MARSBUGS:  
The Electronic Astrobiology Newsletter
Volume 5, Number 16, 13 August 1998.

Editors:

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

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

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.  Article 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 and Word97 files suitable for 
printing may be obtained via anonymous FTP at 
ftp.uidaho.edu/pub/mmbb/marsbugs.  Also, an official web page is 
under construction.  Currently it is part of 
http://members.aol.com/marsbugs/dave.html (right now, the page 
simply points to the FTP site).

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.

Astrobiology 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 and astrobiology (life on other 
planets), the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI), 
ecopoeisis and terraformation, Earth from space, planetary 
biology, primordial evolution, space physiology, biological life 
support systems, and human habitation of space and other planets.
------------------------------------------------------------------

INDEX

1)	EDITORS' NOTE
	David Thomas and Julian Hiscox

2)	WATER HISTORY, ROCK COMPOSITION AMONG LATEST FINDINGS A YEAR 
AFTER MARS PATHFINDER
JPL release

3)	SPECIAL HANDLING REQUIRED FOR SAMPLES FROM SOME SPACE OBJECTS
National Academy of Sciences release

4)	NASA ESTABLISHES NEAR-EARTH OBJECT PROGRAM OFFICE AT JET 
PROPULSION LABORATORY
NASA release 98-132

5)	COMETARY IMPACT WITH EARTH UNLIKELY IN THE NEXT 500,000 YEARS
Earle Holland

6)	POSSIBLE NEW MARS METEORITE FOUND IN THE SAHARA DESERT
JPL release

7)	NASA MANAGERS CONSIDER POSTPONING DEPLOYMENT OF MARS GLOBAL 
SURVEYOR ANTENNA
JPL release

8)	THE SHAPE OF LIFE:  HOW DOES THE COMPUTER "KNOW" WHEN IT SEES 
IT?

9)	ARCTIC CRATER EXPEDITION TO SEEK MARS SCIENCE INSIGHTS AND 
TEST FUTURE EXPLORATION TECHNOLOGIES
NASA release 98-105

10)	NASA UNVEILS NEW INTERNET SITE FOR FIRE MONITORING BY 
SATELLITE
NASA note N98-40

11)	GALILEO EUROPA MISSION STATUS
JPL releases

12)	THIS WEEK ON GALILEO
JPL release

13)	1998 MARS SURVEYOR PROJECT STATUS REPORTS
John McNamee

14)	STARDUST STATUS REPORTS
Ken Atkins

15)	MARS SOCIETY 2001 ROVER MOBILIZATION SCORES PARTIAL SUCCESS
Mars Society release

16)	MARS SOCIETY FOUNDING CONVENTION TO BE MAJOR INTERNATIONAL 
GATHERING
Mars Society release

17)	ESA 2003 MARS EXPRESS MISSION AT RISK:  EUROPEANS NEED TO 
SPEAK UP
Mars Society release

18)	LATEST EVIDENCE OF LIFE ON MARS TO BE PRESENTED AT MARS 
SOCIETY CONFERENCE
Mars Society release

19)	MARS SOCIETY TO OFFER "HAKLUYT PRIZE" FOR BEST STUDENT LETTER 
TO WORLD LEADERS
Mars Society release

20)	ASCB URGES NASA TO CONCENTRATE ON GROUND, NOT SPACE, RESEARCH
American Society for Cell Biology
------------------------------------------------------------------

EDITORS' NOTE
By David Thomas and Julian Hiscox

Some readers of this issue of Marsbugs may have noticed a slight 
change in our title.  This newsletter is now called Marsbugs:  The 
Electronic Astrobiology Newsletter.  With the renewed interest in 
the possibility of life on other planets and the creation of new 
astrobiology labs and centers and some of NASA's research 
facilities, we thought that the name change was appropriate.  The 
scope and content of Marsbugs will remain the same as it has been 
for the past five years.

We apologize for the lateness, and thus the size, of this issue.  
Dave has recently returned from NASA's Kennedy Space Center where 
he was on staff for the Space Life Sciences Training Program 
(SLSTP) and the articles have piled up.  In a future issue, we 
hope to include abstracts from the SLSTP students' projects.  
Anyway, we should be getting back to a more "regular" publishing 
schedule soon and we hope you enjoy this issue.
------------------------------------------------------------------

WATER HISTORY, ROCK COMPOSITION AMONG LATEST FINDINGS A YEAR AFTER 
MARS PATHFINDER
JPL release

29 June 1998

A year after the landing of Mars Pathfinder, mission scientists 
say that data from the spacecraft paint two strikingly different 
pictures of the role of water on the red planet, and yield 
surprising conclusions about the composition of rocks at the 
landing site.

"Many of the things that we said last summer during the excitement 
after the landing have held up well," said Dr. Matthew Golombek, 
Pathfinder project scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory 
(JPL), Pasadena, CA.  "But we have now had more time to study the 
data and are coming up with some new conclusions."

Similar to on-going science results from NASA's Mars Global 
Surveyor spacecraft currently in orbit around Mars, Pathfinder 
data suggest that the planet may have been awash in water three 
billion to 4.5 billion years ago.  The immediate vicinity of the 
Pathfinder landing site, however, appears to have been dry and 
unchanged for the past two billion years.

Several clues from Pathfinder data point to a wet and warm early 
history on Mars, according to Golombek.  Magnetized dust particles 
and the possible presence of rocks that are conglomerates of 
smaller rocks, pebbles and soil suggest copious water in the 
distant past.  In addition, the bulk of the landing site appears 
to have been deposited by large volumes of water, and the hills on 
the horizon known as Twin Peaks appear to be streamlined islands 
shaped by water.

But Pathfinder images also suggest that the landing site is 
essentially unchanged since catastrophic flooding sent rocks 
tumbling across the plain two billion years ago.  "Since then this 
locale has been dry and static," he said.

While the area appears to have been untouched by water for eons, 
wind appears to have been steadily eroding rocks at the landing 
site.  Analysis of Pathfinder images shows that about three to 
five centimeters (one to two inches) of material has been stripped 
away from the surface by wind, Golombek noted.

"Overall, this site has experienced a net erosion in recent 
times," said Golombek.  "There are other places on Mars that are 
net 'sinks,' or places where dust ends up being deposited.  
Amazonis Planitia, for example, probably has about one to two 
meters (three to six feet) of fine, powdery dust that you would 
sink into if you stepped on it."

Chemical analysis of a number of rocks by the alpha proton X-ray 
spectrometer (APXS) instrument on Pathfinder's mobile Sojourner 
rover, meanwhile, reveals an unexpected composition that 
scientists are still trying to explain.  The current assessment of 
data from this instrument suggests that all of the rocks studied 
by the rover resemble a type of volcanic rock with a high silicon 
content known on Earth as andesite, covered with a fine layer of 
dust.  All of the rocks appear to be chemically far different from 
meteorites discovered on Earth that are believed to have come from 
Mars.

"The APXS tells us that all of these rocks are the same thing with 
different amounts of dust on them," said Golombek.  "But images 
suggest that there are different types of rocks.  We don't yet 
know how to reconcile this."

When molten magma oozes up from a planet's mantle onto the surface 
of the outer crust, it usually freezes into igneous rock of a type 
that geologists call basalt.  This is typical on the floors of 
Earth's oceans, as well as on the maria of the Moon and in many 
regions of Mercury and Venus.  By contrast, andesites typically 
form on Earth in tectonically active regions when magma rises into 
pockets within the crust, where some of its iron and magnesium-
rich components are removed, leaving rock with a higher silicon 
content.  "We don't believe that Mars has had plate tectonics, so 
these andesites must have formed by a different mechanism," 
Golombek said.

The rocks studied by Pathfinder most closely resemble andesites 
found in Iceland and the Galapagos Islands, tectonic spreading 
centers where plates are being pushed apart, said Dr. Joy Crisp, 
an investigation scientist on the spectrometer experiment at JPL.  
Andesites from these areas have a different chemical signature 
from andesites formed at subduction zones, mostly because wet 
ocean sediments carry more water down into the mantle at the 
subduction zones.  "On Mars, where the water content is probably 
lower and there is no evidence of subduction, we would expect a 
closer chemical similarity to Iceland andesites," said Crisp.

The Martian rocks may have other origins, however.  They could be 
sedimentary and influenced by water processes; they could be 
formed by melting processes resulting from a meteor impact; or, a 
third alternative is that the rocks might be basaltic, but covered 
by a silicon-rich weathering coating.  "In any event, the presence 
of andesites on Mars is a surprise, if it is borne out as we study 
the data further," said Crisp.  "Most rocks on Mars are expected 
to be basalts lower in silicon.  If these are in fact andesites, 
they are probably not very abundant."

Pathfinder scientists are looking forward to more data from the 
Thermal Emission Spectrometer instrument on the Mars Global 
Surveyor to reveal more about the chemical composition of the 
planet's surface, especially once the orbiting spacecraft begins 
its prime circular mapping mission in spring 1999.

In other recent Pathfinder science findings, Dr. Steven Metzger of 
the University of Nevada found direct evidence of gusting winds 
called "dust devils" in images from Pathfinder's lander.  Such 
dust devils had been seen in some Viking orbiter images and 
inferred from measurements of atmospheric pressure and winds by 
other instruments on the Pathfinder lander, but were not spotted 
in actual surface images until Metzger's discovery.

JPL planetary scientist Dr. Diana Blaney has been using data from 
Pathfinder, other spacecraft missions and ground-based 
observations to study weathering on Mars.  Her work suggests that 
Mars is uniformly covered by a fine coating of dust formed by an 
unusual process involving meteor impacts and volcanic gases that 
add sulfur.

NASA's next Mars missions, the 1998 Mars Climate Orbiter and Mars 
Polar Lander, are in testing now for launch in December and 
January, respectively.  Whereas Pathfinder's science focus was on 
exploring rocks with its mobile robotic geologist, the Mars Polar 
Lander will focus on a search for water under the planet's 
surface, equipped with a robot arm that will dig into the soil at 
the landing site near the planet's south pole.

Launched on December 4, 1996, Pathfinder reached Mars on July 4, 
1997, directly entering the planet's atmosphere and bouncing on 
inflated airbags as a technology demonstration of a new way to 
deliver a lander and rover to Mars.  The lander operated nearly 
three times its design lifetime of 30 days, while the rover 
operated 12 times its design lifetime of seven days.

During the mission, the spacecraft relayed an unprecedented 2.3 
gigabits of data, including 16,500 images from the lander's 
camera, 550 images from the rover camera, 16 chemical analyses of 
rocks and soil, and 8.5 million measurements of atmospheric 
pressure, temperature and wind.

Mars Pathfinder was designed, built and operated by JPL for NASA's 
Office of Space Science, Washington, DC.  JPL is a division of the 
California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA.
------------------------------------------------------------------

SPECIAL HANDLING REQUIRED FOR SAMPLES FROM SOME SPACE OBJECTS
National Academy of Sciences release

17 July 1998

NASA is planning several missions in the next decade to collect 
samples from a variety of small solar system bodies and planetary 
satellites.  At the request of the agency, a task force of the 
National Research Council surveyed the potential for microscopic 
life existing on moons, asteroids, comets, and cosmic dust, and 
determined that a few cases may pose enough risk of contaminating 
Earth to require special handling procedures when the samples are 
brought home.

To establish its risk criteria, the task force first looked at the 
range of conditions under which life can propagate.  These 
conditions include the presence of water and organic compounds, 
availability of energy sources, suitable temperatures, and 
protection from radiation.  The group also considered conditions 
under which life can be dormant.  And, they considered the 
possibility that materials containing life forms could have been 
transported to objects from elsewhere in the solar system--for 
example, on a meteorite.

Although the chances of encountering life forms are extremely low, 
samples meeting the task force's criteria would require strict 
containment procedures modeled on those recommended for samples 
brought back from Mars, as outlined in a 1997 Research Council 
report.  These procedures include quarantine, screening, and 
otherwise treating the materials as if they were biohazards until 
proved safe.

Of the space objects considered in the report, two of Jupiter's 
moons--Europa and Ganymede--offer the greatest potential of 
harboring microscopic life.  Europa is the prime candidate among 
the objects studied for the possibility of past or present life 
based on evidence from the Voyager and Galileo space probes of an 
ocean beneath the moon's icy crust.  Because Ganymede may once 
have had an ocean as well, caution in handling samples taken from 
there is also warranted.  Sufficient temperatures for the 
existence of life and protection from radiation may also be 
present given the moons' positions orbiting Jupiter.

In addition, samples from certain types of asteroids--the P- and 
D-types found in the outer parts of the asteroid belt between Mars 
and Jupiter--merit strict procedures as a precaution because so 
little is known about their origin and composition.  The task 
force recommended that dust particles collected near Europa, 
Ganymede, and these asteroids be approached with the same caution.

The report notes cases in which no special handling or containment 
procedures are necessary because these objects have been 
determined to be lifeless or because their conditions preclude the 
presence of life.  These objects include the Earth's moon, new 
comets, and cosmic dust exposed to sterilizing radiation in space.

However, the report calls for scrutiny in any case where a lack of 
complete data cannot eliminate all risks.  To reduce uncertainties 
in these cases, the task force recommended creating a database 
that charts the capacity of earthly microbes to survive extreme 
temperatures and radiation similar to those found in space.  Such 
data could help determine the levels needed to sterilize samples.

NASA funded the study.  The National Research Council is the 
principal operating agency of the National Academy of Sciences and 
the National Academy of Engineering.  It is a private, non-profit 
institution that provides science and technology advice under a 
congressional charter.  A task force roster follows.

Copies of Evaluating the Biological Potential in Returned Samples 
from Planetary Satellites and Small Solar System Bodies:  
Framework for Decision Making will be available in August from the 
National Academy Press for an estimated $40.00 (prepaid) plus 
shipping charges of $4.00 for the first copy and $.50 for each 
additional copy; telephone (202) 334-3313 or 1-800-624-6242.  
Reporters may obtain a pre-publication copy from the Office of 
News and Public Information (contacts listed above).
------------------------------------------------------------------

NASA ESTABLISHES NEAR-EARTH OBJECT PROGRAM OFFICE AT JET 
PROPULSION LABORATORY
NASA release 98-132

14 July 1998

A new program office to coordinate NASA-sponsored efforts to 
detect, track and characterize potentially hazardous asteroids and 
comets that could approach Earth will be established at NASA's Jet 
Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), Pasadena, CA.  NASA's Near-Earth 
Object Program Office will focus on the goal of locating at least 
90 percent of the estimated 2,000 asteroids and comets that 
approach the Earth and are larger than about 2/3-mile (about 1 
kilometer) in diameter, by the end of the next decade.

"These are objects that are difficult to detect because of their 
relatively small size, but are large enough to cause global 
effects if one hit the Earth," said Dr. Donald K. Yeomans of JPL, 
who will head the new program office.  "Finding a majority of this 
population will require the efforts of researchers at several NASA 
centers, at universities and at observatories across the country, 
and will require the participation by the international astronomy 
community as well."

"We determined that, in order to achieve our goals, we need a more 
formal focusing of our near-Earth object tracking efforts and 
related communications with the supporting research community," 
said Dr. B. Carl Pilcher, science director for Solar System 
Exploration in NASA's Office of Space Science, NASA Headquarters.  
"I want to emphasize that science research solicitations and 
resulting peer reviews, international coordination, and strategic 
planning regarding future missions will remain the 
responsibilities of NASA Headquarters."

In addition to managing the detection and cataloging of near-Earth 
objects, the new NASA office will be responsible for facilitating 
communications between the astronomical community and the public 
should any potentially hazardous objects be discovered as a result 
of the program, Pilcher said.

JPL was selected to host the program office because of its 
expertise in precisely tracking the positions and predicted paths 
of asteroids and comets.  No significant additional staff hiring 
at JPL is expected at this time.

A fact sheet describing NASA's research and spacecraft missions 
related to asteroids and comets is available on the Internet at 
the following address:
http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/facts/HTML/FS-023-HQ.htm
------------------------------------------------------------------

COMETARY IMPACT WITH EARTH UNLIKELY IN THE NEXT 500,000 YEARS
By Earle Holland, Ohio State University

31 July 1998

Contrary to Hollywood's latest predictions, it is highly unlikely 
that a comet will rain death and destruction on the earth during 
the next half-million years, according to a new study.  Two Ohio 
State University astronomers reported in Astrophysical Journal 
Letters that a new review of the motions of thousands of nearby 
stars failed to show any rogue stars capable of pulling comets out 
of their orbits and into the earth's path.  Jay Frogel and Andrew 
Gould, professor and associate professor of astronomy at Ohio 
State, were looking for evidence of the so-called "death star" 
scenario where a passing star might alter the current orbits of 
comets near our solar system and send them our way.

There is ample evidence both on earth and on other planets, they 
say, that shows comets and asteroids have impacted with 
devastating results.  Two new movies--"Deep Impact" and 
"Armageddon"--depend on this premise for their drama.  Frogel's 
interest, however, was spurred by geological evidence of such past 
impacts, he says, and not by the new movies.

He and Gould turned to a relatively new resource to conduct their 
search--the HIPPARCOS catalogue.  In 1989, the European Space 
Agency launched the HIPPARCOS satellite with its mission to 
accurately measure the location and motion of more than 120,000 
stars.  Astronomers believe a massive cloud of comets--the Oort 
Cloud--lies as much as 100,000 AU out from the sun, surrounding 
our solar system.  (An AU is the distance between the earth and 
the sun--approximately 93 million miles.) If a star passed through 
that cloud, its gravitational field might nudge a comet out of 
orbit and towards the earth.  Frogel and Gould looked in the 
HIPPARCOS Catalogue specifically for stars with near zero proper 
motion--stars that were either coming directly in our direction, 
or moving directly away.  Any star that had already passed would 
appear to be moving directly away.

"For all intents and purposes, you should just see a star that 
appeared not to be moving at all," Gould said.  The one potential 
candidate the researchers did find turned out to be a star 
previously identified by other scientists.  They failed also to 
find evidence of stars that may have already passed nearby.

Gould's analysis of the HIPPARCOS catalogue showed that it should 
be sensitive enough to detect zero proper motion of any stars 
brighter than 8th magnitude.  Eighth magnitude stars appear about 
25 times fainter than those visible to the naked eye.  Gould said 
that these bright stars are important candidates for the death 
star scenario.  "They're bright either because they are close by 
or because of their size," he said.  The larger the star, the 
greater it's gravitational effect might be on nearby comets.

"We showed that theoretically, about 96 percent of the possible 
damaging events (the passing of such stars) should show up in the 
HIPPARCOS catalogue," Gould said.  They had defined a "damaging 
event" as a star passing within 20,000 AU of the sun.

Frogel and Gould are cautious with their predictions--"We can't 
guarantee that a comet won't hit the earth next year."  Their 
analysis of the catalogue, however, makes it "unlikely that a 
major (comet) shower will occur in the next half-million years."

Gould said, "The chance that a big enough star to cause 
significant damage would go through (our region) in the next 10 
million years is extremely small."

Frogel said he and Gould are confident about their analysis of the 
HIPPARCOS catalogue.  The next step would be to seek a "death 
star" candidate among stars that were too faint to be included in 
HIPPARCOS.  

Another satellite--GAIA--has been proposed by ESA, which would 
measure the motions of 50 million objects, including stars as 
faint as 15th magnitude.  If approved, GAIA would be launched no 
sooner than the year 2009.

Some support for this research came from the National Science 
Foundation.  
------------------------------------------------------------------

POSSIBLE NEW MARS METEORITE FOUND IN THE SAHARA DESERT
JPL release

4 August 1998

At the 61st Meteoritical Society Meeting held in Dublin, Ireland 
last week, an announcement was made by Jutta Zipfel that a new 
Mars meteorite was recovered from the Sahara Desert.  If 
confirmed, this would bring the total number of Mars meteorites to 
13.  The last recovery of a Mars meteorite was QUE 94201 from the 
Antarctic in 1994, and the last recovery of a Mars meteorite 
outside of the Antarctic was from Zagami, Nigeria in 1962.  The 
new Mars meteorite weighs about 2kg and is owned by a private 
collector, who was not identified.  The Sahara meteorite has been 
tentatively classified as a shergotite, the most common type of 
Mars meteorite.  Detailed analysis is currently underway by 
European scientists.  Current news and updates on the meteorite 
will be maintained on my Mars Meteorite home page.  
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/snc
------------------------------------------------------------------

NASA MANAGERS CONSIDER POSTPONING DEPLOYMENT OF MARS GLOBAL 
SURVEYOR ANTENNA
JPL release

10 August 1998

Concern over the deployment mechanism for the high-gain 
communication antenna on the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft has 
caused NASA managers to consider postponing the antenna's 
deployment in order to maximize the probability of mission 
success.  The project team is studying a postponement of up to 
nine months in the antenna deployment, which currently is 
scheduled to take place in March 1999.  The spacecraft, now in 
orbit around Mars, uses the undeployed high-gain antenna to 
communicate with Earth, but the entire spacecraft must be turned 
to point the antenna toward Earth during each communication 
session.

"We have not made any decisions yet, but we want to take a 
conservative approach in order to protect the mission as fully as 
possible," said Glenn E.  Cunningham, Mars Global Surveyor project 
manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), Pasadena, CA.  
"A delay in the antenna deployment would reduce the flow of 
imagery and science data somewhat, but we have some ideas about 
how to compensate for that."

Launched in November 1996 and in Mars orbit since September 1997, 
Mars Global Surveyor carries a dish-shaped high-gain antenna that 
is to be deployed on a 2-meter-long (6.6-foot) boom for the global 
mapping portion of the mission.  The antenna is stowed during 
launch and the early orbital phase at Mars so that the exhaust 
plume from the spacecraft's main engine does not contaminate it.  
The mission plan calls for the antenna boom to be deployed 
following the final use of the main engine next spring, at the 
completion of the spacecraft's orbit-shaping aerobraking activity.

During deployment, the boom is pushed outward by a powerful 
spring.  A damper mechanism cushions the force of the spring and 
limits the speed of the deployment, somewhat like an automobile 
shock absorber or the piston-like automatic closer on a screen 
door.  In recent months, however, engineers have become aware of 
problems with similar damper devices on deployable structures such 
as solar panels on other spacecraft.  New data suggest that, in 
the vacuum of space, air bubbles may develop in the viscous fluid 
inside the damper.  This may allow the boom to move through a 
considerable range of motion at a high speed before any cushioning 
effect begins to occur.

"To the best of our knowledge, we could deploy the antenna boom 
without any adverse effect," said Cunningham.  "However, the 
forces that the damper and the boom would be subjected to as a 
result of the bubble formation are close enough to the maximum 
force that they are designed to withstand that we want to take a 
cautious approach in evaluating the deployment." In a worst-case 
scenario, damage resulting from damper failure could render the 
spacecraft unable to communicate with Earth.

"The advantage of deploying the high-gain antenna is that we can 
then use its gimbals to point the antenna at Earth to send data at 
the same time science instruments are pointed at Mars acquiring 
science data," said Cunningham.  "Until we deploy the antenna, we 
must store data on the spacecraft's onboard recorder and then turn 
the entire spacecraft periodically to transmit data to Earth." A 
similar approach was used on NASA's Magellan spacecraft, which 
orbited Venus from 1990 to 1994.

The project team is considering postponing the antenna deployment 
until after the landing of another spacecraft, the Mars Polar 
Lander, which will reach Mars in December 1999.  Mars Polar Lander 
carries an experiment called the Deep Space 2 microprobes, which 
will penetrate the soil of Mars in search of subsurface water.  
Deep Space 2 relies on Global Surveyor as its only possible 
communication link with Earth.

If the high-gain antenna is not deployed when Mars Global Surveyor 
begins its prime mapping mission next March, Cunningham said that 
small gaps would exist in coverage of the Martian surface by the 
spacecraft's camera and other instruments, due to the periods when 
the spacecraft is turned to communicate with Earth.  Those gaps 
could be filled in later in the orbital mission.

The project team is not yet certain how a postponed deployment 
would affect the total amount of data returned by the spacecraft.  
An initial estimate for the first 30 days of the global mapping 
mission found that it could return approximately 40 percent of the 
data that could be sent with a fully articulated antenna.  
However, the data return rate could be improved by strategies such 
as using larger ground antennas on Earth so that the spacecraft 
could transmit data more quickly, Cunningham noted.

A final decision on the antenna deployment will not be made until 
a review scheduled for February 3, 1999 is held, before the 
spacecraft's prime mapping mission begins the following month.

Mars Global Surveyor is managed for NASA's Office of Space Science 
by JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology.  The 
spacecraft was built by Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, CO.
------------------------------------------------------------------

THE SHAPE OF LIFE:  HOW DOES THE COMPUTER "KNOW" WHEN IT SEES IT?
[source unknown]

11 June 1998

Artificial Intelligence employed in searching for extraterrestrial 
organisms and designing new pharmaceuticals.  Looks may not be 
everything, but they may indicate whether something was alive--
here, or on Mars.  To find out if looks and shape can be a 
signature of life, Dr. David Noever at NASA's Marshall Space 
Flight Center plans to conduct what may be one of the world's 
largest computations.  Noever is developing "Book of Life" 
technology to identify and classify the tiniest life forms found 
on Earth and in samples from Mars.  The project recently started 
under a grant from NASA's Advanced Concepts Office in Washington.  

When a Mars surface sampler returns in the next century (right), 
what will be the best way to sort through the soil and rocks and 
identify possible organisms?  Noever has also been recognized for 
his inventive use of artificial intelligence to develop new drugs 
in response to the medical challenges posed by leukemia, E. coli 
and HIV, among other important diseases.  Discover magazine's July 
issue, in its annual Discover Awards for innovative technology, 
selected Noever's In Virtuo program as the top computer software 
product.

"Artificial intelligence is the main link between these projects," 
said Noever, a research scientist specializing in biotechnology in 
the Space Sciences Laboratory at NASA/Marshall.  "The computer is 
the engine that solves problems depending on what kind of fuel--
that is, what kind of questions - that you put into it."

Remembering the morph man

The idea of recognizing life when you see it may seem obvious, but 
its scientific grounding only dates back to Professor D'Arcy 
Thompson of the University of St.  Andrews in Scotland and his 
1917 book On Growth and Form.

"He's the original morph man," said Noever, referring to Thompson 
and the image morphing process used to create special effects in 
movies like Terminator 2 and The Mask.

Now recognized as the world's first biomathematician, Thompson 
applied the concepts of mathematics to the differences of form he 
observed in various living things (left; links to larger image).  
He introduced the idea of systematically studying organisms by 
their geometric shape and found that changes of shape between 
species could be visualized by altering mathematical functions.  
In the days before computer imaging technology, though, Thompson 
could only draw figures by hand like the ones here.

"Biological shape now ranks as one of at least four principal 
criteria in analyzing the origin of astrobiological samples," 
Noever said, citing the importance of Thompson's contribution to 
astrobiology.

The unusual suspects

Noever plans to use shape to identify life forms just as a 
detective uses fingerprints to identify suspects.  But sifting 
through the lineup of possible forms is an unprecedented task, 
even for computers.  In fact, Noever expects it will take the 
largest computation ever.

"Looking for life forms in Mars rocks means analyzing 
microfossils--like potential nanometer-size bacteria [image at 
right]--so small that 50,000 could fit across the width of a 
single strand of human hair," Noever explained.

From the 12 known meteorites believed to have made their way to 
Earth from Mars, Noever figures that about 20 kg (44 lbs.--as much 
as three mid-size bowling balls) of material are suitable for 
searching.  Examining these "small" samples of Mars rocks by 
microscope would be like scouring a desert on foot in search of an 
occasional dry bone.  Making the task more challenging, many 
things that are not life forms appear lifelike, while many true 
life forms appear to be non-life.

Buying or creating a single computer to conduct the search is out 
of the question since at least 100 million images will have to be 
stored digitally and scanned, and classifying these images will 
require 10,000 times the computing power it took to produce the 
animated feature film Toy Story, one of the current standards in 
supercomputing.  Instead, Noever--working together with Dr. 
Subbiah Baskaran, a visiting scientist from the University of 
Vienna Institute for Molecular Biotechnology, and Helen Matsos of 
NASA/Marshall--plans to borrow a few thousand computers to build 
what might be called the first D'Arcy Machine, a computer 
dedicated to classifying images for tell-tale biological shapes.  
Before considering extraterrestrial sources of life, however, the 
technology must be in place for an extensive classification of the 
only life forms we know--life on Earth.

With a little help from my friends

Named after the original morph man, the D'Arcy Machine will borrow 
processing power from volunteer computers connected to the 
Internet around the world to perform the giant task.

"We hope to get young scientists from elementary school through 
college to help us with the search by linking their computers to 
the D'Arcy Machine," said Noever.

Noever and his colleagues plan to develop the "Book of Life" 
technology using neural networks and evolvable hardware--
rewriteable computer chips capable of learning multiple patterns 
or images as they process information.  Testing the system's image 
recognition ability and cataloging life forms from Earth will be 
the first of three project phases.  One of the Allan Hills 
meteorites (links to larger image) after section was cut off for 
examination.  Studying large specimens at high magnifications will 
be like scouring a desert by hand in search of fossil fragments.

"In Phase One, we will construct image-based family trees of 
living forms as distinct from inorganic shape features," said 
Noever, who plans to feed the new machine at least 100,000 images 
to get it started.  The goal for this phase is peer-reviewed 
publication and presentation at the 1998 conference "On Growth and 
Form" highlighting scientific progress in the 50 years since 
D'Arcy Thompson's death.

In the second phase, the D'Arcy Machine will use trained neural 
networks from Phase One while being re-trained to simultaneously 
acquire and classify new, often ambiguous images.  Noever and his 
colleagues will also throw the machine some curve balls with 
artificial data to test its performance.  The goal of the third 
phase is for the D'Arcy machine to automatically acquire and 
classify images with minimal human supervision.  At this stage, 
the machine will be equipped for future search scenarios, 
including the examination of meteorites found on Earth and lunar 
or interplanetary samples retrieved from new space missions.

A lab assistant that doesn't get tired

"The most exciting aspect of artificial intelligence is the way it 
can be applied to so many different problems," Noever said, such 
as his work on the In Virtuo program which Discover magazine has 
selected as the top computer software innovation the year.  This 
software grew from earlier work funded by NASA's biotechnology 
research program to investigate the structures of proteins.

Whereas traditional methods of searching for drugs, or searching 
for life on Mars for that matter, require scientists to labor 
through a lengthy process of trial and error, artificial 
intelligence software evolves as it searches.  Noever likes to 
compare it to solving Rubik's Cube.  A supercomputer randomly 
working all possible solutions would take about a billion years to 
get the right answer.  In 1983, a Los Angeles high school student 
set the world's record at just under 23 seconds.  If a random 
search takes too long, then teaching a computer to see patterns 
like a human might interpret them becomes the challenge to AI.
------------------------------------------------------------------

ARCTIC CRATER EXPEDITION TO SEEK MARS SCIENCE INSIGHTS AND TEST 
FUTURE EXPLORATION TECHNOLOGIES
NASA release 98-105

16 June 1998

NASA scientists soon will explore a barren Arctic meteorite impact 
crater to attempt to learn more about Mars and its early history, 
while testing technologies useful for future robotic and human 
exploration of the planet.  From June 22 to July 26, a 20-member 
science team from NASA and several other research organizations 
will explore the Haughton Impact Crater and its surroundings on 
Devon Island in the Arctic Circle.  Scientists consider the site a 
potential Mars analog because many of its geologic features, such 
as the crater's ice-rich terrain, its ancient lake sediments and 
nearby networks of small valleys, resemble those reported at the 
surface of Mars.  The site may shed light in particular on the 
early history of Mars, when the planet's climate may have been 
wetter and warmer.

"The cold, relatively dry, windy and unvegetated environment at 
the Haughton site is milder and wetter than present-day Mars, but 
it may give us an idea of what early Mars was like and how some of 
its surface features were formed," said Principal Investigator Dr. 
Pascal Lee of NASA's Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA.

During the expedition, Dr. Omead Amidi and other engineers from 
Carnegie Mellon University's Robotics Institute, Pittsburgh, PA, 
will conduct field tests of an experimental, robotic helicopter.  
"The mission provides a great opportunity to demonstrate the 
feasibility and the value of robotic aircraft for mapping and 
surveying applications," Amidi said.

Carnegie Mellon's small, 160-pound autonomous helicopter has 
vision-based stability and position control, as well as an onboard 
navigation computer, laser rangefinder and video system for site 
mapping.  More information about the unpiloted helicopter may be 
found at the following website.  
http://www.ri.cmu.edu/project/chopper

In addition to the tests with the autonomous helicopter, 
scientists also will conduct experiments with a ground-penetrating 
radar system, a field spectrometer, drilling equipment and a 
stereo camera.  The radar system will be deployed in an attempt to 
map ground-ice and other subsurface conditions within and outside 
the crater's 12- mile (20-kilometer) diameter.  "The ability to 
find underground ice, both for human consumption and geologic 
studies, will be critical in the exploration of Mars," said Dr. 
Aaron Zent of Ames, Dr. Lee's post-doctoral research advisor.

Scientists will use a field spectrometer to determine the site's 
reflective qualities and better understand the crater's 
compositional evolution.  In another experiment, scientists will 
use a portable drill to obtain core samples from ten feet deep in 
the frozen ground.  Core samples of sediments from a lake that 
once occupied the crater will provide information about local 
climate evolution.  Since the use of liquid drilling lubricants 
might be precluded on Mars, none will be used in this test.

A portable stereo camera system previously used by Carnegie 
Mellon's Nomad rover during its unprecedented 133-mile wheeled 
trek through Chile's Atacama Desert last summer will provide high- 
resolution images of the site, and produce images for a 360 degree 
photo-realistic virtual reality project being developed by Ames' 
Intelligent Mechanisms Group.

Using laptop computer systems and "mobile workstations" developed 
by Ames' Intelligent Mobile Technologies Team, scientists will 
communicate with other field team members and send live images via 
a wireless link.  Team members will operate from a base camp on a 
terrace of the Haughton River within the crater's perimeter and 
explore the site with All-Terrain Vehicles.  Supplies will be 
brought in by Twin Otter airplane, while a helicopter will aid 
exploration of remote sites.

As part of the expedition's educational outreach program, the 
following website will be updated regularly with new data and 
images as available:  http://www.arctic-mars.org

The total cost of the project is $80,000.  NASA is partially 
funding the project through a National Research Council grant.  
Additional support is provided by Ames Research Center; NASA's 
Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX; the Geological Survey of 
Canada; the Polar Continental Shelf Project of Canada; the Nunavut 
Research Institute, Canada; the Robotics Institute of Carnegie 
Mellon University; NovAtel Communications, Calgary, Alberta, 
Canada; and the National Geographic Society.
------------------------------------------------------------------

NASA UNVEILS NEW INTERNET SITE FOR FIRE MONITORING BY SATELLITE
NASA note N98-40

9 June 1998

In an effort to provide up-to-date information about current fire 
situations around the globe to the public and scientific 
communities, NASA today unveiled a new presence on the World Wide 
Web that provides an up-to-date synopsis of current information 
about fires and their effect on global climate change.  This web 
site features revealing animation depicting wildfires across the 
globe.

The new Web site at URL 
http://modarch.gsfc.nasa.gov/fire_atlas/fires.html provides recent 
imagery, analysis of data from the early and mid- 1990s, and a 
synthesis of a range of satellite information resources that are 
currently available about terrestrial fires and future global fire 
monitoring capabilities.  The Web site draws upon satellite 
resources from several U.S.  agencies and international partners 
and is intended to serve the needs of the scientific community and 
the general public.

The recent fires in Mexico and Brazil, and last summer's fires in 
Indonesia, have heightened public awareness of the importance of 
natural and human-induced wildfire as a contributor both to 
regional pollution and global change.  Nearly 175 million acres of 
forest and grasslands are burned each year worldwide.  Using data 
from satellite sensors, aircraft, and ground-based initiatives, 
scientists are working to develop a new global fire-monitoring 
program that will enable them to better understand the many 
implications of this growing problem.

Specifically, efforts are underway to quantify the total area of 
forests and grasslands burned each year and to more accurately 
estimate the amount of resultant emission products.  These newer 
and better data will facilitate development of more robust 
computer models that will enhance scientists' abilities to predict 
how biomass burning will impact climate, the environment and air 
quality.

Since no single satellite or instrument provides optimal 
characteristics for fire monitoring, data are currently used from 
several satellite systems. Each system has different capabilities 
in terms of spatial resolution, sensitivity/saturation level, 
spectral frequency, overpass time and repeat frequency.
------------------------------------------------------------------

GALILEO EUROPA MISSION STATUS
JPL releases

June 17, 1998

The Galileo spacecraft is operating normally as it continues to 
process and send to Earth images and science information gathered 
during its latest Europa flyby, which took place late last month.  
The spacecraft successfully fired its thrusters to adjust its 
flight path on June 5, and performed routine propulsion system 
maintenance on June 10.

Galileo is sending to Earth data that had been stored on its 
onboard tape recorder, including a picture of a previously 
unexplored region of Europa.  The region appears mottled or 
blotchy, which may indicate there are contaminants in the ice.

Two observations by the near-infrared spectrometer will provide 
information on materials within two regions of Europa's leading 
side.  The leading side is located in front as Europa orbits 
Jupiter, and its position protects it from contamination by 
charged particles, called plasma, which rotate with Jupiter's 
magnetic field.  These charged particles affect Europa's trailing 
side as magnetic field lines sweep past Europa.

This week, the instruments that measure magnetic fields and 
charged particles are providing portions of a high-time-resolution 
recording of the environment surrounding Europa.  This includes 
measurements of dust, charged particles, and the strength of 
electric and magnetic fields.

10 August 1998

The Galileo spacecraft is operating normally, processing and 
transmitting to Earth pictures and other science information 
stored on its onboard tape recorder.  The playback of data was 
interrupted briefly yesterday for regular maintenance on the 
spacecraft's propulsion system.  The spacecraft performed a 
scheduled flight path correction maneuver on July 31, to ensure 
that Galileo is aimed correctly as it heads toward its next Europa 
flyby on September 26.

This week's transmission of science data includes two pictures of 
Europa taken by the spacecraft's camera--one showing very rugged 
terrain east of the Tyre Macula region, and the other depicting a 
region of unexplored mottled, or blotchy, terrain.  The near-
infrared mapping spectrometer is returning several observations 
that help describe Europa's surface composition on a global and 
regional scale, and enable scientists to identify non- ice surface 
components.  Information gathered also covers variations in 
temperature and composition across Jupiter's cloud belts and cloud 
zones.

This batch of data comes from Galileo's Europa flyby in late May.  
Most of the data from the spacecraft's Europa encounter in late 
July were lost because an anomaly put Galileo in a safing mode.  
Now that the situation has been corrected, scientists are playing 
back the remaining data from July.  As an unexpected bonus, 
because the tape recorder has a reduced amount of July data to 
play back, it has more time to transmit additional data from the 
May flyby.

The Galileo Europa Mission is managed by JPL for NASA's Office of 
Space Science, Washington, D.C.
------------------------------------------------------------------

THIS WEEK ON GALILEO
JPL release

10-16 August 1998

Galileo spends this week returning to Earth science data captured 
during the spacecraft's flyby of Jupiter's moon Europa in late 
May.  The data was left intact during Galileo's most recent 
passage through the heart of the Jupiter system, in mid-July, when 
a spacecraft anomaly halted all encounter activities.  Science 
teams will take advantage of the existing transmission time to 
fill in gaps in existing data sets caused by previous transmission 
problems, or by the fact that there is typically not enough 
transmission time from one encounter to the next to return all of 
the valuable data stored on the tape recorder.

In this week's playback schedule, the near-infrared mapping 
spectrometer returns the final observation in a series of three 
designed to provide high spatial resolution information on the 
non-ice components of Europa's surface.  The remainder of the week 
is spent returning observations of Io performed by the spacecraft 
camera.  The first is designed to provide information on the size 
and age of sulfur grains on Io's surface.  The next four were 
taken while Jupiter eclipsed Io from the sun.  They are designed 
to allow scientists to study the changes in Io's surface 
temperature as the eclipse progresses.

For more information on the Galileo spacecraft and its mission to 
Jupiter, please visit the Galileo home page.  
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo
------------------------------------------------------------------

1998 MARS SURVEYOR PROJECT STATUS REPORTS
By John McNamee, Mars Surveyor 98 project manager

10 July 1998

Orbiter integration and test activities are proceeding on 
schedule.  The root cause of the damaged bearing in the Pressure 
Modulator infrared Radiometer (PMIRR) instrument optical chopper 
assembly has been traced to an out-of-spec housing.  Repair and 
requalification efforts are in process.  Chopper reinstallation on 
PMIRR is scheduled for July 27.

The Thermal and Evolved Gas Analyzer (TEGA) flight instrument and 
the repaired flight meteorology mast were installed on the lander 
on July 6-7 and functional tests were accomplished successfully.  
This completes the lander flight science payload delivery.  Landed 
thermal balance testing is on schedule for July 19.

Assessment of the damaged Medium Gain Antenna (MGA) at Boeing 
indicates that the MGA can be repaired with no loss of 
performance.  Delivery of the repaired MGA to Lockheed Martin is 
scheduled for August 5.

17 July 1998

Orbiter integration and test activities are proceeding on 
schedule.  The Mars Color Imager (MARCI) has been calibrated and 
reinstalled on the orbiter.  Optical chopper assembly 
reinstallation on the Pressure Modular infrared Radiometer (PMIRR) 
is scheduled for July 27.  The orbiter pre-ship review is 
scheduled for August 14.

Another incident occurred on the lander spacecraft during 
integration and test activities.  A technician incorrectly mated a 
power source to the launch umbilical (T0) data line.  Preliminary 
analysis indicates that no damage occurred, however more detailed 
analysis and testing is underway to confirm that is the case.  The 
Project has ordered a stand down on further test activities until 
an internal review on July 17 provides the approval to proceed 
with power on testing of the lander.  Other actions implemented in 
response to incidents which have occurred in recent weeks follow:  
1) Quality assurance and test conductor staffing on the floor 
during all lander and orbiter test operations will be increased, 
2) Project Manager approval will be required for any individual 
working in excess of 20 hours overtime, 3) Test Department 
refresher training will be conducted, 4) Project test requirements 
will be scrubbed and reduced to the essentials required for 
shipment to the Cape and launch.  The start of landed thermal 
balance testing has been rescheduled for July 22.

7 August 1998

Orbiter integration and test activities continue to proceed on 
schedule.  Testing of the repaired optical chopper assembly for 
the Pressure Modulator infrared Radiometer (PMIRR) instrument is 
complete and the chopper is scheduled for reinstallation on PMIRR 
on August 7.

Lander thermal balance testing was completed very successfully on 
August 2 validating the passive thermal control approach.  Actual 
thermal performance was within 3 degrees C of predicts.  Cruise 
thermal vacuum testing is scheduled for August 30.

For more information on the Mars Surveyor 98 mission, please visit 
our website.  http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msp98/
------------------------------------------------------------------

STARDUST STATUS REPORTS
By Ken Atkins, STARDUST project manager

12 June 1998

Assembly, Test, and Launch Operations (ATLO) activities:  

This week marks the first full-fledged test of the flight system's 
components all working together.  The Stardust Team completed part 
I of what we are calling System Performance Test (SPT) #1.  In 
part one, we aimed at testing the spacecraft's reception of 
command sequences and its proper, correct response during the 
launch phase of the mission.  This test included the command 
sequencing and data responses for lift-off, separation from the 
launch vehicle, de-spin after separation from the launch rocket, 
deployment of solar arrays and the proper attitude control 
functioning.  It's great to report the test was very successful 
and completed in less time than scheduled.  We will now be engaged 
in making some changes and reconfiguring for part II of this very 
important test series.

As you've noticed, if you've been following the action through our 
TV Cam in the environmentally-controlled clean room, we have re-
opened the spacecraft to permit the reinstallation of the flight 
Command & Data Handling (C&DH) unit and the Power Control Assembly 
(PCA).  These key units have been getting some rework done on 
electronics while their nearly identical "understudies" have been 
on the spacecraft.  STARDUST will be in this state for about two 
weeks as C&DH and PCA complete some retesting and are installed.  
Then part II of the System Performance Test will be done.

STARDUST team members participated in another planning session 
with the launch vehicle folks at Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in 
Florida.  These meetings are crucial to ensuring a smooth flow of 
activity next fall when we take STARDUST to the Cape to meet its 
Boeing Delta rocket.  As familiarization and training for that 
exciting time, the team participated in the successful launch of a 
Norwegian communication satellite aboard a Delta.

More than 220,000 names have been collected so far for the second 
microchip.  In case you're wondering, the names will be 
electronically etched onto a fingernail-size silicon chip at JPL's 
Microdevices Laboratory.  Writing on the microchip is so small 
that about 80 letters would equal the width of a human hair.  Once 
inscribed, the names can be read only with the aid of an electron 
microscope.  We hope to exhibit the names in a major museum after 
the comet sample returns to Earth.

10 July 1998

Assembly, Test, and Launch Operations (ATLO) activities:  The 
Lockheed Martin Team completed the close out and loading of the 
spacecraft into the shipping container for move to the Multiple 
Test Facility (MTF) on schedule--July 11!! This signals a major 
step in readying the ship for flight.  In the MTF it will be 
subjected to the vacuum, thermal and other environments it will 
experience in actual flight to the comet.  This literal "spin, 
shake, and bake" is intended to unmask any weak spots in 
Stardust's flight readiness.  The move to the MTF is like the 
"roll out" before first flight tests of new airplanes.

With the vehicle now assembled, the team is now anticipating a 
chance to see how designs and manufacturing will work all together 
in the crucible of space.  It is an exciting time.

Certainly for those visiting this site regularly, you have been 
able to follow the action on the vidicam of the dedicated folks in 
the "bunny suits" as they have carefully brought all the pieces 
together.  We know Stardust is "alive" in the protective, air-
filled comfort of the "room-temperature" high bay.  Now we're 
moving the camera with the ship to chronicle the adventures in the 
tougher regime of environmental and thermal test.  So, stay tuned.

We announced with the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund that all 
58,214 names from the Vietnam Memorial would be added to the 
second microchip as a tribute to those who fell in America's 
longest war.  Approximately 2,500,000 people visit "The Wall" each 
year, making it the most-visited memorial in Washington D.C.  The 
full text of the press release is available by clicking on 
"Stardust in the News" under the "What's New" beacon on the 
homepage (http://stardust.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news27.html).  We are 
now at more than 600,000 "passengers" for the Wild-2 ride!

24 July 1998

Assembly, Test, and Launch Operations (ATLO) activities:  This 
week's focus has been on opening up the spacecraft to make some 
adjustments to the navigation camera circuitry and to trouble-
shoot some flight software on the Command & Data Handling (CDH) 
unit.  The navigation camera has been adjusted and reinstalled.  
The software issue has been isolated and resolution should not 
delay reclosing the spacecraft within the allocated time.  This 
activity explains why you're seeing the spacecraft looking a bit 
"disheveled" in the video cam pictures here on the web-site.  
Preparations also continued on getting Stardust ready for the 
upcoming tests in the thermal-vacuum facility.  This set of tests 
will expose Stardust to the full range of heat and cold expected 
in space.  All the subsystems will be operated and evaluated 
against their design specifications.  Also, the team is planning a 
test sequence for the so-called fault-protection safeguards.  In 
this activity, faults are deliberately induced to cause the 
spacecraft's back-up systems to rush to the rescue.  It's very 
important to have a solid set of backups so the spacecraft can 
take care of any emergencies far from home.  It's like putting 
those candles in your backpack even though you expect your gas 
lantern to work just fine on the camping trip.  And, remember, 
we're going to have Stardust "on the road" a long time.  Such 
testing ensures that problems, if they exist, can be found on the 
ground and fixed before November's shipment to Cape Canaveral for 
launch on February 6.

7 August 1998

Assembly, Test, and Launch Operations (ATLO) activities:  

This week's focus was on solar array and high gain antenna 
installation, moving to the rotation fixture, and performing 
"aliveness" and functional testing.  It was very clear to those of 
you watching the action on the webcam lots of things were 
occurring.  Some very impressive views were available as the ATLO 
team moved around and worked STARDUST through its paces.

Part A of the second system performance test (SPT) was 
successfully completed including checkout of the launch sequences, 
Navigation Camera imaging (windowed) and the sample return capsule 
(SRC) deployment sequences.  The latter was done in the horizontal 
position in the very clean glove box enclosure.  The careful 
handling when we open the SRC is necessary to ensure we keep the 
aerogel surfaces very clean when the actual flight collector is 
installed later this year.  The opening of the SRC and the 
deployment of the ATLO test unit collector showed the SRC 
responded appropriately to the sequence of commands sent through 
the computer.  This underscores our confidence the system will do 
exactly the same when it is at the comet and we place the action 
under full control of the on-board computer.

After the horizontal SRC testing, the spacecraft was moved to the 
acoustic chamber to prepare for checking its capability to ride 
the vibration of the launch rocket.  The flight system continues 
to show no hardware functional problems going into environmental 
test.

The millionth name was received this week for the second 
microchip, and a press release announcing the milestone generated 
a number of media responses.  Now 1,010,518 names have been 
collected so far for the second microchip.  Combined with the 
first microchip (136,237), STARDUST has a total of 1,146,755 
names.  Welcome aboard!

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

MARS SOCIETY 2001 ROVER MOBILIZATION SCORES PARTIAL SUCCESS
Mars Society release

18 June 1998

As a result of tandem mobilizations by the Mars Society and the 
Planetary Society, the Senate VA-HUD-IA Appropriations Committee 
voted June 11 to restore $20 million in badly needed funds to 
support the NASA's 2001 robotic Mars lander mission.  For the past 
two weeks, the Mars Society had been mobilizing its membership to 
send e-mails to Senate VA-HUD-IA Appropriations Committee 
Chairman, Kit Bond, as well as other congressional and 
administration officials demanding that the full $60 million in 
committed funds cut from the mission be restored.  Simultaneously, 
the Planetary Society mobilized its membership to send postcards.

The $20 million restored to the mission is still not enough to 
allow the Athena rover to fly in 2001, but it represents a turning 
of the tide.  Both the funds and the political support manifested 
to get them should be enough to stop further implosion of the 
mission, which was seriously threatened.  Experienced political 
observers expressed surprise that any additional funds were 
obtained at all.  Let's show them some more surprises.

Thanks to all the members of the Mars Society who joined the 
mobilization with your e-mail.  You had a real effect! Keep 
writing! There's a lot more where that $20 million came from.  We 
need full funding to allow a robust robotic Mars exploration 
program to go forward, including a rover mission in 2001.  We need 
equal funding of $150 million per year to NASA's Human Exploration 
and Development of Space Initiative to start developing the 
technology for human Mars exploration.

Save the robotic Mars exploration program.
Start the human exploration program.
Send these gentlemen your message!

President Bill Clinton - president@whitehouse.gov
Vice President Al Gore - vice.president@whitehouse.gov NASA 
Administrator Dan Goldin - dgoldin@mail.hq.nasa.gov
Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-MS) - 
senatorlott@lott.senate.gov 
Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich (R-GA) - 
georgia6@mail.house.gov 
Senator Christopher Bond, Chairman VA, HUD, and Independent 
Agencies Subcommittee - kit_bond@bond.senate.gov
Representative Jerry Lewis (R-CA), Chairman VA, HUD, and 
Independent Agencies Subcommittee - c/o 
dave.lesstrang@mail.house.gov

Full details of the situation with the Mars Program are available 
in Mars Special Bulletin # 2, which is posted on the Mars Society 
website at http://www.marssociety.org, or our no-frames site at, 
http://nw.net/mars and in New Mars, the Mars Society electronic 
journal.
------------------------------------------------------------------

MARS SOCIETY FOUNDING CONVENTION TO BE MAJOR INTERNATIONAL 
GATHERING
Mars Society release

18 June 1998

Registrations and abstracts for participating or speaking at the 
Mars Society Founding Convention continue to pour in from all over 
the world.  At this time, conference participants include members 
from the US, Canada, Great Britain, France, Germany, Holland, 
Switzerland, Sweden, Spain, Italy, Ireland, Poland, Russia, 
Ukraine, Rumania, Greece, Japan, China, Indonesia, Australia, New 
Zealand, Singapore, Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Egypt, Israel, and 
Mozambique.

The opening of Mars to humanity and the ensuing creation of a new 
branch of human civilization should be done by all of humanity, 
but it fact it only will be done by those nations who choose to 
participate.  Mars exploration need not be, and should not be, the 
sole responsibility of Americans.  The Pathfinder mission cost 
$175 million.  Holland could have afforded to do it.  You don't 
need to be a superpower to do Mars exploration.

If you think that your nation should not consign itself to the 
sidelines of history; if you think that your people should have 
accomplishments celebrated in newspapers and not just museums; if 
you feel that your country and culture holds things that are 
precious that should be passed on as part of the heritage of 
humanity's New World, then it is your responsibility to do 
whatever you can to get your country involved in Mars exploration, 
either on its own or teamed with others.  We need Mars Society 
chapters in every country.

The Mars Society Founding Convention will occur at the campus of 
the University of Colorado in Boulder, August 13-16, 1998.  
Abstracts for talk on all subjects (scientific, engineering, or 
social) bearing on the exploration or settlement of Mars are 
requested, and can be submitted via e-mail to mzubrin@aol.com.  
The deadline for abstracts is June 30, 1998.  For further 
information about the conference, see the Mars Society web site at 
www.nw.net/mars.
------------------------------------------------------------------

ESA 2003 MARS EXPRESS MISSION AT RISK:  EUROPEANS NEED TO SPEAK UP
Mars Society release

18 June 1998

Due to cost overruns in other science programs, The European Space 
Agency's (ESA) Mars Express mission appears to be at risk.  
According to the June 15 issue of Space News, ESA is now debating 
whether to fund the mission, which would fly both an orbiter and a 
lander to Mars in 2003 at an expected combined cost to ESA of $165 
million.  The ESA Science Program Committee, headed by John 
Credland, is expected to make its decision by November.  "The 
committee is going to have to decide what it really wants before 
the end of the year," Credland told Space News.  "Mars Express is 
not yet funded and we still don't know how to fund it."

The Mars Express orbiter and lander are important scientific 
spacecraft supporting the search for water and life on Mars.  In 
addition, the orbiter is needed to provide a communication link to 
support a possible NASA or NASA/French Mars Sample Return mission 
in 2005.

Neither ESA nor any European country has ever flown a mission to 
Mars (or any other planet.).  Every time such a mission has been 
proposed, it has been displaced for funding by other scientific or 
non-scientific priorities.  It's been over three decades since the 
first successful United States and Soviet interplanetary missions.  
The time is long overdue for Europe to get involved in the 
exploration of Mars.

Europeans and others who want to make sure that Europe's first 
Mars exploration mission is not aborted again need to speak up.  
ESA has more than enough money to fly Mars Express; it just needs 
to give it priority.  Send e-mails expressing your concern to:

Antonio Rodota
Director General
European Space Agency
8-10 rue Mario Nikis
75738 Paris CEDEX 15
France
arodota@hq.esa.fr

Roger Bonnet
Director of scientific Programs, ESA
rbonnet@hq.esa.fr

John Credland
Head Science Projects Department, ESA
jcredland@ewo.esa.int

Jane Mellors
ESA US Office
955 Lenfant Plz SW
Suite 7800
Washington, DC 20024-2119
jmellors@ewo.esa.int
------------------------------------------------------------------

LATEST EVIDENCE OF LIFE ON MARS TO BE PRESENTED AT MARS SOCIETY 
CONFERENCE
Mars Society release

18 June 1998

Dr. Everett Gibson, one of the co-leaders of the team including 
David McKay, Kathie Thomas-Keprta, Chris Romanek, and Richard 
Zare, which, in August 1996, stunned the world with their findings 
of evidence for past life on Mars in meteorite ALH84001, has 
requested and been granted a one-hour plenary talk at the Mars 
Society Founding Convention to present the latest findings of his 
team.  The team has continued to work, and has developed new and 
important data that goes well beyond that presented in August 
1996.  Dr. Gibson will present the team's latest findings to the 
conference and also present a rebuttal to several criticisms that 
have recently been raised of the team's conclusion that the most 
likely explanation for the phenomenon in ALH84001 is life.  It 
should be a very interesting talk.  It could be historic.

------------------------------------------------------------------
MARS SOCIETY TO OFFER "HAKLUYT PRIZE" FOR BEST STUDENT LETTER TO 
WORLD LEADERS
Mars Society release

18 June 1998

In order to stimulate useful, meritorious, and vitally important 
activity among young people, the Mars Society has announced that 
it will award the "Hakluyt Prize" for the best letter or group of 
letters written by a student to world political leaders making the 
case for initiating a humans-to-Mars program.

To be eligible, contestants must be students or cadets in 
secondary school or college between the ages of 12 and 22.  All 
letters to be considered must be sent either via stamped mail 
and/or e-mail to relevant world leaders, such as Presidents, Prime 
Ministers, Science Ministers, Space Agency Administrators, and 
elected representatives.  The more leaders reached by a given 
contestant, the better.  Copies of the letter with a list of the 
addresses to which it was sent should be forwarded to 
mzubrin@aol.com , or via stamped mail to Hakluyt Prize, Mars 
Society, Box 273, Indian Hills, CO 80454 USA.  An English 
translation should be provided for letters written in a language 
other than English.

The winner of the contest will receive a trophy and an all-
expenses-paid trip to the Mars Society Founding Convention in 
Boulder Colorado this August.  To be considered for this year's 
Hakluyt Prize, entries must be received by July 20, 1998.  Entries 
received after July 20 will be considered for next year's Hakluyt 
Prize.

The Hakluyt Prize is named after Richard Hakluyt, the brilliant 
pamphleteer, whose writings, addressed to Queen Elizabeth I, Sir 
Walter Raleigh, Sir Humphrey Gilbert, Sir Francis Walsingham, and 
other influentials in Tudor England convinced that country's power 
elite to make the policy decisions that led to the establishment 
of the first British colonies in North America.  If not for 
Richard Hakluyt, the United States probably would not exist.  If 
there is to be a human civilization on Mars in the future, there 
needs to be another Hakluyt today.  Maybe that person is someone 
you know.  Maybe that person is you.  Start writing! The future is 
counting on you.
------------------------------------------------------------------

ASCB URGES NASA TO CONCENTRATE ON GROUND, NOT SPACE, RESEARCH
American Society for Cell Biology

9 July 1998

A Blue Ribbon Committee of the American Society for Cell Biology 
has issued a review of NASA's life sciences program.  The 
Committee was appointed by ASCB President Elizabeth Blackburn of 
the University of California, San Francisco and its 
recommendations were passed unanimously by the Society's governing 
Council.

The Society recognizes the importance of land based research in 
such areas of interest to NASA as plant biology, cell and 
developmental biology of the vestibular system, environmental 
sciences, and evolutionary biology including investigations into 
the origins of life.  However, the report is sharply critical of 
much ongoing and proposed NASA space-based research on these 
topics.  The report underscores the greater standard of scientific 
interest that should be satisfied to justify the exorbitant and 
difficult-to-control nature of research in space.

Specifically, the Society calls for the abandonment of the space-
based crystallography program, claiming that "no serious 
contributions to knowledge of protein structure or to drug 
discovery or design have yet been made in space." The report 
explains "the International Space Station should mainly be a 
platform to study astronaut physiology and most basic research 
relating to how plants develop, how gravity is detected by living 
systems, or how life originates and evolves should be ground-
based."

The Blue Ribbon Committee was chaired by former ASCB President, 
Donald Brown, of the Carnegie Institution of Washington and 
included Ursula Goodenough of Washington University, Steven 
Harrison of Harvard University, Anthony Mahowald of the University 
of Chicago, Elliot Meyerowitz of California Institute of 
Technology, Christopher Somerville of Stanford University and the 
Carnegie Institution, and Andrew Staehelin of the University of 
Colorado.

The full text of the report is available at 
http://www.faseb.org/ascb/pubpol/nasareport.html
------------------------------------------------------------------

End Marsbugs Vol. 5, No. 16

