MARSBUGS:  
The Electronic Exobiology Newsletter
Volume 5, Number 11, 21 April 1998.

Editors:

David Thomas, Department of Biological Sciences, University of 
Idaho, Moscow, ID, 83844-3051, USA, thoma457@uidaho.edu or 
Marsbugs@aol.com.

Julian Hiscox, Division of Molecular Biology, IAH Compton 
Laboratory, Berkshire, RG20 7NN, UK.  Julian.Hiscox@bbsrc.ac.uk or 
Marsbug@msn.com

MARSBUGS is published on a weekly to quarterly basis as warranted 
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The purpose of this newsletter is to provide a channel of 
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the editors, envision MARSBUGS as a medium in which people can 
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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/ 
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evolution, space physiology, biological life support systems, and 
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INDEX

1)	THE MARS "FACE" AND LOWELL'S "CANALS"
By Larry Klaes 

2)	EUROPA, THE LAST OUTPOST FOR LIFE IN THE SOLAR SYSTEM?  
	By Julian Hiscox

3)	STUDENTS OBSERVE IMPACT OF SPACE TRAVEL ON NERVOUS SYSTEM
NASA release 98-62

4)	TWO UT SOUTHWESTERN-TRAINED PAYLOAD SPECIALISTS TO STUDY THE 
NERVOUS SYSTEM ABOARD SPACE SHUTTLE COLUMBIA
From the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at 
Dallas

5)	YORK UNIVERSITY "ON BOARD" WHEN SPACE SHUTTLE COLUMBIA BLASTS 
OFF APRIL 16
York University release

6)	SHUTTLE MISSION WILL USE ESA EQUIPMENT TO FOCUS ON "INNER 
SPACE"
ESA release 15-98

7)	MOC VIEWS VIKING LANDER 1 SITE THROUGH DUST STORM CLOUDS
JPL release

8)	STARDUST Status Report
By Ken Atkins
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THE MARS "FACE" AND LOWELL'S "CANALS"
By Larry Klaes 

In light of the Mars "face" controversy, I offer up this quote 
from an article written in the Wall Street Journal in 1907:

"The most extraordinary development (in 1907) has been the proof 
afforded by the astronomical observations (showing) that 
conscious, intelligent human life exists upon the planet Mars...  
Dr. Lowell, director of the Lowell Observatory in Arizona...  
gives a number of photographs taken of Mars.  He sums up the 
testimony of these photographs by saying that they reveal to 
laymen and astronomers that markings exist on Mars which are, of 
course, the lines of the great canals constructed on Mars for the 
purpose of irrigating that globe..."

Starting in the 1890s, wealthy Boston astronomer Percival Lowell 
saw what he thought were straight lines crossing the surface of 
Mars.  While he was not the first to see them, he was among the 
first and most vocal to make the radical interpretation that these 
lines were much too straight to be natural features.  Therefore, 
they had to have been built by an advanced intelligence.

The next thing you know, Lowell had populated Mars with an ancient 
and noble civilization of highly intelligent Martians trying 
desperately to survive its dying planet by bringing water from the 
poles to their great cities along the equator.  All this from the 
small and blurry images of Mars he viewed through his ground-based 
telescopes at the bottom of Earth's ocean of shimmering air, never 
closer than 35 million miles from our planet.

Thanks to the wonders of the World Wide Web (WWW), one can read 
one of Lowell's books on this subject, titled simply Mars and 
published in 1895, by going to this URL:  
http://www.bibliomania.com/NonFiction/Lowell/Mars/index.html

British author H.  G.  Wells imagined in his great 1898 science 
fiction novel, The War of the Worlds, that Lowell's Martians 
decided it would probably be easier just to conquer Earth and take 
all of its bountiful resources for themselves from those noisy, 
primitive little monkeys walking around on that alluring blue 
globe.  One can read this novel as well from this Web site URL:  
http://hot.virtual-pc.com/mjbstein/wotw/wwindex.htm

The public was entranced by Lowell's vision of Mars populated by 
alien beings.  Newspaper editors from such prestigious papers as 
The New York Times vigorously defended Lowell and scolded other 
astronomers who said they only saw dark smudges instead of lines.  
Many astronomers theorized that the "canals" were merely optical 
illusions produced by the limited seeing of natural surface 
features from tens of millions of miles away.

The media and public accused the astronomers of not being open-
minded to the possibility.  In reality, all most astronomers were 
saying was they wanted more evidence and that Lowell was making a 
major claim from very little data.  I highly recommend these two 
works on this amazing event in planetary astronomy history for 
more information.

Lowell and Mars, by William Graves Hoyt, University of Arizona 
Press, Tucson, 1976 (reprinted 1996).  
http://www.uapress.arizona.edu/books/bid691.htm

The following book is available in its entirety on the Web:
The Planet Mars:  A History of Observation and Discovery by 
William Sheehan, University of Arizona Press, Tucson, 1996.  
http://www.uapress.arizona.edu/online.bks/mars/contents.htm

As it turned out, when the first unmanned Mariner probes began 
imaging Mars close up in the 1960s and 1970s, the canals Lowell 
saw were indeed optical illusions created by his human mind 
connecting indistinct and disconnected natural features on the 
Martian surface.  Actually, there are "canals" on Mars, but they 
are natural waterways created eons ago when Mars apparently had 
large amounts of liquid water flowing across its land.

People really want to know if we are alone or not in the Universe.  
It is a subject that has certainly compelled me all of my life.  
For all I know, there could indeed be alien artifacts on Mars, or 
a big, black Monolith buried under the lunar crater Tycho.  It is 
not impossible that some ETI have the capability and the will to 
explore other star systems, including our own, either with robot 
probes or in person.

But I find it unfortunate that for the last two decades, some 
people have expended a large amount of time, energy, and effort on 
a surface feature that looked like a face based on a couple of 
distant images taken by the Viking orbiter.  Had they been as 
clear as the ones recently taken by Mars Global Surveyor (MGS), at 
least this Martian controversy probably never would have happened.  
I know, people can spend their time and energy focusing on 
whatever they please.

In summation, there likely is life beyond Earth spread throughout 
our galaxy and beyond.  But since I have no proof of this, I won't 
say so for certain.  I am much less certain that there is evidence 
of alien visitation in our own solar system, especially with the 
Mars "face".

Why?  Because with 400 billion stars in our vast Milky Way galaxy, 
I do not think our solar system, Mars, Earth, and humanity are the 
most well-known or popular visiting spots around, despite our 
culturally egocentric view as to humanity's importance in the 
greater scheme of things.  But again, if evidence can be found to 
the contrary, I will be as happy, fascinated, and eager to know 
more about it as anybody else.

I just hope that when it comes to the "face", the "pyramids", the 
lunar "spires", and other such items seen only vaguely in blurry 
images, that we will keep Percival Lowell and his "canals" in mind 
before we turn rocks into alien artifacts without further 
evidence.

Larry Klaes
lklaes@learningco.com
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EUROPA, THE LAST OUTPOST FOR LIFE IN THE SOLAR SYSTEM?  
By Julian Hiscox

"It may, however, be contended, with perhaps some plausibility, 
that Jupiter has in the distant future the prospect of a glorious 
career as the residence of organic life."
	--Sir Robert Stawell Ball FRS, The Story of the Heavens, 
1897.

"Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 are the ships that opened the Solar 
System for the human species, trailblazing a path for future 
generations."
	--Carl Sagan, Pale Blue Dot, Random House, 1994.

Life in the Solar System, a planetary phenomenon?

Whether life is present on other worlds is a question that has 
occupied the minds of astronomers and philosophers since the time 
of ancient Greece.  Traditionally planets have always been 
considered as abodes for life.  However, for some years now a 
growing number of scientists have speculated that a moon of 
Jupiter, Europa, might contain a liquid water interior, and an 
even fewer number to suggest where there is water there may also 
be life.  To understand why this idea is not so outlandish it is 
first necessary to discuss why planets can support life in the 
first place.  Then apply what we have learnt to the case with 
Europa.

The concept of habitable zones

A planet must satisfy a number of conditions in order to support 
some sort of life as we know it.  It must have liquid water and 
other compounds (e.g., the so-called CHNOPS elements--carbon, 
hydrogen, nitrogen, phosphorous and sulfur).  A planet needs to 
have a stable climate that is, at the very minimum, conducive to 
the continued presence of liquid water over geologically 
significant periods of time.  Therefore the orbit of such planets 
must lay within a zone thermally compatible with life--where the 
average global surface temperature lies between a little less than 
0C up to some value at which a runaway greenhouse effect occurs 
(i.e.  what has occurred on Venus).  If the orbit of such a planet 
satisfies these criteria then it is said to be within the 
habitable zone of that star [see Fit for Life by James F. Kasting, 
Science Spectra, Issue 2, 1995].  The habitable zone (HZ) depends 
primarily on the luminosity of the star.  The more luminous the 
star, the farther out the habitable zone starts.  Earth has 
remained continuously habitable for at least 3.8 billion years.  
Beyond the orbit of Mars it is difficult to speculate where life 
might be or have been in residence, because according to HZ 
theory, surface liquid water on a planet or moon is highly 
improbable.  In essence we need to look for places where liquid 
water might be stable for a geologically significant period of 
time, without relying on the Suns energy for warmth.  Perhaps 
there is one last refuge in the Solar System that we can consider, 
Europa, a satellite of Jupiter.

To Jupiter we turn

The Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 space probes provided the first high-
resolution reconnaissance of the outer planets.  They returned a 
wealth of data and for our interest in where else life might arise 
in the Solar System, they provided some tantalizing hints.  The 
Galilean satellites of Jupiter, Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto 
are each almost as big as the planet Mercury, and it is with 
Europa that we turn our attention.  Europa was farthest away of 
all the Galilean satellites at the time of Voyager 1s closest 
approach to it (732,270 kilometers).  Voyager 2, approaching to 
within 204,000 kilometers, acquired the first close up pictures of 
Europa on July 9th, 1979.  Voyager 2 showed that the surface of 
Europa resembled that of a fractured ice pack in the Arctic Ocean, 
among darker orange-brown areas.  This led many scientists to 
speculate that Europa had a liquid water interior, although more 
data was needed in order to be sure.  However it was not until 
this decade that we returned to Jupiter.

The contribution of Galileo--Europa in detail

After a six-year journey from Earth, Galileo arrived at Jupiter on 
December 7, 1995.  In moves designed to lock the spacecraft in 
orbit around the gaseous giant planet, Galileo swung by the moon 
Io, then fired its main engine, and in between, collected the 
precious data from the atmospheric probe it dropped five months 
earlier.  For two years and 11 orbits during its Prime Mission, 
Galileo revealed an array of fascinating details about Jupiter and 
its moons.  During this mission high resolution images of were 
obtained in order to answer some of the questions posed by the 
Voyager missions.  Many different surface features were identified 
on Europa including cracks, troughs, impact craters.  Much of the 
evidence for liquid water is derived from interpretation of how 
these features might have formed.  Some of the cracks on Europas 
surface extend for thousands of kilometers, splitting into widths 
of 50 to 200 kilometers, but reaching depths of only 2100 meters 
or so.  These tectonic features may be subdivided into sets that 
apparently have different structural origins.  Some are global in 
extent, whereas others are restricted to local areas.  One theory 
to explain how these structures formed was that Europas surface 
area increased by 10 to 15%.  Alternatively, and perhaps a simpler 
explanation, is that Europas surface may represent a water-and-
ice version of Earths plate tectonics.  Ridges are clearly 
visible on Europa and are 5 to 10 km wide and rise at most only a 
few hundred meters above the surrounding surface.  Europas 
surface is almost devoid of impact craters and so cannot be a 
primitive surface--unlike areas of Mars.  Analysis of the 
photographs taken by Voyager found only five fresh craters of 10 
to 30 km in size.  The crust therefore must have been warm and 
soft sometime after formation to wipe out evidence of early 
intense bombardment.  To explain this data Europas internal 
structure might be composed of a water-rich lithosphere (or 
cryosphere), possibly a 100 km thick, may have formed from a vast 
ocean that covered the entire moon shortly after its formation.  
An alternative to this thick ice model for Europas cryosphere is 
that this icy outer shell is only a few tens of kilometers thick.  
If such is the case, then the brown spots and mottled terrain may 
represent the peaks of silicate massifs nearly protruding through 
the icy shell.  Excavation of these materials by impact or 
magmatic activity may have created the dark coloration of some 
areas of Europa.  This outer icy crust may be underlain by a 
watery asthenosphere over which the cryosphere may deform.

Because of Europas small size, rapid cooling might be expected to 
have quickly produced a thick, rigid lithosphere that could 
preserve many impact craters.  The absence of many craters and the 
apparent youth of Europas surface also suggests that a small 
energy input has slowed its cooling substantially and allowed 
thermally driven geologic processes to continue to the present or 
nearly so.  It is possible that a heating mechanism caused by 
orbiting Jupiter (which has a strong gravitational attraction), so 
called tidal heating, has allowed repeated eruptions of watery 
lava to obscure its early history.

Originally scheduled to end its exploration on December 7, 1997, 
NASA approved the extension of Galileo' studies through the last 
day of 1999, in three phases each with tightly focused objectives:  
the Europa Campaign ("Ice"), the Io Torus Passages ("Water"), and 
the Io Campaign ("Fire").  For the first eight orbits, spanning 
more than a year, Galileo will continue to search for further 
evidence of an ocean beneath the surface of Europa.  The surface 
will be analyzed in greater detail for active ice volcanoes and 
other direct evidence of liquid water.  Europa's hypothesized 
layered interior and variation in the thickness of the ice shell 
and in the depth of the presumed ocean will be measured by the 
pull of its gravity on Galileo.  A flowing, salty subsurface ocean 
can generate a magnetic field, Galileo will try to determine if 
the magnetic signals nearest Europa are generated within.  Galileo 
will also obtain detailed images and atmospheric data from around 
the globe, including Europa's polar regions, from closest approach 
heights ranging from 200 to 3600 km.  With three times better 
resolution than in the Prime Mission, some planned images will 
show details as small as 6 meters.

The latest, most detailed pictures Europa lend more support to the 
theory that slush or even liquid water lurks beneath the moon's 
surface.  The latest images as of writing were taken in December 
1997.  The new images provide three key pieces of evidence showing 
that Europa may be slushy just beneath the icy crust and possibly 
even warmer at greater depths.  The evidence includes a strangely 
shallow impact crater, chunky textured surfaces like icebergs, and 
gaps where new icy crust seems to have formed between continent-
sized plates of ice.  Some of the new images focus on the shallow 
center of the impact crater known as Pwyll.  Impact rays and 
debris scattered over a large part of the moon show that a 
meteorite slammed into Europa relatively recently, about 10-100 
million years ago.  The Galileo research team at Brown University 
suggest that the crater's shallow basin and high set of mountain 
peaks may mean that subsurface ice was warm enough to collapse and 
fill in the deep hole.

What now for Europa?

Looking further to the future, a mission to sample the surface of 
Europa has been proposed as part of the NASA Discovery series.  
Called Europa Ice Clipper, the missions goals are to understand 
the processes that shape Europa and look for further evidence of a 
sub-surface ocean.  The highlight of the mission will be the 
collection of a sample of the surface of Europa to look for the 
presence of organic molecules and minerals.  The initial analysis 
will be conducted the spacecraft.  However, the ultimate goal is 
to return the sample to Earth for analysis in terrestrial 
laboratories (or the orbiting International Space Station).  The 
idea is to release an impactor, which will hit the surface of 
Europa and generate a plume of material through which the Earth-
return-vehicle will pass.

Life on Europa--a plausible theory?

Unlike the Earth and Mars, Europa can in no way be considered to 
lie in the HZ of the Sun.  However, if Europa contained a liquid 
water ocean for 4.5 billion years through tidal heating, then the 
question might be how could life not have existed?  In 1983 Ray 
Reynolds and his colleagues at NASA Ames Laboratory suggested 
there could be regions of Europa where conditions lie within the 
range of adaptation of Antarctic terrestrial organisms. Although 
this does not imply that all conditions were suitable for an 
origin of life event.  First, the CHNOPS elements must have been 
present and second, there must be a source of liquid water, which 
at least appears to have been satisfied.  The precise mineral 
composition of Europa is unknown, although there are strong 
indications that at least silicates and water (as ice) are 
present.  Over the millennia material such as the CHNOPS elements 
may have been deposited either by comets in the form of amino 
acids, ammonia, and methane, or the injection of material into 
Europas surface.  For example sulfur dioxide (SO2) has been 
identified on Europa and may be formed when sulfur ions in the 
Jovian magnetosphere are injected into Europas water ice surface.

Life on Europa and beyond?

Although we do not know for certain whether Europa has a liquid 
water interior, it is striking that Europa, one of two prime 
candidates for a second habitable world in our own Solar System 
(the first being Mars), nevertheless lies well beyond the surface-
liquid water zone, has only a tenth the mass of Mars, and has 
almost no atmosphere.  Recently several planets (called extrasolar 
planets) have been inferred to orbit other stars.  Whilst some 
extrasolar planets themselves don't appear to be habitable, Darren 
Williams, Jim Kasting and Richard Wade of the University of 
Pennsylvania proposed that if rocky moons orbited some of these 
planets then such companions could be habitable if the planet-moon 
system orbits the sun in the HZ.  The inferred planetary 
companions to the stars 16 Cygni B and 47 Ursae Majoris could 
satisfy this criterion.  The conditions are that each moon would 
have to be at least 0.12 Earth masses to retain a substantial and 
long-lived atmosphere.  Now, based upon the model for life on 
Europa, it would seem that satellites other than those in the HZ 
could harbor life--provided a mechanism, such as tidal heating, 
existed to keep liquid water stable for geologically significant 
periods of time.

Dr. Julian A.  Hiscox is the editor of the Planetary Societys 
Mars Underground News and co-editor of Marsbugs.  He researches 
the replication of RNA and the origin of life.

Suggested Reading

Greeley, R. and Batson, R. The NASA Atlas of the Solar System, 
Cambridge University Press, 1997.

Reynolds, R. T., Squyres, S. W., Colburn, D. S.  and McKay, C. P.  
"On the habitability of Europa," Icarus 56, 246-254, 1983.

Squyres, S. W., Reynolds, R. T., Cassen, P. M.  and Peale, S. J.  
"Liquid water and active resurfacing on Europa," Nature 301, 225-
226, 1993.

Williams, D. M., Kasting, J. F. and Wade, R. A.  "Habitable moons 
around extrasolar giant planets," Nature 385, 234-236, 1997.
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BOOK REVIEW:  THE MIR SPACE STATION.  A PRECURSOR TO SPACE 
COLONISATION
By Julian Hiscox

Title:  The Mir Space Station:  A Precursor to Space Colonisation.  
Author:  D. M. Harland.
Publisher:  John Wiley and Sons Ltd.
ISBN:  0-471-97587-7
Pages:  439.
Year:  1997.

There have been a number of plans for space stations since the 
first conceptual scheme appeared in "Man Will Conquer Space Soon," 
by Werner Von Braun, Willey Ley, Fred Whipple, Joseph Kaplan, 
Heinz Haber, and Oscar Schacter in Colliers magazine, March 22nd, 
1952.  The practical realities of these ideas came to fruition 
beginning in the early 1970s, with the then Soviet Unions Salyut 
series, and the US Skylab.  The 1980s and 1990s saw the 
construction of the Russian Mir space station.  Throughout this 
period we have learnt how to construct relatively large, 
inhabitable vehicles intended for long-term human presence in 
space, albeit confined to a permanent crew of no more than three 
people.  Currently, the next generation space station is being 
built--the International Space Station (ISS), so named because of 
the large number of nations taking part in the construction and 
operation of the station.

In 1966, details of the first international space treaty were 
hammered out and prepared for signature.  The Outer Space Treaty 
was signed simultaneously in London, Moscow, and Washington, D.C., 
on January 27, 1967.  Asserting the philosophy that the 
exploration of space should "contribute to broad international co-
operation...  [and] the development of mutual understanding...  
between States and peoples," it remains to this day the ultimate 
document governing space activities.

Using the Outer Space Treaty and other agreements, the US, Russia, 
Japan, Canada, and the 14 member states of the European Space 
Agency (Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, 
Ireland, Italy, The Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, 
Switzerland, and the UK) began to develop the ISS.  The station 
will be constructed in orbit 190 miles above the Earth.  Three 
phases are planned for the evolution of the ISS.  The first step 
to the ISS is complete.  Phase 1 offered an unprecedented 
opportunity for Russia and the USA, to unite their considerable 
resources.  Between March 1995 and May 1998, NASA and Russian 
scientists have been conducting experiments in the Russian Space 
Station Mir.  NASA-Mir scientists seek to answer vital questions 
about how humans, animals and plants function in space, how we can 
build better technology in space, and how we can build future 
space stations.

Historically, whilst the American manned space program will be 
remembered for putting a man on the Moon, the Russian space 
program will be remembered for the almost permanent presence in 
space.  The development and long-term operation of the Mir Space 
Station has unquestionably been one of the most significant 
contributions to manned space flight of the Soviet/Russian Space 
Program.  The experience of long-duration human space flight 
gained from its operation for well over a decade is considered 
vital to future space stations operations and human missions to 
Mars and beyond.

The Mir Space Station by David Harland reviews the beginnings of 
the Soviet/Russian Space Station Program and the groundbreaking 
flights of Salyuts 6 and 7.  It also presents an up-to-date, 
comprehensive, chronological review of the construction and 
operation of Mir from an engineering perspective and illustrates 
how Mir is an evolutionary outgrowth of the Salyut experience.  
Prior to Mir all space stations were launched from the Earth 
essentially ready to go, the Mir complex was the first space 
station to be constructed from different modules launched at 
different times.  The book forms an integral part of the excellent 
Wiley-Praxis Series in Space Science and Technology.

Mir was based on Salyut technology and was launched from the 
Baikonur cosmodrome on 19th February 1986.  The station had no 
fewer than six docking ports with improved crew accommodation.  
Much of the scientific equipment found in Salyut stations was 
absent.  Cosmonauts now enjoyed separate compartments with table, 
chair and intercom.  Life-support and ventilation systems were 
improved and water was regenerated from atmospheric moisture.  At 
the front end was a spherical multiple docking unit with five 
docking ports, one axial for visiting spacecraft and four disposed 
radially at 90o to each other for the future attachment of 
laboratory modules.  At the rear of the station was another port 
for the docking of a fifth lab module and visiting spacecraft 
including re-supply units.

The opportunity to begin human operations in the Mir station fell 
to cosmonauts L. D. Kizim and V. A. Solovyov in March 1986 who 
initially spent much of their time adjusting technical equipment 
and testing a new space to ground radio/video link.  One more 
impressive demonstration of Soviet mastery of space technique 
recounted by Harland was to follow in May of that year when the 
two cosmonauts made space history by transferring from one 
orbiting space station to another.  After docking with the 
unmanned Salyut 7/Cosmos 1686 complex, they completed a series of 
experiments, which included making two EVAs.  Whilst Mir was 
vacated an unmanned Soyuz TM ascended from Baikonur to duck with 
the Mir complex.  This was a key test of an improved ferry which 
embodied several new systems; approach and docking; radio 
communications; a combined propulsion unit for maneuvers and 
orientation and a lighter stronger parachute for Earth return.

Problems began with Mir after the initial busy period and the 
program began to fall short of its objectives.  The two twenty ton 
"building block" modules which were expected to be launched to Mir 
for attachment to the multiple docking unit failed to meet the 
deadline and three cosmonauts still aboard in April 1989 were told 
to prepare the station for a period of unmanned operation.  To 
complicate matters, there had been reports of Mirs storage 
batteries failing to hold their full charge from the solar arrays.  
Throughout the next decade Mir was continuously inhabited, despite 
its original three-year life span.

The Mir Space Station outlines the design and construction of Mir, 
giving detailed descriptions of its structure, environmental, 
power supply and maneuvering systems. The operation of the Mir 
complex is presented in detail, together with a comprehensive 
chronological summary of activities to launch, dock, commission 
and adapt the various modules.  Also covered in great detail are 
the various science and engineering conducted aboard Mir during 
its operational history.

One third of the book details the most recent developments with 
Mir and also the beginnings of the ISS, which have both served as 
a means of integrating the manned aspects of the Russian and 
American space programs. The concept of international co-operation 
in space is not a new one--beginning with the Apollo-Soyuz Test 
Project, but the fact that it persisted so strongly through three 
decades of the Cold War stands as a testament to the compelling 
nature of the idea that space notices no boundaries.  Phase 1 is a 
NASA program encompassing 11 space shuttle flights over a four-
year period.  It uses existing assets - primarily US shuttle 
orbiters and Mir to build joint space experience and start joint 
scientific research.  Phase 1 served as a four-year prologue to 
station assembly in Phases 2 and 3.  NASA and its international 
partners are finding that Phase 1 is a valuable precursor to 
learning about all aspects of living and working in low-Earth 
orbit.  Harland describes how NASA and Russian engineers, 
designers, technicians, and flight crews worked together to 
achieve a common goal by making many small, practical decisions on 
a daily basis, melding their different work styles into a unified 
plan.  Shuttle-Mir is a complicated interlocking program 
incorporating the very different working styles and philosophies 
of the US and Russian space agencies and their international 
partners.

Harland details how the job was made manageable by the co-
operation of mission planners, hardware engineers, flight crews 
and others who are united in their dedication to the program's 
success.  He recounts how the Russian Space Station Mir was the 
focal point of the program, providing long-duration living and 
working quarters for the international flight crew.  Its oldest 
components have been in orbit for 10 years, but it is constantly 
being renewed, updated, and re-supplied to keep it in good 
condition.  The U.S.  space shuttle extended the capability of Mir 
by providing large-haul capacity.  It was originally conceived as 
a vehicle for hauling people and things back and forth between 
Earth and a space station.  15 years after the first launch, it 
fulfilled that role, and perhaps justified in part the enormous 
cost developing a comprised space transportation system.

Harlands book does an excellent job of describing the complete 
history of Mir, almost up to the publication date of the book.  
Included is an account of the collision in 1997 between a Progress 
re-supply ferry and Mir, which was extensively covered in the 
media at the time and threatened the loss of Mir and the hasty 
return of the crew.  This episode serves to illustrate Harlands 
emphasis throughout the book--that humans can live and work in 
space and overcome all manner of obstacles--including the 
political turmoil in the transition period from the disintegration 
of the USSR to the Commonwealth of Independent States.  However, 
the books subtitle "A Precursor to Space Colonisation" is not 
really a subject of the book and Harland does not elaborate on how 
Mir can be seen as such a vehicle.  Perhaps because it would 
require a large leap of technology to extrapolate from a crew of 
three to space stations supporting several hundred to several 
thousand people as some ideas call for--notably the ideas of the 
late Princeton physicist Gerald ONeal.

With that said The Mir Space Station focuses specifically on the 
technology involved and engineering aspects of the construction 
and utilization of a large orbital complex designed to be occupied 
continuously over a long period of time.  As the International 
Space Station takes shape, this timely review of the Mir 
experience will be valuable background reading.
------------------------------------------------------------------

STUDENTS OBSERVE IMPACT OF SPACE TRAVEL ON NERVOUS SYSTEM
NASA release 98-62

14 April 1998

Students from around the world are learning about the next Space 
Shuttle mission, called Neurolab, by logging onto the Internet at:  
http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/neuron

They are learning how scientists, technicians and astronauts are 
preparing for the STS-90 mission, scheduled for liftoff April 16.  
Neurolab will study the effects of weightlessness on the nervous 
system.

"NASA is breaking a time barrier by enabling students to interact 
with Neurolab researchers via the Internet long before any new 
information is printed in textbooks," said Linda Conrad, NeurOn 
(Neurolab Online) Project Manager at NASA Ames Research Center, 
Moffett Field, CA.  "About 50 scientists, engineers and the 
Shuttle and ground crews are working with students and educators 
through the Internet project."

The NASA on-line mentors upload biographies and field journals to 
the NeurOn Internet pages.  NASA employees from Ames, Johnson 
Space Center, Houston, TX, and Kennedy Space Center, FL, will 
answer students' e-mail questions and will participate in "Web 
chats" with youngsters and teachers.  During Internet chats, young 
people use computers to converse with mentors by typing questions 
and reading responses and dialogue via the World Wide Web.

NASA scientists note that, even after 50 years, they know very 
little about the way the brain and nervous system are affected by 
space flight.  NASA's Neurolab mission is expected to answer many 
questions about the way the nervous system reacts to microgravity.  
There are 26 experiments scheduled for Neurolab.  "Lesson plans 
for teachers are available on the website so they can more easily 
integrate NeurOn activities related to the experiments into the 
classroom," Conrad said.

The young students monitor activities of ground crew members as 
they assemble hardware and prepare provisions such as food and 
water, for the 16-day mission aboard the Shuttle Columbia.  A 
seven-member astronaut crew will conduct the experiments.  In 
their classrooms, students will simulate mission activities to 
better understand the Neurolab mission.  The NeurOn website 
includes a section that displays projects for youngsters and 
galleries of student work.  The NeurOn project is one of many 
Internet offerings from NASA's Quest Project at:  
http://quest.arc.nasa.gov

These interactive projects connect students with NASA employees 
and are designed to inspire young people to pursue careers in high 
technology.
------------------------------------------------------------------

TWO UT SOUTHWESTERN-TRAINED PAYLOAD SPECIALISTS TO STUDY THE 
NERVOUS SYSTEM ABOARD SPACE SHUTTLE COLUMBIA
From the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas

14 April 1998

When the next flight of space shuttle Columbia goes into orbit 
April 16 on board will be two payload specialists who trained in 
space medicine at UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas.  They 
will conduct experiments aboard Spacelab, the shuttle's scientific 
laboratory, on a flight dedicated to the study of the nervous 
system in space.

Dr. Jay Buckey worked as a research fellow with longtime space 
researcher Dr. Gunnar Blomqvist, the Alfred W. Harris Professor in 
Cardiology and director of NASA's Specialized Center of Research 
and Training in Integrated Physiology at UT Southwestern.  Dr. Jim 
Pawelczyk was a research fellow with Dr. Benjamin Levine, 
associate professor of internal medicine and medical director of 
Presbyterian Hospital of Dallas' Institute for Exercise and 
Environmental Medicine (IEEM).  Pawelczyk later was an 
investigator in the NASA center at UT Southwestern.  Each joined 
the UT Southwestern faculty after completing his fellowship.  
Another shuttle veteran, Dr. Drew Gaffney, was on the faculty of 
UT Southwestern while serving as a payload specialist aboard the 
first dedicated life-sciences flight in 1991.

"Training three scientists who became payload specialists for 
life-sciences research--that's a record no other medical center 
can claim," Blomqvist said.

As payload specialists, Buckey and Pawelczyk will be conducting 
experiments in space for a variety of researchers from around the 
world.  Five major areas of research will be covered:  blood 
pressure control and gravity; sensory motor and performance 
studies, such as eye-hand coordination and orientation in 
weightlessness; changes in the body's balance system; sleep 
problems in space; and the development of mammals in microgravity, 
including the formation of gravity sensors.

UT Southwestern's investigations, in which IEEM researchers play a 
crucial role, will focus on blood pressure control and how the 
cardiovascular system is stressed by gravity.  This could lead to 
a better understanding of the type of blood-flow problems that 
cause an elderly person who stands up too quickly to become dizzy.

Blomqvist said astronauts leaving the pull of earth's gravity 
experience a similar blood-pressure problem when they enter space 
and return to earth.  UT Southwestern researchers on previous 
missions--Spacelab Life Sciences 1, Spacelab Life Sciences 2 and 
Spacelab Mission Deutsche-1--gathered information on how the 
system adapts to space and readjusts to earth conditions.  These 
studies revealed a defect in the autonomic nervous system apparent 
upon return to earth's gravity.

"These studies have broad application to medicine on earth as well 
as space," said Blomqvist, principal investigator of the blood-
pressure studies.  "Half a million people in the United States 
have trouble with control of blood pressure and blood flow to the 
brain while in the upright body position and might be helped by 
knowledge gained from these studies."

Other principal investigators for the blood-pressure experiment 
include Dr. F. J. Baisch of DLR Institute of Aerospace Medicine in 
Germany, Dr. D. L. Ekberg of Virginia Commonwealth University and 
Dr. Robertson of Vanderbilt University.

To conduct studies in anti-gravity, some research tools had to be 
adapted to the space environment.  In order to conduct one 
experiment, Blomqvist and his associate Boyce Moon, a senior 
research scientist in internal medicine, modified a clinical 
method of testing blood pressure control.  The simple test 
normally involves plunging a hand into ice water.  To perform the 
test in space the two created a mitt filled with an icy gel.  In 
another innovation Dr. Cole Giller, a consultant to the space lab 
and an assistant professor of neurological surgery, developed a 
Doppler ultrasound technique that will allow monitoring of the 
blood flow to the brain in space during a wide range of 
activities.

Buckey and Pawelczyk are on leave from their academic posts at 
other universities to work with NASA in Houston, where they have 
trained for the past two years.
------------------------------------------------------------------

YORK UNIVERSITY "ON BOARD" WHEN SPACE SHUTTLE COLUMBIA BLASTS OFF 
APRIL 16
York University release

9 April 1998

Two of the 26 experiments set to blast off with the Space Shuttle 
Columbia on April 16--and the only two Canadian experiments on 
board--have been developed by research teams with strong 
connections to York University.

Barry Fowler, a professor of kinesiology and Health Science at 
York, is the lead researcher on an experiment that will probe why 
astronauts lose eye-hand coordination when they work in the 
weightless environment of space.  His research team includes 
Deanna Comfort, a York Ph.D. student in psychology, and Dr. Otmar 
Bock, formerly of the Center for Research in Earth and Space 
Technology (CRESTech) at York and now affiliated with the Deutsche 
Sporthochschule Koln in Germany.

Ian Howard is a Distinguished Research Professor emeritus of the 
Departments of Psychology and Biology at York and the Co-director 
of the Human Performance Laboratory in CRESTech, a provincial 
Center of Excellence with its headquarters at York.  Howard heads 
a Canadian team, which includes CRESTech project scientists Jim 
Zacher and Heather Jenkin.  Together with an American team led by 
Dr. Chuck Oman of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, they 
are responsible for the "Role of Visual Cues in Spatial 
Orientation" experiment, which will look at how astronauts orient 
themselves during work in space, and how they develop a sense of 
what is "up" and "down."

"Having these two experiments on board the Shuttle is very 
exciting and a testament to ground-breaking research going on at 
York, not only into how the body reacts to space flight, but also 
in related areas of space science, astronomy, earth and 
atmospheric science, and computer science," said Bob Prince, 
York's Dean of Pure and Applied Science.

Howard's and Fowler's experiments join 24 others aboard the 17-day 
STS-90 Shuttle mission, called Neurolab.  Seven astronauts, 
including Canadian Space Agency astronaut Dave Williams, will 
conduct the experiments on the effects of weightlessness on the 
nervous system, one of the most complex and least understood parts 
of the human body.

Made up of the brain, spinal cord, nerves, and sensory organs, the 
nervous system faces major challenges during space flight.  The 
brain helps to regulate blood pressure, coordinate movement, 
regulate sleep and more--and all of these functions will be 
investigated on board the Neurolab mission.

For Fowler's experiment, astronauts on board the Shuttle will 
conduct a series of tests to see whether they can adapt their eye-
hand coordination as they adjust to weightlessness.  Fowler said 
his experiment will help us understand how astronauts will adapt 
to prolonged weightlessness on the International Space Station.

Howard's experiment will be conducted using NASA's Virtual 
Environment Generator (VEG) to test astronauts in three different 
"virtual" environments.  "This experiment should greatly improve 
our understanding of how humans orient themselves, and could be 
enormously helpful in combating spatial disorientation, not just 
among astronauts but also among pilots and ordinary drivers here 
on earth," said Howard.

The work these scientists do contributes to the quality of 
education offered by York University's Faculties of Arts and Pure 
and Applied Science.  "York is particularly proud of the co-
operative relationship we've developed with many other important 
actors in the space science field, such as the Canadian Space 
Agency and CRESTech," said Associate Vice-President (Research and 
Faculties) Brock Fenton.

To celebrate York's involvement in the Space Shuttle mission, the 
York Alumni Association has organized a visit to the Kennedy Space 
Center in Florida to observe final preparations for the launch and 
the Shuttle take-off on April 16.  Joining York alumnus and 
Canadian astronaut Steve MacLean (York Ph.D. '83) in Florida will 
be Chair of the York Board of Governors Charles Hantho, Co-Chair 
of York's National Campaign and Board of Governors' member John 
Bankes (York MBA, LLB '77), Alumni Association Director Charles 
Kennedy, Project Scientists Jenkin and Zacher, and approximately 
50 York alumni and guests.

For more information, please contact:

Sine MacKinnon
Sr. Advisor, Media Relations
York University
(416) 736-2100, ext.  22087

Alison Masemann
Media Relations Officer
York University
(416) 736-2100, ext. 22086

Nicole Gignac
Canadian Space Agency
cell:  (514) 894-2865

Backgrounder

VISUO-MOTOR COORDINATION FACILITY EXPERIMENT (VCF)
*Co-investigator:  Dr. Barry Fowler, Professor of Kinesiology and 
Health
Science, York University
*Canadian Project Scientist:  Deanna Comfort, Ph.D. candidate in 
Experimental
Psychology, York University

Dr. Barry Fowler's team is in charge of the Visuo-Motor 
Coordination Facility experiment, designed to measure the subtle 
loss of eye-hand coordination that occurs when astronauts work in 
the weightless environment of space.

Astronauts show poor coordination in space because their bodies 
are accustomed to compensating for the earth's strong 
gravitational pull.  In space, that force is substantially 
reduced, so they can easily misjudge simple distances.  For 
example, if an astronaut tried to catch a baseball in space, he or 
she would get hit in the head -- because his or her "light" arm, 
which is not being held down by the force of gravity, reaches too 
high and misses the ball entirely.

The study will be performed by six astronauts before, during and 
after the flight.  The astronauts' eye-hand coordination will be 
measured while they point, grasp and track computer-generated 
targets that appear to be floating in space.  During the test, the 
astronauts will wear a specially designed glove that allows 
precise tracking of hand movements and response times.

Each astronaut will be tested several times over the course of the 
flight to determine whether humans eventually adapt their 
movements to weightlessness in space.  If they do, all the better, 
but if they don't, Fowler's team will study these results to 
determine the best strategy for helping astronauts overcome these 
problems.

The results of these experiments are more important as shuttle 
pilots depend more and more on quick and accurate coordination to 
maneuver intricately along other objects in space.  To dock a 
space station safely, for instance, the pilot must be accurate 
within a few centimeters while both vehicles move through space at 
30,000 km per hour.  Space engineers could use such knowledge to 
better design cockpit instrumentation, taking into account pilots' 
limited coordination during sudden or ongoing weightlessness.

THE ROLE OF VISUAL CUES IN SPACE ORIENTATION (VISO)
*Co-investigator:  Dr. Ian Howard, Co-Director of the Human 
Performance Laboratory (HPL) in the Center for Research in Earth 
and Space Technology (CRESTech), Distinguished Research Professor, 
York University Psychology & Biology departments
*HPL Project scientists:  James Zacher and Heather Jenkins, 
CRESTech

Dr. Ian Howard's team will study the process by which astronauts 
orient themselves during work in space.  In our daily lives, 
gravity produces a constant anchor for us to use as a reference 
for orientation.  But in space, astronauts lose this reference.  
They lose sense of what is objectively "up" and "down," and often 
become motion sick while subconsciously trying to figure it out.

This "space motion sickness" affects nearly half of all 
astronauts.  A contributing factor to space sickness may be a 
conflict between astronauts' visual cues and the absence of inner 
ear and somatic sensations (pressure on your feet or seat).  Space 
motion sickness is a significant cost in terms of astronaut "down 
time," reduced work quality, and danger due to impaired 
coordination.

The Visual Cues experiment will try to discover how quickly 
astronauts switch from using the balance organs in the inner ears 
to using strictly visual cues to orient themselves.  It will also 
examine how "fake" gravity (putting pressure on the bottom of 
their feet) can override these visual cues, and how long it takes 
to re-adapt once the astronauts have returned to earth.

One of the primary goals of this experiment is to uncover whether 
virtual reality pre-training for astronauts might be more 
effective than current training practices.  The tests will be 
conducted in three different "virtual reality" environments, 
created by NASA's Virtual Environment Generator (VEG).  These 
environments include a spherical room with no "up" or "down" cues 
and a cubic room, furnished and unfurnished.  The astronauts will 
be tested in the real rooms before and after flight, and in the 
virtual reality version of the rooms while on the Space Shuttle.

The VISO experiment will help improve our understanding of 
conditions that create spatial disorientation, which is a problem 
not just for in-space travel, but also for pilots and drivers here 
on earth.  The insights into the way the nervous system 
establishes a balance between information it gathers from the 
inner ear and the eyes could also help in testing patients with 
neurological diseases.
------------------------------------------------------------------

SHUTTLE MISSION WILL USE ESA EQUIPMENT TO FOCUS ON "INNER SPACE"
ESA release 15-98

15 April 1998

When the US Space Shuttle blasts off on 16 April on a mission to 
investigate the human nervous system, it will be carrying a unique 
rotating chair that is set to add a new dimension to the 
astronaut's already topsy-turvy life in space.

Developed for the European Space Agency (ESA) by a European 
industrial team headed by Aerospatiale, the special chair will 
spin astronauts at speeds of up to 45 rpm as part of an experiment 
to investigate the role of the inner ear in detecting changes in 
motion and orientation.  While they are being rotated, the 
astronauts will wear a sophisticated head display unit and 
measuring device that will record their eye movements and thus 
their response to the stimulation as they attempt to orient 
themselves.

The ESA rotating chair is one of the main items of equipment 
onboard the Shuttle's STS-90/Neurolab flight that will focus on 
the effects of weightlessness on the nervous system, one of the 
most complex and least understood parts of the human body.  The 
16-day Neurolab flight will bring together two of the last great 
frontiers of human exploration -- outer space and inner space.

Scientists from France, Germany and Italy are leading seven of the 
26 experiments, which range from studies of the inner ear and 
sleep patterns to a very visual study of how astronauts adapt to 
catching a ball in weightlessness.  The results should have many 
practical applications back on Earth.  For those with disease or 
trauma to the ear's vestibular system which senses balance, for 
those with cerebral deficiencies and neurological diseases such as 
Parkinson's, and for the millions with orthostatic intolerance 
(dizziness from standing up too quickly), Neurolab research may 
offer further insight into the disorder or new approaches to 
diagnosis leading to more effective treatment.

Neurolab is also expected to provide key answers to how the human 
body functions in weightlessness, clarifying the requirements for 
upcoming long-term stays on the International Space Station.

Most of the experiments to be carried out by the seven-member 
crew, which includes three medical doctors, will take place in 
Spacelab, the pressurized scientific laboratory carried in the 
Shuttle's cargo bay.  Developed by ESA and built by European 
industry under the leadership of ERNO (now Daimler-Benz 
Aerospace), Spacelab is making its 22nd and final scheduled trip 
into orbit after 15 years of service.

The Shuttle is scheduled to lift-off from the Kennedy Space Center 
in Florida at 20:19 Central European Time on 16 April.

To learn more about the Neurolab mission and its science, visit 
the ESA web page:  http://www.eas.int
------------------------------------------------------------------

MOC VIEWS VIKING LANDER 1 SITE THROUGH DUST STORM CLOUDS
JPL release

15 April 1998

[The images described here may be viewed at 
http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/mgs/msss/camera/images/4_14_98_vl1_releas
e/index.html]

Shortly after 08:32 PDT on 12 April 1998, the Mars Global Surveyor 
spacecraft pointed the Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) towards the 
location of the Viking Lander 1 near 22.48 N, 47.97 W.  During 
acquisition of the 2.7 meter (8.8 foot) per pixel (projected 
resolution) image, the spacecraft was about 640 km from the site, 
viewing down from space at an angle of 31.64.  The local 
illumination conditions at the time were equivalent to a local 
martian solar time of 9:20 AM.

[Image]
MOC 23501 (red) and 23502 (blue) Wide Angle Context Image (showing 
location of MOC 23503) (JPEG = 825 KB)

The figure above shows the wide-angle view of the region during 
the orbit 235 observations.  This view, a map projection, shows an 
image area of about 310 km wide by 290 km, at a scale of 300 
meters (985 feet) per pixel.  The green channel of this image was 
synthesized from the red and blue channels.  Noted by a white box 
is the outline of the MOC high-resolution (narrow angle) image 
(MOC 23503).

A well-developed local dust storm dominates this view of the 
planet.  Plumes from the storm suggest that the wind is blowing 
from lower left to wards the upper right.  The slightly dark zone 
around the dust cloud may be surface that has been swept clean of 
a fraction of the mobile dust.  The dust cloud obscures most of 
the landing site as seen in this image.

[Image]
Viking Orbiter 027A63 showing location of MOC 23503 (GIF = 2.2 MB)

This figure shows the location of the MOC high-resolution image, 
as seen on a Viking Orbiter frame.  The map-projected VO frame 
(027A63) shown here has a displayed scale of 28 meters (92 feet) 
per pixel.  The Viking image was acquired on 17 July 1976 at 3:07 
AM PDT.

The Viking Lander 1 site is on a relatively smooth plain in Chryse 
Planitia.  Seen in this Viking image are two important attributes 
of this location:  brightness "streaks" associated with impact 
craters and irregular, almost sinuous ridges.  The dark streaks 
pointing towards the northeast are consistent with the direction 
of winter, downslope winds (as seen in the present dust storm).  
Such dark streaks usually develop as light-colored dust is kicked 
up by turbulence behind the crater and then transported away by 
the wind.  The ridges are believed to reflect tectonic forces 
associated with the ground's adjustment to the weight of material 
filling the Chryse basin.  The origin of the fill is not certain:  
it may be lava flows, flood debris, or both.

[Image]

MOC 23503 full frame at 1/8th resolution (GIF = 283 KB)

This figure shows the MOC image 23503 at roughly the same scale as 
the Viking image (22 meters, or 71 feet, per pixel).  Remarkably, 
despite the cloudiness seen in the low-resolution wide-angle 
images, considerable surface detail is visible.  The MOC image 
shows two phenomena associated with the dust cloudy atmosphere--a 
reduction in contrast caused by the haziness of the atmosphere and 
a light and dark mottling that reflects local variations in cloud 
thickness (not particularly the light patches at the extreme top 
and bottom of the image).  Note that this version of the image has 
been processed to enhance both small detail while trying to retain 
the overall brightness variations.  The dark band near the center 
of the image represents data lost during the transmission and 
transport of the image to Malin Space Science Systems.

[Image]< [Image]

(Left) Mosaic of Viking Orbiter 452B11 (left) and 452B10 (right) 
(GIF = 292 KB)
(Right) MOC 23503 (partial frame) (GIF = 2.13 MB)

The left-hand image, above, is a section out of a mosaic of two 
Viking Orbiter very high-resolution images, also taken under less-
than-optimum illumination and atmospheric conditions.  The two 
Viking frames (452B10 and 452B11) were map-projected to a common 
scale of 7 meters (22.8 feet) per pixel and portions mosaicked.  
The white arrow points to the approximate position of the lander, 
as determined by Morris and Jones (Icarus 44, 217-222, 1980) from 
matching features seen in lander images with features seen in 
these orbiter pictures.  Owing to atmospheric hazes and some 
residual spacecraft motion-blur, the effective scale of these 
images is probably between 10 and 12 meters (33 and 40 feet) per 
pixel.

The right-hand view, above, is a section of MOC narrow angle frame 
23503 that covers the same area as seen in the highest resolution 
Viking images.  This map-projected picture has a scale of 2.7 
meters (9 feet) per pixel.  However, defocus of the camera and, 
more importantly, atmospheric haze, reduces the effective scale of 
this image to about 4 meters (13 feet) per pixel.  This scale is 
insufficient to resolve the Viking Lander, and the image shows no 
indication of the presence of the lander.  The scale is also 
marginal for distinguishing large rocks.  Some can be seen as part 
of the ejecta of the larger craters in the scene (especially 
around the fresh crater about a kilometer to the west of the 
landing site).  Although the MOC image is about 3 times higher 
resolution than the Viking image, the combination of non-vertical 
viewing, the less-than-optimum illumination conditions, and the 
substantial atmospheric contribution to image degradation, all 
lead to an image that does not address the major outstanding 
questions regarding the site.  Images acquired if the spacecraft 
passes over the landing site during the mapping will be 
substantially better.
------------------------------------------------------------------

STARDUST Status Report
By Ken Atkins, STARDUST project manager

10 April 1998

Activity continued to increase related to assembly of the flight 
system.  The Flight Cometary & Interstellar Dust Analyzer (CIDA) 
was delivered by the team from Germany's Max Planck Institute.  
Initial setups and checkouts were completed demonstrating the 
instrument's capability to transmit examples of the kind of data 
it will collect in flight.  Some very important progress was also 
made by the navigation camera team as they completed testing and 
calibration at JPL in preparation for next week's delivery to 
Lockheed Martin Astronautics in Denver, Colorado.  This camera 
will be used to provide pictures to the navigators as they make 
the final course corrections for the cometary flythrough.  It will 
also be the instrument for taking the "up-close-and-personal" 
images of Comet Wild 2 as the spacecraft cruises some 150 miles 
(about 240 kilometers) above the now-unknown surface of the 
comet's nucleus.  The team at Lockheed Martin Astronautics also 
completed some deployment testing on the spacecraft's solar array 
demonstrating how Stardust will "spread its wings" following 
launch and separation from the launch rocket.  Finally, a test 
unit of the aerogel collector was reviewed in preparation for 
using it to test how we will keep it extremely clean during its 
installation and launch.  It is partially loaded with examples of 
flight-quality aerogel.  Photos of the collector, the dust 
analyzer instrument and navigation camera are available by 
clicking the "photogallery" button 
(http://stardust.jpl.nasa.gov/photo/spacecraft.html) on the 
website.

For more information on the STARDUST mission--the first ever comet 
sample return mission--please visit the STARDUST home page:  
http://stardust.jpl.nasa.gov
------------------------------------------------------------------

End MARSBUGS Vol. 5, No. 11
