MARSBUGS:  
The Electronic Exobiology Newsletter 
Volume 3, Number 11, 17 September, 1996.

Editors:

David Thomas, Department of Biological Sciences, University of 
Idaho, Moscow, ID, 83844-3051, 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 of this 
compilation exists with the 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.  Back issues may be 
obtained via anonymous FTP at:  ftp.uidaho.edu/pub/mmbb/marsbugs.

The purpose of this newsletter is to provide a channel of 
information for scientists, educators and other persons 
interested in exobiology and related fields.  This newsletter is 
not intended to replace peer-reviewed journals, but to supplement 
them.  We, the editors, envision MARSBUGS as a medium in which 
people can informally present ideas for investigation, questions 
about exobiology, and announcements of upcoming events.  
Exobiology is still a relatively young field, and new ideas may 
come out of the most unexpected places.  Subjects may include,  
but are not limited to:  exobiology proper (life on other  
planets), the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI), 
ecopoeisis/terraformation, Earth from space, planetary biology, 
primordial evolution, space physiology, biological life support  
systems, and human habitation of space and other planets.
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INDEX

1)	SPACE STATION NODE 1 AND LABORATORY MODULES SUCCESSFULLY 
COMPLETE PROOF PRESSURE TESTS
	NASA release 96-027

2)	INVADING MARS:  THE MARS EXPLORATION PROGRAM
	Lecture announcement

3)	INDEPENDENCE DAY 1997:  ALIENS FROM EARTH ARE INVADING MARS
	Lecture announcement

4)	THE ROAD TO UBAR
	Lecture (film) announcement

5)	MARS SPACECRAFT STATUS REPORTS

6)	LIVE FROM MARS--A PASSPORT TO KNOWLEDGE PROJECT
	Update

7)	NASA SCATTEROMETER POWERED ON TO BEGIN COLLECTING DATA
	JPL press release

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SPACE STATION NODE 1 AND LABORATORY MODULES SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETE 
PROOF PRESSURE TESTS
NASA release 96-027

The first U.S. component of the International Space Station, Node 
1, and the U.S. laboratory module have successfully completed 
proof pressure tests.

Today, Boeing engineers conducted a proof pressure test on Node 1 
at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) in Huntsville, 
Alabama.  During the four hour test, the node was successfully 
pressurized to 22.8 pounds per square inch gauge (PSIG), or 1.5 
times the normal maximum operating pressure of the International 
Space Station pressurized elements. A structural design 
modification that has been incorporated into the node 
substantially reduced the stress levels previously encountered in 
the radial port low wall gussets.

Node 1, the first U.S. space station component is scheduled to be 
launched in December 1997. The nodes serve as connecting 
passageways to other modules on the International Space Station. 
With the proof pressure test now completed on Node 1, it will be 
moved out of the test facility and returned to the Space Station 
manufacturing building at MSFC where it will be prepared for 
assembly and check-out activities that begin in mid-October.

This past Sunday, Aug. 25, the U.S. laboratory module also 
successfully completed its proof pressure test. Like the Node 1, 
the lab module also was pressurized to 22.8 PSIG, or one and a 
half times it's normal maximum operating pressure requirement on-
orbit. Data analysis indicated the module had excellent 
performance during the pressure test.

Having completed it's proof pressure test, the lab welds now are 
being inspected. The lab will undergo leak tests in mid-
September. It will then be moved back to the Space Station 
manufacturing building in late September.
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INVADING MARS:  THE MARS EXPLORATION PROGRAM
Lecture announcement

Organization for the Advancement of Space Industrialization and 
Settlement and the Orange County Space Society (OASIS/OCSS) 
invite you to:

Invading Mars: The Mars Exploration Program
with Donna Shirley
Deputy Manager - Mars Exploration Program Office

Saturday, October 5, 1996 at 7:00 PM
McDonnell-Douglas Aerospace Corporation
Building 28 Conference Center
5301 Bolsa Avenue
Huntington Beach, CA
(Take turnoff at first light east of the intersection of Bolsa 
and Bolsa Chica.  Conference Center is on north side of the 
street.)

FREE ADMISSION

The planet Mars, a favored subject of science and science 
fiction, remains mysterious.  Was it always cold and barren or 
did it once nurture life?  To know, we must explore there.

This year, NASA launches the first two spacecraft of a decade-
long expedition to Mars. While Mars Patherfinder dispatches small 
rover to probe its landing site, Mars Global Surveyor will orbit 
above to chart the planet's geological history. Along with the 
Russian Mars'96 mission, an international robotic fleet will 
follow, culminating in the return of Martian rocks and soil to 
Earth.

Donna Shirley manages the Mars Exploration Program at NASA's Jet 
Propulsion Laboratory.  Previously she led the Mars Pathfinder 
project and was Project Engineer for the Cassini mission to 
Saturn.

Doors open at 6:00 PM

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT THE OASIS HOTLINE AT (310) 364-
2290.
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INDEPENDENCE DAY 1997:  ALIENS FROM EARTH ARE INVADING MARS
Lecture announcement

Ms. Donna Shirley
Manager, Mars Exploration Program Office
NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Wednesday, September 25
TRW Forum (Building S)
TRW Space and Electronics Group
One Space Park
Redondo Beach, Calif.

Mixer (Pizza and Soft Drinks): 6 p.m.
Program: 6:30 p.m.
R.S.V.P.: Noel, (310) 643-7510; email:noels@aiaa.org

Cost -- $4.00 AIAA members; $5.00 others

Background

With the recent discovery of possible fossil evidence of life on 
Mars in a meteorite found in Antarctica, there is heightened 
interest in the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's 
plans for exploration of the Red Planet.

After the mysterious disappearance of the Mars Observer 
spacecraft in August 1993, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory 
developed a plan for Martian exploration based around a series of 
smaller, less costly probes. The first of these spacecraft, Mars 
Global Surveyor, is scheduled for launch in November. Imagery 
from this orbiter will help scientists determine promising 
locations for future Mars landings.

In December, JPL plans to launch its Mars Pathfinder lander. This 
spacecraft is scheduled to make a parachute landing on the 
Martian surface on July 4, 1997. In addition to taking pictures 
of the Martian surface, Pathfinder will release Sojourner, a 10-
kilogram robot, to conduct the first roving geological 
exploration of the Martian surface.

This talk will discuss the status of these two missions, as well 
as JPL's plans for follow-on Mars Surveyor orbiters and landers. 
The talk will conclude with an overview of the technical and 
programmatic issues associated with a future search for in situ 
evidence of Martian life.

Directions to TRW from I-405 (San Diego Freeway): Take Rosecrans 
Avenue West (Manhattan Beach) exit. Drive west on Rosecrans to 
Aviation Blvd..  Turn left (south) on Aviation to Marine Blvd. 
Turn left (east) head on Marine to the entrance for Building S 
parking. The TRW Forum is on the lower level of Building S.
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THE ROAD TO UBAR
Lecture (film) announcement

Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Public Information Office von Karman 
Lecture Series


Introduced by Dr. Ron Blom & Nicholas Clapp

Thursday, September 19, 7pm
JPL's von Karman Auditorium
4800 Oak Grove Blvd.
Pasadena, California
Free admission
(818) 354-5011 for information

Emmy-award winning director Nick Clapp presents an exciting film 
describing the discovery of the lost city of Ubar in ancient 
Arabia. Ubar, a major center in Arabia for the frankincense trade 
thousands of years ago, existed only in myth until its discovery 
in the early 1990's, when its location was revealed by various 
remote sensing technologies, historical research, and traditional 
archaeology. Dr. Ron Blom is a remote sensing specialist and a 
geologist at JPL, whose participation in expeditions to Ubar in 
1991-92 helped to locate, excavate and further understand the 
lost city.
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MARS SPACECRAFT STATUS REPORTS

The following status reports are from the Mars Pathfinder Home 
Page:  http://mpfwww.jpl.nasa.gov/

Mars Pathfinder Status

EDL testing done, the lander was dissembled so that the interior 
electronics could be accessed. We had two fuses, some relays, and 
a waveguide transfer switch that needed to be replaced. Also we 
installed a fresh, fully charged, flight battery. This battery is 
the best one that we have used to date and will now have to 
survive to do its job over the next year. Once the electronics 
were updated, we performed a full functional test to confirm that 
the fixes worked and that we didn't disturb anything in the 
process.

Mars Pathfinder Status
Week of September 9, 1996

Early this week, for the final time, we reinstalled the ISA 
(Integrated Structure Assembly) - that's the white thermal and 
structural box that surrounds the lander electronics and has the 
red "JPL" letters on it. We then calibrated the stop positions on 
the HGA (High Gain Antenna) - that's the lollipop-shaped 
articulated antenna that sits nest to the camera on the ISA. We 
used special theodolites (similar to those used by construction 
surveyors) to verify that the HGA mechanically points in the 
direction we want it to point with respect to the lander's base 
petal. We then reinstalled and checked out the pyro switching 
electronics and installed the lander thermal batteries. We use 
"thermal" batteries to provide power (current) to ignite 
explosive initiators in the EDL pyrotechnic devices (things like 
the parachute mortar, separation nuts, cable cutters and rocket 
ignitors). The batteries are called "thermal" because they get 
their electrical energy from self-generated chemical heat. 
Similar to the pyrotechnic initiators to which they provide, 
these batteries themselves need to be "lit" seconds before they 
are used on the spacecraft during EDL.  Once "lit", these 
batteries will operate for only a few minutes - plenty of time to 
do their jobs.

Once the ISA was installed, we performed some radio communication 
tests between the rover and the lander. We had been uncertain 
whether or not we needed to launch with an RF (radio frequency) 
attenuator in series between the lander's rover antenna and the 
lander's RFD modem used to talk with the rover. This attenuator 
was thought some time ago to be needed to allow communication 
with the lander at close distances. These tests and some others 
coming up have nearly convinced us that we can live without it. 
We think that it would be good if we did not use it because the 
attenuator might reduce the communication range if we ever 
decided to drive the rover a long way away from the lander in its 
"extended" mission. Either way, the primary mission is 
unaffected.

We successfully performed other radio tests as well. Until this 
week, we had not yet tried to uplink the large software patch 
files using the real X-band radio and a ground station. The patch 
files are used in the unlikely event we have to reload large 
portions of the flight software into the EEPROM memory during the 
mission. Using the MIL-71 ground station at the Kennedy Space 
Center, we found that the process works fine.

We also took a few last verification images from each eye of the 
IMP camera on the lander. This is the last time the IMP camera 
will be taking interesting pictures until we land on Mars.

There has also been much work on the cruise stage. The HRS (Heat 
Rejection System) freon pumps have been installed and checked 
out. The HRS is the system used to flow freon inside the lander 
and around the perimeter of the cruise stage to keep the lander 
electronics cool. We need to keep the battery, the digital 
electronics, the rover, and the big X-band radio transmitter we 
call the SSPA (Solid State Power Amplifier) cool during the 
especially warm early part of the "cruise" phase of the mission 
as we leave Earth. We had to replace the pumps that had been 
installed during this summer's thermal tests because we think 
that it may have been damaged during one of our electrical tests. 
Because it is so hard to take apart, we can't tell for sure that 
it is broken. So just in case it was, we decided to replace it 
with the flight spare unit.

Later this week we will reattach the petals (the Sojourner Rover 
is already mounted on its "Y" petal). Next week we begin the long 
process of installing the flight airbag as well as the many 
pyrotechnic devices on the lander.

Sojourner Rover Status
Week of September 9, 1996

The "Sojourner" rover successfully completed its first series of 
tests after arrival at the Cape. These tests consisted of 
extensive health checks (i.e., all actuators and sensors tested), 
a functional test with the rover's science instrument (the APXS - 
alpha, proton, and x-ray spectrometer) and a communication test 
with an initial configuration of the Mars Pathfinder lander. Once 
these tests were completed, the rover was stowed on the lander's 
rover petal along with the exit ramps. All components were tied 
down in preparation for petal attachment to the lander and petal 
closing later this month. Additional communication checks are 
planned with the lander prior to petal closing as the lander 
completes its reassembly.
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LIVE FROM MARS--A PASSPORT TO KNOWLEDGE PROJECT
UPDATE # 2 - September 12, 1996

PART 1: Weekly WebChat
PART 2: Teacher's Guide status
PART 3: Preview of the collaborative activity
PART 4: Discussion group for teacher
PART 5: Spacecraft updates

Weekly webchats

A new opportunity is now available to connect live with other 
teachers and the LFM development team.  Every Thursday, we will 
meet virtually online to discuss issues and learn from one 
another. Hopefully your questions about the LFM project will get 
answered.  I know the LFM team will come with our listening-ears 
on, ready to adapt the project to meet real teacher requirements.

We will hold the discussion on the Web using a technology called 
WebChat.  To use it, you only need a Web browser like Netscape or 
Microsoft's Internet Explorer.  These teacher chats will be 
similar to the student/NASA-expert forums which will be held 
beginning in October.  So these chats will allow you to get 
comfortable with the technology ahead of time.

On Thursdays, we will alternate the starting time of the one hour 
discussion.  We hope this will allow for participation from 
teachers on the east coast, west coast, and everywhere in between 
and beyond.  The schedule for the next few weeks is:
			Pacific	Eastern
September 12	3:00pm	6:00pm
September 19	noon		3:00pm
September 26	3:00pm	6:00pm
October	3	noon		3:00pm

To join the fun, point your web browser to:
http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/webchat/mars2.html


Teacher's guide status

We know that everybody is quite anxious for the Teacher's Guide. 
The entire Passport To Knowledge team is hard at work, madly 
jamming to finish the document.  We expect that we'll be done in 
about two weeks, and expect to start shipping hardcopy versions 
by the end of September.  The free, online version should be 
available shortly thereafter, around October 10.

Within a week, the table of contents should be finalized and 
we'll distribute that online (via this list and the Web) so you 
can learn what lessons will be included.

If you plan to order the hardcopy, please consider sending in 
your order as soon as possible. There are TWO ordering options 
for the Live From Mars teacher materials. Please read over the 
options carefully and fill out the form below.  Be sure your 
check, money order, or purchase order is made out to Passport to 
Knowledge and sent to:

Passport to Knowledge
P.O. Box 1502
Summit, NJ 07902-1502

OPTION ONE:  Live From Mars Teacher's Guide with suggested hands-
on activities and lessons, opening and closing activities. and 
orientation and background information including how to use 
online resources.	$10.00 (US) $15.00 (Canada)

OPTION TWO:  Live From Mars Multi-media KIT:  Includes Teacher's 
Guide (described above), Teacher Orientation Videotape, original 
color poster, slide set, sample online materials, and Mars CD-ROM 
(IBM/Mac) and other instructional materials fully-underwritten by 
NASA's Mars Exploration Directorate--and more!  $99.00 (US) 
$112.00 (Canada)

Price includes shipping and handling.  Canadian orders--please 
make your payment payable in US DOLLARS!

Pricing for locales other than US and Canada, please contact Jan 
Wee <jwee@mail.arc.nasa.gov> or call 608-786-2767  (8am-4pm 
Central time).  Volume pricing information also available.


Live From Mars Teacher Materials Order Form

Name:
Position/Title:
Grade Level:
Number of students materials will impact:

School/Museum/Science Center, etc:
Mailing Address (Street,City, State, Zip, Country):

_________ Number of Teacher Guides only (option One) at $10.00 
each (US), $15.00 (Canada)

Number of Multi-media Kits (option Two) at $99.00 each (US), 
$112.00 (Canada)

$_________ Total of check or money order enclosed

Make out check, money order, or purchase order to:  Passport to 
Knowledge


Preview of the collaborative activity

Here is a preview of upcoming Live From Mars activities involving 
students collaborating with one another. The full details will be 
available within the next few weeks.

The activity involves having students simulate the activities of 
the Pathfinder team.  Roughly sketched out:
-	in October, students brainstorm in their classrooms what 
common/inexpensive tools they would place in a shoebox to measure 
their local environment
-	Nov 1 - Nov 15 they share their ideas online
-	Nov 15 until Christmas break, the students will debate 
online the relative merits of various tools to include.  At the 
conclusion, we reach consensus on a uniform instrument package.
-	During the break, Santa Claus (or Hanukah Harry, etc) 
delivers the goods to classrooms; resourceful teachers may have 
to step in also.
-	January is spent measuring local environments with the 
agreed upon tools
-	February we share the collective data online; a few select 
locations are designated Mystery Spots.  A contest is held to 
determine the location of these Mystery Spots.

So that is the basic plan.  More details will be forthcoming 
shortly.


Discussion group for teachers

A new mail list called discuss-lfm is now available.  The list 
will provide a forum for teachers to discuss a wide variety of 
issues, concerns, teaching strategies, useful resources, project 
collaboration opportunities, and suggestions for the LFM project.

The goals are similar to the weekly WebChats (described above), 
but the Email format will allow for more thoughtful discussion.  
Whereas WebChat demands an immediate response limited to a few 
sentences, discuss-lfm is not so constrained.

The messages from discuss-lfm can be sent directly to your mail 
box.  This is the most common way to participate in the 
discussion. For this option, every time a colleague shares a 
message, you'll receive it in your mailbox.  To join the list 
this way, send an email message to:  
listmanager@quest.arc.nasa.gov
In the message body, write only these words:
subscribe discuss-lfm

For those feeling like they already receive too much email, a 
digest of the discuss-lfm list is available.  For this option, 
all the messages from a day are compiled into one bigger message 
which is forwarded to your email account.  In this way, you'll 
receive all of the information, but the traffic will come only 
once per day.  To join the list this way, send an email message 
to:  listmanager@quest.arc.nasa.gov
In the message body, write only these words:
subscribe discuss-digest-lfm

And for those that really don't want any more email, you may keep 
up with this list via the Web.  Look under the Teacher's Lounge 
at:  http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/mars/discuss-lfm-lwgate.html


Spacecraft updates

Mars Pathfinder arrived safely at the Spacecraft Assembly and 
Encapsulation Facility (SAEF-2) at 3 p.m. August 13, having 
traveled across the United States in a special van. Three of the 
four separate components have arrived at the Kennedy Space Center 
(KSC): the cruise stage, the aeroshell and the lander. The fourth 
element, the Rover Sojourner, was air shipped from Los Angeles to 
Orlando on Friday, August, 23. It arrived at the Cape later that 
day and was safely placed in the airlock at SAEF-2.

The "Sojourner" rover successfully completed its first series of 
tests after arrival at the Cape. These tests consisted of 
extensive health checks (i.e., all actuators and sensors tested), 
a functional test with the rover's science instrument (the APXS - 
alpha, proton, and x-ray spectrometer) and a communication test 
with an initial configuration of the Mars Pathfinder lander. Once 
these tests were completed, the rover was stowed on the lander's 
rover petal along with the exit ramps. All components were tied 
down in preparation for petal attachment to the lander and petal 
closing later in August.  Additional communication checks are 
planned with the lander prior to petal closing as the lander 
completes its reassembly.

The integration of the four Mars Pathfinder elements began with 
the installation of the rover on one of the four petals of the 
lander.  After the petals are closed, the aeroshell which 
surrounds and protects the lander will be installed and the 
parachutes will be attached.

The assembled entry vehicle will then be mated to the cruise 
stage that will carry the spacecraft on its interplanetary 
voyage. Finally, before going to Launch Pad 17b, the completed 
Mars Pathfinder will be mated to the upper stage booster. 
McDonnell Douglas Delta II. This entire process will go quickly 
in preparation for the early December launch, scheduled for a 
mere 81 days from today!


Mars Global Surveyor Status: MGS Arrives at the Cape!

On August 13th, the spacecraft arrived at the Cape in the C-17. 
The spacecraft manager George Pace reported:

"The C-17 landed at the skid strip at 3:25 AM EDT. The trucks 
were loaded and the convoy was underway by 5:45 AM to beat the 
morning travel curfew of 6:00 AM. The convoy arrived at PHSF 
(Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility ) at 6:15 AM. The 
spacecraft shipping container and MGSE were moved into the 
airlock. After stabilization and cleaning the container was 
rolled into the high bay where the spacecraft was removed and 
mounted on the test dolly.


To subscribe to the updates-lfm mailing list (where this message 
came from), send a message to:
listmanager@quest.arc.nasa.gov
In the message body, write these words:
subscribe updates-lfm

Conversely...

To remove your name from the updates-lfm mailing list, send a 
message to:  listmanager@quest.arc.nasa.gov
In the message body, write these words:
unsubscribe updates-lfm

If you have Web access, please visit our "continuous 
construction" site at http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/mars This site 
will remain fairly sparse until early September.
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NASA SCATTEROMETER POWERED ON TO BEGIN COLLECTING DATA
JPL press release

Engineers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory are receiving the 
first calibration data from the NASA Scatterometer (NSCAT) after 
the instrument was successfully powered on Monday night.

NSCAT, an instrument that measures the speed and direction of 
winds over the oceans, was launched August 16 by Japan's National 
Space Development Agency (NASDA) onboard its Advanced Earth 
Observing Satellite (ADEOS). Information from NSCAT will help 
scientists predict climate changes and improve weather forecasts, 
and will also help them understand ocean circulation and the role 
of air-sea interactions in the global ecosystem.

"We'll spend the next few days assessing the instrument's health 
by cycling through several operational modes and checking out the 
engineering data," said Jim Graf, the NSCAT project manager at 
JPL. "The instrument will enter into a science observation mode 
on Monday, September 16. The first wind image should be available 
sometime in early October."

NSCAT will provide an important new tool for weather forecasters 
to more accurately predict weather, particularly in coastal 
regions such as Southern California. "Winds over the oceans 
affect us in Los Angeles directly, because that's where most of 
our weather comes from," Graf said.

NSCAT has been developed under NASA's strategic enterprise called 
Mission to Planet Earth, a comprehensive research effort to study 
Earth's land, oceans, atmosphere, ice and life as an interrelated 
system. JPL developed, built and manages the NSCAT instrument for 
NASA. The start of operations initiates a long-term cooperative 
investigation of Earth by the United States and Japan.
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End Marsbugs Vol. 3, No. 11

