaluate an air
purification system.

"The test provided an excellent demonstration of the capability for
maintaining cabin air composition using control procedures to be used onboard
the Space Station," said Jay Perry, test principal investigator and life
support engineer of Marshall's Thermal and Life Support Division.  "Throughout
the test, the system operated in a fully- automated fashion and its components
responded very well to the simulated human breathing," explained Perry.  The
test was the fifth in a series begun in 1987.

The test also featured operation of the carbon dioxide removal system at 
reduced levels to save power.  The test system operated at full power levels
during the 53-minute daytime portion of the orbit and at lower levels during
the 37-minute nighttime orbit, just as planned for Space Station.  The
nitrogen and oxygen composition of the atmosphere was controlled by signals
from an air composition monitor, and special computer software very similar to
that planned for use on the Space Station was developed for automated control
during the test.

The Atmosphere Revitalization Subsystem demonstrated the capability of 
providing a healthy working environment for the crew and achieved a power
savings of up to 200 watts over previous operating modes.  These savings are
significant and represent additional electrical power available for science
experiments onboard the Space Station, Perry said.

Additional testing is planned to determine the capability of the various 
subsystems to remove other trace contaminants.  The air purification hardware
is scheduled to be launched to the U.S. Laboratory Module in 1998.  Marshall
is conducting a variety of air purification tests in support of the Space
Station Program Office.
--------------------------------------------------

MARS PATHFINDER STATUS
Tony Spear, Mars Pathfinder Project Manager

[The following article was extracted from the May 1996 issue of The Martian
Chronicle, also available at the following URL:  
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/mars/MARTIANCHRONICLE/]

As we go to press in this Issue 6 of The Martian Chronicle, the fully 
assembled Mars Pathfinder flight system has just successfully completed an
"acoustic vibration" test which uses sound waves to simulate the launch
environment.  It is also being readied for what is called a thermal/vacuum
test: we put the flight system into a large 25 foot chamber and pump the air
out of the chamber to simulate the vacuum of space in cruise, while shining
infrared lights on the flight system to simulate the intense sunlight in
interplanetary space.  In fact, you can now see a live picture of the
spacecraft being tested in the 25 foot vacuum chamber!

After this test, we put the flight system into its surface configuration with
the lander open and the rover off the lander, communicating with the lander
through its radio link.  We again pump down the chamber, but this time to Mars
surface atmospheric pressure and cycle the flight system through hot and cold
temperatures to simulate Mars day and night cycles.

Before, during and after each of these cruise and surface environmental tests,
we do system electrical testing of the flight system to ensure the proper
operation of all the systems.  After all of this, in August, we partially
disassemble the flight system to ship it to the Eastern Test Range in Florida
for launch preparations.  All is going well for launch on December 2, 1996!
----------------------------------------------------------------

MARS GLOBAL SURVEYOR STATUS
Glenn Cunningham, Mars Global Surveyor Project Manager

[The following article was extracted from the May 1996 issue of The Martian
Chronicle, also available at the following URL:  
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/mars/MARTIANCHRONICLE/]

All activities of the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) project are moving along well
toward launch in early November.  The spacecraft assembly is nearly complete
at the Lockheed Martin facility in Denver, Colorado, and has the spacecraft
has begun its first fully integrated system electrical testing.  All but two
of the science instruments have been installed, and the remaining ones are due
in May.

As is the case with many spacecraft, the mass of the assembled hardware always
seems to be a little more than is predicted by the design documents.  Such is
the case with the MGS spacecraft.  A considerable effort has been applied by
the project team over the last few months to reduce the spacecraft mass and to
find ways to change to mission plan to be able to accept a little heavier
spacecraft and still be able to meet mission objectives.  After all the
studies were complete, and the mass of the all the spacecraft assemblies had
been reassessed, we agreed on a 1060-kg upper limit total launch mass and
slipped the opening of the launch period on day to open on November 6th.  Some
of the spacecraft's thermal blankets are the only remaining items yet to be
weighed, but all indications are good that the mass limit will be met.

The end-to-end tests that assure compatibility between the flight operations
system (which will be responsible for "flying" or controlling the spacecraft
after launch) and the spacecraft itself are now underway, and the results are
looking good.

The two remaining science instruments, the Thermal Emission Spectrometer and
the Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter, suffered minor setbacks during their final
acceptance testing, and both required some reworking before final testing and
delivery.  The required rework is underway and is progressing well.
------------------------------------------------------------

MARS GLOBAL SURVEYOR DONS ITS SCIENCE PAYLOAD
JPL Press Release

All six science instruments comprising the scientific payload of NASA's new
Mars Global Surveyor orbiter have been integrated on the nearly complete
spacecraft, which is in development at Lockheed Martin Astronautics Corp.'s
Denver facility.

The last of the instruments -- the thermal emission spectrometer -- arrived at
Lockheed Martin on May 28, completing Surveyor's suite of equipment to study
the surface, atmosphere and interior of Mars over a full Martian year, the
equivalent of about 687 Earth days.

"The instruments have been installed on the payload platform and have 
undergone initial power-on testing to make sure all of the electrical 
connections are working," said Glenn Cunningham, Mars Global Surveyor project
manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.  "The spacecraft has been moved
from the assembly area to Lockheed Martin's Space Simulation Laboratory, where
environmental qualification testing will be completed."

During this phase of testing, Surveyor is being subjected to simulations of
the harsh conditions of launch, Cunningham said.  After completing those
tests, the spacecraft will undergo two weeks of testing in simulations that
will replicate the environment of space -- extremely cold temperatures and
illumination on one side of the spacecraft by the Sun -- to assure that
Surveyor's temperature control design is adequate for its 10-month journey to
Mars and two years in orbit around the planet.

Mars Global Surveyor carries six of the eight instruments that were flown on
the Mars Observer spacecraft, which was lost in August 1993.  The instruments
include: a thermal emission spectrometer, designed to analyze infrared
radiation from the surface of Mars; a Mars orbiter laser altimeter, which will
measure the height of Martian surface features; and a magnetometer and
electron reflectometer, which will search for evidence of current and ancient
magnetic fields.

Also onboard the spacecraft are a Mars orbiter camera, which will take high
resolution photographs of the planet and provide daily global weather maps,
and an ultra stable oscillator that will be used along with Surveyor's
telecommunications system to map variations in the gravity field of Mars and
study its atmosphere.

Mars Global Surveyor also will carry a Mars relay radio system that will be
used to support the Russian Mars '96 mission, planned for launch in late 1996.
 The relay system will periodically receive and relay data from instrument
packages deployed to the Martian surface by the Russian Space Agency.

Of the six science instruments onboard the spacecraft, four -- the camera,
laser altimeter, electron reflectometer and thermal emission spectrometer --
will be carried on the spacecraft's nadir panel, along with the relay system. 
Mars Global Surveyor will orbit the planet in a low altitude, nearly circular
orbit over the poles of the planet, keeping its nadir panel continuously
pointed at the surface.  The spacecraft will complete one orbit around Mars
about every two hours.  As the weeks pass, Surveyor will create a global
portrait of Mars, capturing the planet's ancient cratered plains, huge canyon
system, massive volcanoes, gigantic channels and frozen polar caps.

Surveyor's science instruments have been provided by the following 
institutions: Hughes Santa Barbara Remote Sensing Inc., Goleta, CA, and 
Arizona State University, Tempe, provided the thermal emission spectrometer;
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, provided the laser
altimeter and magnetometer; the University of California, Berkeley, and the
Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales, the French space agency, provided the
electron reflectometer; Malin Space Science Systems Inc., San Diego, CA,
furnished the Mars orbiter camera; Johns Hopkins University's Applied Physics
Lab, Laurel, MD, provided the ultra stable oscillator; and the Centre National
d'Etudes Spatiales furnished the Mars relay radio system.

Mars Global Surveyor will be shipped from Denver to Cape Canaveral, FL, in
mid-August, where it will be fueled, integrated with the third stage booster
of a Delta II expendable launch vehicle and readied for launch on Nov.  6.

Surveyor will arrive at Mars in September 1997 and spend approximately five
months aerobraking through the Martian atmosphere to lower itself into the
final mapping orbit.  Global mapping operations will begin in March 1998,
allowing scientists to obtain the first extensive record of Mars' surface,
atmosphere and interior.

Mars Global Surveyor is the first of a decade-long program of robotic missions
to Mars, managed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory for NASA's Office of Space
Science, Washington, D.C.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

CHEMICAL MEASUREMENTS OF COMET HYAKUTAKE SUGGEST A NEW CLASS OF COMETS
NASA Release 96-108

Astronomers observing the close approach of Comet Hyakutake to the Earth in
March discovered large quantities of the gases ethane and methane in the
comet.  This is the first time these or other molecules classified as
"saturated hydrocarbons" have been found in a comet, strongly suggesting that
at least two basic types of comets inhabit the Solar System.  This conclusion
also has potentially profound implications for scientific theories that
describe the primordial conditions that led to the formation of the Sun and
the planets.  The discovery by a team of NASA and university researchers using
the NASA Infrared Telescope Facility at Mauna Kea, Hawaii, were published in
Science.

Ethane has never before been detected in comets or in interstellar matter, the
ultimate source material from which the Solar System was formed.  Yet, comet
investigators found levels of ethane in Comet Hyakutake that are about 1,000
times greater than can be explained if the molecules were formed by normal
physical processes within the gases of the primordial solar nebula, the birth
cloud of the Solar System.

"The discovery of ethane was a blinding surprise," according to research team
leader Dr. Michael J. Mumma of the Laboratory for Extraterrestrial Physics at
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD.  The spectral lines, or
identifying signature of ethane gas, "were so bright they seemed to leap off
the computer screen when we got the first observation," Mumma said.

The discoveries were made on March 24, 1996, with the three-meter diameter
telescope of the NASA Infrared Telescope Facility atop Mauna Kea.  The
investigators used a state-of- the-art instrument known as a high-resolution
infrared spectrometer.  The device was cooled to about minus 400 degrees
Fahrenheit to achieve the needed sensitivity to infrared light, which has a
longer wavelength than red light and cannot be seen with the human eye.

The unexpected ethane discovery came as the observers searched for evidence of
molecules of methyl alcohol, a known constituent of other comets.  However,
"the emissions of methyl alcohol that we first looked at were much weaker than
expected, so we decided to search for other signatures of the alcohol," said
research team member Dr. Michael A. DiSanti of the Catholic University of
America, Washington, DC.  "But after reprogramming the spectrometer, instead
of detecting methyl alcohol, we discovered ethane."

Further observations and analysis showed that ethane and methane each 
constitute about one percent of the frozen gases in Comet Hyakutake.  (The
astronomers measured radiation from gases released from their frozen state as
the solid nucleus--or "dirty iceball"-- of the comet was warmed by the Sun.)

"Comets that are rich in ethane must have experienced very different 
conditions during their birth than comets that do not contain it," Mumma said.
 One theory is that ethane- rich comets formed in the warmer region near the
primitive Saturn and Jupiter, while those without it formed farther away from
the young Sun, near the primitive Uranus and Neptune.

Another possibility is that cometary ices formed even earlier, in different
layers of the original interstellar gas and dust cloud that led to the solar
nebula.  An even more challenging concept is that the vast sphere of comets
that are believed to surround the Solar System, called the Oort Cloud, may
contain comets that formed from different solar nebula -- that is, stars other
than the Sun.  Chemical and physical processes may have been at work in any
scenario, altering the properties of the material that now makes up the
comet's ice.

The discovery of ethane in Comet Hyakutake will spur scientists to go back and
review measurements of other comets to see if unusual blips in their data
contain hints of ethane.  "For example, we're going to go back and look at
Comet Halley data again," Mumma said.  Similar measurements of Comet
Hale-Bopp, which will pass closely by Earth in March and April 1997, are
scheduled for June, he added.

As a comparison to comets, there are three major categories of asteroids.  
Some of the rocky bodies now considered to be asteroids may in fact be dead
nuclei of short-period comets.

Both ethane and methane occur naturally on Earth and some other planets, and
in certain meteorites, including the Murchison meteorite that fell on 
Australia in September 1969.  While ethane is much less common than methane in
the planets, it is almost equally abundant to methane in both Comet Hyakutake
and in the Murchison meteorite, the researchers note.  "Therefore, it is
possible that the gases found in the Murchison meteorite and those found in
the comet had a common origin," according to Dr.  Marina Fomenkova of the
University of California at San Diego.  "However, the diversity of organic
material in primitive meteorites and in comets shows that they formed under a
wide range of conditions," she cautions.

Science team members including Drs. Karen Magee-Sauer, Rowan College of New
Jersey, Neil Dello Russo and David X. Xie of the Goddard Space Flight Center,
and Charles Kaminski of the NASA Infrared Telescope Facility office, Hilo,
Hawaii, are continuing to investigate the questions raised by the cometary
ethane discovery.

"This is the type of finding that makes a person excited to be a planetary 
scientist," Mumma said.  "It may open a new window on our understanding of
comets and their role in shaping the world in which we live."
---------------------------------------------------------------

NASA ROBOT MAY ENHANCE BRAIN SURGERY
NASA Release 96-110

A simple robot that can "learn" the physical characteristics of the brain soon
may give surgeons finer control of surgical instruments during delicate brain
operations.  In a new procedure being developed at NASA's Ames Research
Center, Mountain View, CA, a robotic probe will "learn" the brain's
characteristics by using neural net software, which is the same type of
software technology that helps focus camcorders.  The probe, equipped with a
tiny pressure sensor, will enter the brain, gently locating the edges of
tumors while preventing damage to critical arteries.

"Potentially, the robot will be able to 'feel' brain structures better than 
any human surgeon, making slow, very precise movements during an operation,"
said principal investigator Dr. Robert W. Mah of the NeuroEngineering Group at
Ames.  Brain tumors typically have a different density than normal brain
tissue.  This difference allows neurosurgeons to find the tumor's edge through
experience.

"NASA's Neurosurgical Computational Medicine Testbed is a unique and essential
element in our goal to improve the safety, accuracy and efficiency of
neurosurgery," said Dr. Russell J. Andrews of the Veterans Affairs Palo Alto
Health Care System and clinical associate professor of neurosurgery at
Stanford University.  "This collaboration is a good start toward meeting that
goal." Mah has worked with Andrews since 1994 to develop the smart robot.

The probes used on the robot are much smaller than standard probes, and should
further reduce potential brain damage.  During standard brain surgery, the
surgeon uses a magnetic resonance image to guide placement of the probe in the
brain.  The physician samples the tumor by inserting a biopsy probe through an
opening in the skull.

"A probe can be as large as 0.2 inches in diameter," Mah said.  "As it enters
the brain, there may be injury to brain tissue. If an artery is damaged as the
doctor inserts the probe, the patient could bleed to death," Mah said.

In contrast, during the robotic neural net procedure, the speed and maximum
pressure are controlled by a "smart" computer program that continues to learn
as it gains more experience.  If it hits an artery, the probe will stop before
it penetrates.  If the computer stops the probe, the surgeon can decide what
to do next.

"Besides having robotic computer control, we have miniaturized everything. 
Instead of a probe that is almost 0.2 inches in diameter, all we need is a
probe about one-third that size," Mah said.  "That minimizes brain damage,
too." A biopsy needle extracts a tissue sample through the probe.

Ames is developing robotic telepresence surgery to deal with medical 
emergencies that may occur during long-duration human space flights.  "On a
long-duration mission, there likely won't be a medical specialist on board to
deal with a specific surgical problem," Mah said.  "A surgeon on Earth could
control the surgery by issuing high-level commands, such as 'start surgery' or
'take sample' to the robot.  The computerized robot would go as far as it
could within safe limits.  Then it would wait for the next command from
Earth."

During early tests, scientists used tofu, a food made from soybeans that has a
consistency very similar to brain tissue, to model tissue types. "These tests
were used to teach the neural net software what are normal brain tissues and
arteries and what are not," Mah said.

The software learns to distinguish tumors from normal brain tissue by 
remembering the pressure signatures or profiles for each kind of tissue, and
then making a model.  Using traditional computer programming to do the brain
modeling job is not practical.  "It is very difficult to model the human
brain.  A human computer programmer would have to mathematically model each
patient and each kind of tissue," Mah added.

A modified form of the brain surgery robot could be used for other kinds of
surgery. "It could be used in the kinds of surgery that can use 'smart' 
sensors.  Besides pressure sensors, there are sensors that can detect 
temperature, acidity and the amounts of various kinds of chemicals," he said.

In addition to the brain surgery project, the Ames NeuroEngineering Laboratory
is developing other forms of software with potential uses such as balancing
the centrifuge on the International Space Station, balancing airborne
astronomical telescopes, emergency aircraft 
propulsion control and eliminating atmospheric distortion from astronomical
telescopes.

Images of the robot are available on the Internet via the Ames Public Affairs 
Home Page. The URL is:  http://ccf.arc.nasa.gov/dx
-------------------------------------------------------------


CALL FOR PAPERS--THE CASE FOR MARS VI
The University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado U.S.A.
July 17-20, 1996

The Case for Mars is an international conference to explore the potential for
colonization of Mars.  This program is dedicated to the definition of 
innovative national and international programs for the exploration of Mars.

The main objective of this conference will be to demonstrate the feasibility
of inaugurating a program of human exploration of Mars at a reasonable cost,
and to allow its continuation at a sustainable level of funding.

Workshops at the Conference will focus on ways to mount an initial mission to
be assembled over an 8-year period for a total cost of $32B (U.S.).  Of this,
$16B would be the U.S.  contribution with an additional $16B being provided by
other countries and sources.  Strong international participation in this
workshop will be encouraged.

Papers are invited that are responsive to the goal of reducing program costs. 
Topics may include but are not limited to, the rationale, innovative
technologies and strategies, and management and organizational approaches, and
international cooperation.

Other aspects of the conference will include: a Viking retrospective, the last
20 years, and plans and proposals for the next 20 years of Mars exploration
including Mars Pathfinder, Mars Surveyor, Mars 96, Discovery Mars proposals,
Mars in NASA strategic plans, and mission plans of Russia, ESA and Japan.

Papers may be offered on the scientific, technological, social, economic and
policy aspects of robotic and human missions to Mars including the following
specific areas:

* Precursor Missions: Mars Pathfinder, Mars Surveyor, Mars96
* Robotics, remotely operated vehicles, and telescience 
* Mars bases, resource utilization, and energy systems 
* Spacecraft, rockets and advanced propulsion
* Life support and medical issues
* Terraforming, including biological techniques
* How the Shuttle and Space Station can be supportive of Mars objectives
* Education and amateur missions and experiments

As a special opportunity, the Challenger Center will be holding its Educators
Conference in the same time frame in Boulder on the topic of Mars.  Educators
will be invited to attend the Case for Mars VI, and materials and reading
lists will be available for any participants who wish prepare in advance.

The program will consist of invited international papers and panels as well as
contributed oral and poster papers.  Please send titles as soon as possible. 
Abstracts for papers must be received no later than June 21, 1996.  Please
indicate preference for poster or oral presentation.  Attendance will be
limited and pre-registration is recommended.  Abstracts sent by electronic
mail are preferred.

Case for Mars VI
P.O.  Box 4877
Boulder, CO 80306 USA

(303) 494-8144
(303) 494-8446 (FAX)
marscase@colorado.edu (papers and abstracts)
meyertr@colorado.edu (regular mail)
http://spot.colorado.edu/~marscase/home.html (home page)

Sponsored by:  The American Astronautical Society, and the CU Space Interest
Group.  
Organized by:  The Boulder Center for Science and Policy

Program Committee:  Penelope Boston (Complex Systems), Roger Bourke (JPL),
Geoffrey Briggs (Ames), Benton Clark (LMA), Leonard David (SDR&I), Mike Duke
(JSC), Carter Emmart (NCAR), Lou Friedman (Planetary Society), Larry Lemke
(Ames), Christopher P.  McKay (Ames), Tom Meyer (CU/BCSP), Barbara Sprungman
(SDR&I), Carol Stoker (Ames), Steve Welch (Complex Systems), Robert Zubrin
(Pioneer Astronautics).


--------------------------------------------------------------

OBJECTIVE OF THE CASE FOR MARS VI
Tom Meyer 

The Case for Mars VI is set for July 17-20, 1996 in Boulder.  The main 
objective of this conference will be to demonstrate the feasibility of 
inaugurating a program of human exploration of Mars at a reasonable cost.

Papers are invited that are responsive to the goal of reducing program costs. 
Topics may include but are not limited to, the rationale, innovative
technologies and strategies, and management and organizational approaches, and
international cooperation.  Papers on other Mars exploration topics are also
welcome.

In many respects the goal of this conference is similar to that of Case for 
Mars II in 1984 where the effort was to demonstrate that human missions were
feasible with current technology.  A decade later this has now become
generally accepted, but to many in Congress, the Administration and even the
space community itself, the cost is perceived as prohibitive.  Thus the
challenge before us now is to repeat this exercise using the best 
technologies, strategies and innovative methods to show convincingly that a
program can be undertaken for a reasonable cost.

During the second half of the decade of the 80's, partly as a result of ideas
carried back by participants of the Case for Mars, interest in human 
exploration of Mars was sparked throughout the nation and the world; it was
even embraced by Presidents Reagan and Bush.

But major factors also weighed in against it.  When in 1989 President Bush
charged NASA with the 90-Day Study on the Feasibility of Human Exploration of
the Moon and Mars, the program became immediately dogged by huge, albeit
informal, cost estimates on the order of $400 billion.  In the same time
frame, one of the strongest motivations for maintaining U.S.  prowess in space
suddenly ended with the end of the Cold War.  Simultaneously the ever
spiraling Federal debt made programs of such a magnitude seem increasingly
unrealistic.

It is in this context that we will hold the next Case for Mars Conference.  
Our challenge is not only to make a compelling case for human exploration of
Mars, but to show we can undertake this for a reasonable cost.  The conference
workshops will focus on designing an initial mission to be assembled over an
8-year period for a total cost of no more than $32 billion.  Of this, $16
billion would be the U.S.  contribution with an additional $16 billion being
provided by other countries and sources.  Strong international participation
in this workshop will be encouraged.

For the U.S.  this represents an outlay of only $2 billion per year, an amount
comparable to that being spent to establish the International Space Station. 
According to OMB, even $2 billion a year is very unlikely to come from new
appropriations under this Administration.  Thus we will need to either find
savings through innovation elsewhere, or reassess spending priorities for
other programs.

In pursuing the goal of the workshop, attendees will need to be cognizant of
the unique roles and opportunities for humans on Mars.  We are already 
confident that we can develop outposts that are self-sufficient in the 
production of air, water, food and fuel using known indigenous resources.  
Secondly, there are vast opportunities for scientific research on Mars that
will warrant research outposts comparable to those of Antarctica including
habitats and laboratory facilities, capabilities for field research, global
mobility, long stay times and repeat visits, and with extensive teleoperation
and robotics support.  Third, the survival systems developed for Mars are a
critical technology that will become the basis for developing Mars as a new
territory for future human settlements.  And fourth, in our farthest hopes,
Mars holds the prospect that its planetary environment can one day be modified
to allow crops to be grown in the open and to become more clement for human
habitation.

The human exploration of Mars is a unique adventure of the human spirit and a
manifestation of the most primary urge of our species to grow and expand
outward.  It is precisely because of human involvement and for the sake of
human opportunity that this undertaking will garner great public support. 
Without humans, the space program will not long endure.

---------------------------------------------------------------

SPECIAL OPPORTUNITY FOR EDUCATORS

The Challenger Center will be holding its 1996 Professional Development 
Conference for Educators on July 19-22, 1996 in Westminster, Colorado (near
Boulder/Denver).  Challenger Center Conference attendees will have the option
of arriving early and attending the Case for Mars VI conference July 17-20
including selected sessions on the overlapping days.


Mars, The Moon & More:  EdVentures in Simulation
A Professional Development Experience For Innovative Educators
July 19 - 22, 1996
Westminster, Colorado (near Denver/Boulder)

Optional preconference participation in
The Case for Mars VI:  July 17-18, 1996
and other selected sessions July 19- 20

Held in cooperation with the Harvard Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics,
Arizona State University, and Christa McAuliffe Educators
Highlights:
*Instructional Workshops - Transform your classroom into an "experience 
center" using innovative techniques that cut across disciplines.
-Six-hour multi-disciplinary hands-on workshop using simulation to foster
thinking skills and teamwork -- come away with motivational, easy to use
activities for the classroom for grades 4-12.

-Two-hour workshop on the Aries project (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for
Astrophysics), a highly-regarded NSF-supported physical science and astronomy
curriculum for elementary and middle school students -- learn how to integrate
science, math, art, music, reading, social studies and writing in your
teaching.

*Innovative Curriculum - Challenger Center's Mars City Alpha classroom kit,
recipient of Learning Magazine's Teachers' Choice Award -- use design briefs
to harness students' imagination in developing a futuristic human settlement
on the red planet while teaching problem-solving, teamwork, and critical
thinking.

*Informative and Inspiring Presentations - Dr.  Mary Cleave, Goddard Space
Flight Center, "NASA's Mission to Planet Earth"; Dr.  Joe Mancusi, 
internationally known psychologist, "Teaching: Intervening with Grace in the
Lives of Children"; National Center for Atmospheric Research; Global Change
Institute; Space Science Institute; Plant-it 2000; the Planetary Society's Red
Rover Project; Mars Surveyor; and other future NASA Missions.

*Network and share ideas with like minded colleagues eager to be at the
leading edge of educational innovation.

*Earn Continuing Education Units

For Registration information call: (800) 98-STARS
or watch for details to appear soon on the Challenger Center web page:  
http://www.challenger.org/

--------------------------------------------------------------

WHAT'S NEW ON THE CASE FOR MARS WEB SITE?

http://spot.colorado.edu/~marscase/


New items on the Case for Mars web site include all available conference 
information including the General Conference Announcement, Objective of Case
for Mars VI, and the Call for Papers.  We will soon be posting a list of
papers offered and a tentative schedule.  Also available are Location and
Transportation Information, a Hotel List and a Dormitory Application.

Using the online Registration Form you can indicate your intent to attend the
conference, or simply update your name for our Mailing List.  But note, to
qualify for the preconference rate of $95 you need to mail your payment by
June 21.  Thereafter the rate is $120.  The fee for K-12 educators is $25 and
for students it is $20.

A new feature on the web page is a Mailer that simplifies obtaining conference
materials by Email.  Available information is shown on a checkoff list. 
Simply enter an email address (your own or that of another person), check off
the items desired, and press the Submit button.  Shortly a confirmation will
appear indicating that the items have been mailed.

Efforts are underway to produce bibliographies and reading lists on key topics
for people who wish to become more familiar with the issues relevant to Mars
exploration and the Case for Mars.  Currently an updated terraforming
bibliography is posted and several others are in preparation.

----------------------------------------------------------------

THE CASE FOR MARS VI
REGISTRATION AND PRESENTATION RESPONSE FORM


Name:
Organization:
Address:
Address:
City:	State:	ZIP:
Country:
Phone:	FAX:
Home Page:
E-mail:

Comments, interests and areas of expertise:



Registration

The Case for Mars VI, Boulder, Colorado, July 17-20 1996

Conference facilities are limited and advanced registration is recommended. 
The registration fee is $95 (US) if payment is made by June 21, 1996 or $120
thereafter.  Students $20, K-12 Educators $25.  Please select one item in each
column below:

I Plan to Attend 		Applicable Fee Payment
__ Yes			__$120	__ Mailed Now
__ No				__ $95	__ On Arrival
__ Undecided		__ $25	__ Other
				__ $20

Please make checks payable to The Case for Mars and mail to:  
The Case for Mars
P.O.  Box 4877
Boulder, Colorado 80306 U.S.A.


Presentations

The conference program will consist of invited papers and panels as well as
contributed oral and poster papers.  Titles for contributed papers should be
sent as soon as possible.  Abstracts for papers must be received by June 21,
1996.  Abstracts sent by electronic mail are preferred.  Please send abstracts
to:  marscase@colorado.edu

I wish to offer a paper for consideration in the program.  The Title/Subject 
is:


Please indicate preference for type of presentation:
__Oral Presentation, __Poster Paper, __Proceedings Only, __Undecided


Workshops

Conference workshops are intended for professionals and advanced students.  At
this meeting the workshops will focus on demonstrating that the human
exploration of Mars can be undertaken at a reasonable cost (see Conference
Objectives and Call for Papers).

I wish attend the workshop,
__Yes, __No, __Undecided

Please indicate your area of interest or expertise for the workshop topic:



For More Information, contact:

Tom Meyer
The Case for Mars
P.O.  Box 4877
Boulder, Colorado 80306 U.S.A.

(303) 494-8144 (Tele.)
(303) 494-8446 (FAX)
marscase@colorado.edu (abstracts/papers)
meyertr@colorado.edu (regular mail)
http://spot.colorado.edu/~marscase/Home.html (home page)
----------------------------------------------------------------
End Marsbugs Vol. 3, No. 4.







