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- NASA INVITES PUBLIC TO EXPLORE "RED PLANET" VIA INTERNET
- THE DARKENING EARTH: LESS SUN AT THE EARTHS SURFACE COMPLICATES CLIMATE MODELS
- HOW SPECIAL IS THE SOLAR SYSTEM
- LIFE ON MARS LIKELY, SCIENTIST CLAIMS
- NASA SELECTS FUTURE MISSION CONCEPTS FOR STUDY
- NASA INVESTIGATORS SELECTED FOR HUMAN AND ROBOTIC TECHNOLOGY
- NASA RELEASES BROAD AGENCY ANNOUNCEMENT FOR EXPLORATION
- NASA ANNOUNCES SPACE RADIATION MATERIALS RESEARCH GRANTS
- ESA IS LOOKING FOR FEMALE VOLUNTEERS FOR A BED-REST STUDY IN TOULOUSE NEXT YEAR
- CASSINI UPDATES
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Lori Stiles UA News Services Phone: 520-621-1877 A. J. Tim Jull Phone: 520-621-6816 E-mail: jull@email.arizona.edu
Phone: (+41) 31 631 84 93 (office), (+41) 31 631 39 36 (lab) E-mail: gnos@geo.unibe.ch
http://cl.extm.us/?fe821c757d6c027b71-fe28167073670175701c72 http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/moon_rock_040729.html
NASA/ARC release 2004-74AR 29 July 2004 NASA scientists have modified a scientific Web site so the general public can inspect big regions and smaller details of Mars' surface, a planet whose alien terrain is about the same area as Earth's continents. After adding "computer tools" to the "Marsoweb" Internet site, NASA scientists plan to ask volunteers from the public to virtually survey the vast red planet to look for important geologic features hidden in thousands of images of the surface. The Web site is located at http://marsoweb.nas.nasa.gov/landingsites/index.html. "The initial reason to create Marsoweb was to help scientists select potential Mars landing sites for the current Mars Exploration Rover (MER) mission," according to Virginia Gulick, a scientist from the SETI Institute, Mountain View, CA, who works at NASA Ames Research Center, located in California's Silicon Valley. "The Web site was designed just for Mars scientists so they could view Mars data easily," she added. But when the first Mars Exploration Rover landed on Mars in January, the general public discovered Marsoweb. More than a half million "unique visitors" found the page, and the Web experienced about 26.7 million "hits" in January. "An interactive data map on Marsoweb allows users to view most Mars data including images, thermal inertia, geologic and topographical maps and engineering data that includes rock abundance," Gulick said. Thermal inertia is a material's capacity to store heat (usually in daytime) and conduct heat (often at night). "The engineering data give scientists an idea of how smooth or rocky the local surface is," Gulick explained. To examine a large number of distinctive or interesting geologic features on the red planet close up would take an army of people because Mars' land surface is so big. Such a multitude of explorers—modern equivalents of America's early pioneers—may well survey details of Mars through personal computers. Researchers hope that volunteers will help with an upcoming Mars imaging experiment. NASA scientists are getting ready for the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) that will fly on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) mission, slated for launch in August 2005. Gulick, co-investigator and education and public outreach lead of the HiRISE team, said that the experiment's super high-resolution camera will be able to capture images of objects on Mars' surface measuring about a yard (one meter) wide. User-friendly 'Web tools' soon will be available to the science community and the public to view and analyze HiRISE images beginning in November 2006 and to submit image observation requests, according to HiRISE scientists. If all goes according to plan, a request form will be on the Internet for use by scientists and the public about the time of the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter launch in 2005. Marsoweb computer scientist Glenn Deardorff, Gulick and other HiRISE team members are now designing Web-friendly software "tools" to allow the public to examine and evaluate HiRISE images. "We will ask volunteers to help us create 'geologic feature' databases of boulders, gullies, craters—any kind of geologic feature that may be of interest," Gulick explained. "Scientists or students can use these databases to propose theories about Mars that could be proven by future exploration." Preliminary details about Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter HiRISE's exploration of Mars are on the World Wide Web at http://marsoweb.nas.nasa.gov/hirise/. The current Marsoweb site includes animated "fly-throughs" of some Mars locations. The site also permits users to fine-tune Mars images for brightness, contrast and sharpness as well as make other adjustments. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, operated by the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, Calif., manages the Mars Exploration Rover and Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter missions for the NASA Office of Space Science, Washington, DC. Contact: John Bluck NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA Phone: 650-604-5026 or 604-9000 E-mail: jbluck@mail.arc.nasa.gov
http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/mars_web_040802.html http://www.universetoday.com/am/publish/public_invited_help_catalog_mars.html
By David Appell From Scientific American
Royal Astronomical Society release 3 August 2004 On the evidence to date, our solar system could be fundamentally different from the majority of planetary systems around stars because it formed in a different way. If that is the case, Earth-like planets will be very rare. After examining the properties of the 100 or so known extrasolar planetary systems and assessing two ways in which planets could form, Dr. Martin Beer and Professor Andrew King of the University of Leicester, Dr. Mario Livio of the Space Telescope Science Institute and Dr. Jim Pringle of the University of Cambridge flag up the distinct possibility that our solar system is special in a paper to be published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. In our solar system, the orbits of all the major planets are quite close to being circular (apart from Pluto’s, which is a special case), and the four giant planets are a considerable distance from the Sun. The extrasolar planets detected so far—all giants similar in nature to Jupiter—are by comparison much closer to their parent stars, and their orbits are almost all highly elliptical and so very elongated. "There are two main explanations for these observations," says Martin Beer. "The most intriguing is that planets can be formed by more than one mechanism and the assumption astronomers have made until now—that all planets formed in basically the same way—is a mistake." In the picture of planet formation developed to explain the solar system, giant planets like Jupiter form around rocky cores (like the Earth), which use their gravity to pull in large quantities of gas from their surroundings in the cool outer reaches of a vast disc of material. The rocky cores closer to the parent star cannot acquire gas because it is too hot there and so remain Earth-like. The most popular alternative theory is that giant planets can form directly through gravitational collapse. In this scenario, rocky cores—potential Earth-like planets—do not form at all. If this theory applies to all the extrasolar planet systems detected so far, then none of them can be expected to contain an Earth-like planet that is habitable by life of the kind we are familiar with. However, the team is cautious about jumping to a definite conclusion too soon and warns about the second possible explanation for the apparent disparity between the solar system and the known extrasolar systems. Techniques currently in use are not yet capable of detecting a solar-system look-alike around a distant star, so a selection effect might be distorting the statistics—like a fisherman deciding that all fish are larger than 5 inches because that is the size of the holes in his net. It will be another 5 years or so before astronomers have the observing power to resolve the question of which explanation is correct. Meanwhile, the current data leave open the possibility that the solar system is indeed different from other planetary systems. Contacts: Dr. Martin Beer University of Leicester, UK Phone: +44 (0)116 2231802 E-mail: martin.beer@astro.le.ac.uk Professor Andrew King University of Leicester, UK Phone: +44 (0)116 2522072 E-mail: ark@astro.le.ac.uk Dr. Mario Livio Space Telescope Science Institute, USA Phone: +1 410 338 4439 E-mail: mlivio@stsci.edu Dr. Jim Pringle University of Cambridge, UK Phone: +44 (0)1223 337513 E-mail: jep@ast.cam.ac.uk
By Leonard David From Space.com
Results from NASA’s Spirit and Opportunity rovers are being looked over by a legion of planetary experts, including a scientist who remains steadfast that his experiment in 1976 proved the presence of active microbial life in the topsoil of Mars. "All factors necessary to constitute a habitat for life as we know it exist on current-day Mars," explained Gilbert Levin, executive officer for science at Spherix Incorporated of Beltsville, Maryland. Levin made his remarks here Monday at the International Symposium on Optical Science and Technology, the 49th annual meeting of Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE). Read the full article at http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/mars_microorganisms_040803.html. NASA SELECTS FUTURE MISSION CONCEPTS FOR STUDY NASA/JPL release 2004-186 29 July 2004 NASA has selected nine studies, including one from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, CA, to investigate new ideas for future mission concepts within its Astronomical Search for Origins Program. Some of the new mission ideas will survey one billion stars within our own galaxy; measure the distribution of galaxies in the distant universe; study dust and gas between galaxies; study organic compounds in space and investigate their role in planetary system formation; and create an optical-ultraviolet telescope to replace NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. The products from these concept studies will be used for future planning of missions complementing the existing suite of operating missions, including NASA's Hubble and Spitzer Space Telescopes, and developmental missions such as the James Webb Space Telescope and Terrestrial Planet Finder. Each of the selected studies will have eight months to further develop and refine concepts for missions addressing different aspects of Origins Program science. The Origins Program seeks to address the fundamental questions: "Where did we come from?" and "Are we alone?" NASA received 26 proposals in response to this call for mission concepts. The selected proposals and their principal investigators are: A Background Limited Infrared-Submillimeter Spectrograph for Spica: Revealing the Nature of the Far-Infrared Universe, Matt Bradford, JPL, Pasadena, CA. The study will enable far-infrared spectroscopy of the galaxies that make up the far-infrared background out to distances of some of the farthest galaxies known today. Its spectral surveys will chart the history of creation of elements heavier than helium and energy production through cosmic time. (Note: Spica is a Japanese mission). Origins Billion Star Survey, Kenneth Johnston, U.S. Naval Observatory, Washington, DC. The survey will provide a complete census of giant extrasolar planets for all types of stars in our galaxy and the demographics of stars within 30,000 light-years of the Sun. The Space Infrared Interferometric Telescope, David Leisawitz, Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD. This imaging and spectral Michelson interferometer operating in the mid- to far-infrared region of the spectrum. Its very high angular resolution in the far-infrared will enable revolutionary developments in the field of star and planet formation research. Cosmic Inflation Probe, Gary Melnick, Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, Cambridge, MA. The probe will measure the shape of cosmic inflation potential by conducting a space-based, near-infrared, large-area redshift survey capable of detecting galaxies that formed early in the history of the universe. High Orbit Ultraviolet-visible Satellite, Jon Morse, Arizona State University, Tempe. This mission will conduct a step-wise, systematic investigation of star formation in the Milky Way, nearby galaxies and the high-redshift universe; the origin of the elements and cosmic structure; and the composition of and physical conditions in the extended atmospheres of extrasolar planets. Hubble Origins Probe, Colin Norman, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD. This mission seeks to combine instruments built for the fifth Hubble servicing mission: Cosmic Origins Spectrograph and Wide Field Camera 3. This new space telescope at the forefront of modern astronomy will have a unifying focus on the period when the great majority of star and planet formation, heavy element production, black-hole growth and galaxy assembly took place. The Astrobiology Space Infrared Explorer Mission: A Concept Mission to Understand the Role Cosmic Organics Play in the Origin of Life, Scott Sandford, Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA. This is a mid- and far-infrared space observatory optimized to spectroscopically detect and identify organic compounds and related materials in space, and understand how these materials are formed, evolve and find their way to planetary surfaces. The Baryonic Structure Probe, Kenneth Sembach, Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, MD. The probe will strengthen the foundations of observational cosmology by directly detecting, mapping and characterizing the cosmic web of matter in the early universe, its inflow into galaxies, and its enrichment with elements heavier than hydrogen and helium (the products of stellar and galactic evolution). Galaxy Evolution and Origins Probe, Rodger Thompson, University of Arizona. The probe will observe more than five million galaxies to study the mass assembly of galaxies, the global history of star formation, and the change of galaxy size and brightness over a volume of the universe large enough to determine the fluctuations of these processes. More information on NASA's Origins Program is available on the Internet at http://origins.jpl.nasa.gov/. Contacts: Jane Platt Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA Phone: 818-354-0880 Donald Savage NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC Phone: 202-358-1727
NASA release 2004-248 30 July 2004 NASA's Office of Exploration Systems has selected the proposals of 50 NASA investigators from its ten field centers to support the human and robotic technology goals and objectives of the Vision for Space Exploration. Total value of the work is approximately $570 million through fiscal year 2008. "The Office of Exploration Systems was created to assist the agency in achieving its new strategic direction of establishing human and robotic space exploration as its primary goal," said Associate Administrator Rear Admiral Craig E. Steidle, USN (Ret.). "The selection of these investigators and the technologies they have proposed will help NASA meet the challenging goals and objectives of leaving low-Earth orbit and returning to the moon and then Mars. These technologies may also benefit our lives on Earth much like the Apollo missions led to the development of medical diagnostic tools such as the CT scan." The selection was made in response to an intramural call for proposals and is the first of several steps towards developing new partnerships among NASA, industry and academia. The Human and Robotic Technology (H&RT) investment portfolio resulting from these partnerships will have a positive affect on future exploration missions. The selected proposals support the following H&RT programs: Advanced Space Technology Program, Technology Maturation Program, and Innovative Technology Transfer Partnerships Program. For the names of the winning proposals and more information about Exploration Systems on the Internet, visit http://exploration.nasa.gov/. For more information about NASA on the Internet, visit http://www.nasa.gov. Contact: Michael Braukus NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC Phone: 202-358-1979 NASA RELEASES BROAD AGENCY ANNOUNCEMENT FOR EXPLORATION NASA release 2004-249 30 July 2004 NASA's Office of Exploration Systems has released a Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) for Human and Robotic Technology (H&RT) system-of-systems that will seek research and technology development proposals in support of the nation's Vision for Space Exploration. The Vision for Space Exploration gives NASA a new focus and clear objectives to establish a sustained and affordable human and robotic space exploration program to explore the solar system, first returning to the moon and then Mars. "The Office of Exploration Systems is opening up its programs to industry and academia," said Associate Administrator Rear Admiral Craig E. Steidle, USN (Ret.). "This is a significant opportunity for vendors to become involved in an open competitive process. We have adopted a new approach to reach outside expertise to work with us in developing partnerships that will benefit the nation's goals for space exploration." This BAA is open to industry, universities and nonprofit organizations in support of the Advanced Space Technology Program (ASTP) and the Technology Maturation Program (TMP). The BAA is open for one year through July 27, 2005. ASTP is seeking proposals in areas such as advanced concepts, technology databases, advanced materials, health management technologies, energy storage, advanced chemical propulsion, and space communications and networking. TMP is seeking proposals in areas such as highly-reliable/autonomous deep-space cryogenic-propellant refueling systems; robust and reconfigurable habitation systems; space assembly, maintenance and servicing systems; and surface environmental management systems. For more information about Exploration Systems on the Internet, visit http://exploration.nasa.gov/. For more information about NASA on the Internet, visit http://www.nasa.gov. Contact: Michael Braukus NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC Phone: 202-358-1979 NASA ANNOUNCES SPACE RADIATION MATERIALS RESEARCH GRANTS NASA release 2004-255 2 August 2004 NASA has selected 19 researchers to conduct ground-based research in space radiation biology and space radiation shielding materials. Sponsored by NASA's Exploration Systems Mission Directorate, this research will use the NASA Space Radiation Laboratory (SRL) and the Alternating Gradient Synchrotron at the Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory on Long Island, NY. The SRL provides beams of radiation that are the same type and energy as found in space. They will be used for studies in radiation physics and biology in order to accurately predict and manage radiation risk in space. NASA received 70 proposals in September 2003 in response to this research announcement. All proposals were peer-reviewed by scientific and technical experts from academia, government and industry. The awarded grants total approximately $13.5 million. "To enable the accomplishment of the Vision for Exploration, protecting humans from the damaging effects of cosmic radiation is one of the most critical problems that NASA must solve," said Guy Fogleman, associate director for human health and performance. "These newly selected research projects are an integral part of NASA's strategy to solve this problem," he added. For more information on space research and a listing of the selected researchers, listed by state, along with their institutions and their research titles, please see http://spaceresearch.nasa.gov/. Contacts: Dolores Beasley NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC Phone: 202-358-1753 ESA IS LOOKING FOR FEMALE VOLUNTEERS FOR A BED-REST STUDY IN TOULOUSE NEXT YEAR ESA release 45-2004 3 August 2004 In preparation for a 60-day Female Bed-Rest Study, which starts in January/February 2005, an official call for candidates to participate as test subjects has been issued. The study is a joint venture between the European Space Agency (ESA), the French space agency (CNES), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA). It will be carried out by MEDES, the French Institute for Space Medicine and Physiology, in its clinical research facility at the Rangueil hospital in Toulouse, France. The Bed-Rest Study will need 24 female candidates who will remain in bed, slightly tilted head down at six degrees below horizontal, for a total of 60 days, to simulate the physiological effects of an extended period in weightlessness as experienced by astronauts. Within the framework of various research protocols, the study will assess the role of nutrition and physical exercise in countering the adverse effects of long-duration weightlessness on female astronauts. So far little is known of how the female body is affected by weightless conditions. This is because the majority of previous ground-based studies have been carried out on male volunteers, and because relatively few women have flown in space to date. The study will help advance knowledge of gender differences in the experience of extended exposure to weightlessness. The 24 test subjects will be split into three groups of eight. One will be the control group, receiving no extra stimulus over the course of the 60-day bed-rest period. The second group will undertake an exercise program whilst in bed during this time. The third will receive a nutritional supplement over the course of the 60 days. For the 21 days prior to the 60-day bed-rest period, the test subjects will take part in the collection of baseline data. During the 20 days following the bed-rest period they will undergo similar tests, for comparison with the baseline data. The research protocols come from a variety of international research teams selected through strict review by international experts. These protocols will assess the three groups to draw conclusions relating to specific areas including muscle condition, blood parameters, cardiovascular condition, changes in immune system, bone formation and psychological wellbeing. All research areas, objectives and protocols of the study have been approved by the responsible French ethical committee in Toulouse and will comply fully with all applicable national and international laws and regulations. With the European Space Agency's future plans for human space exploration, the results expected from this research will prove valuable in planning long-duration human missions. This research will also have clinical significance on Earth, advancing knowledge and pointing to improved methods to assist recovery by bedridden patients, and providing countermeasures to conditions associated with reduced physical activity. Details of the requirements to be met by candidates, the conditions of participation and the application to become one of the participants in the Female Bed-Rest Study can be found at: www.medes.fr/ltbrw. Information can also be obtained by phone: +33 825 82 54 84 for international calls (€0.20/min) and 0 825 82 54 84 from inside France (€0.15/min). Contacts: Franco Bonacina ESA Media Relations Division Phone: +33 1 5369 7155 Fax: +33 1 5369 7690
Life Science Medical Doctor Directorate of Human Spaceflight Phone: +31 71 565 6612 Fax: +31 71 565 3661 E-mail: peter.jost@esa.int CASSINI UPDATES NASA/JPL releases Saturn's Rings Offer a Fresco of Color NASA image advisory 2004-185, 22 July 2004 
http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA05421 Image credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute. With shimmering pinks, hues of gray and a hint of brown, a newly released image of Saturn's rings resembles a fresco where nature is the painter. The Cassini spacecraft captured this exquisite natural color view a few days before entering orbit around Saturn. The images that make up this composition were obtained from Cassini's vantage point beneath the ring plane with the narrow angle camera on June 21, 2004. The image was taken at a distance of 6.4 million kilometers (4 million miles) from Saturn. The brightest part of the rings, curving from the upper right to the lower left in the image, is the B ring. Many bands throughout the B ring have a pronounced sandy color. Other color variations across the rings can be seen. Color variations in Saturn's rings have previously been seen in Voyager and Hubble Space Telescope images. Cassini images show that color variations in the rings are more distinct in this viewing geometry than they are when seen from Earth. Saturn's rings are made primarily of water ice. Since pure water ice is white, it is believed that different colors in the rings reflect different amounts of contamination by other materials, such as rock or carbon compounds. In conjunction with information from other Cassini instruments, Cassini images will help scientists determine the composition of Saturn's ring system. In the 1980s, two Voyager spacecraft flew by Saturn as did Pioneer 11 in 1979. Those fly-by missions raised tantalizing questions that can now be addressed by Cassini's planned four year tour. Scientists have waited 25 years for an opportunity to answer these questions. The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Cassini-Huygens mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging team is based at the Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo. For this and other images and information about the Cassini-Huygens mission, visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and http://www.nasa.gov/cassini. Images are also available at the Cassini imaging team home page, http://ciclops.org. Directory: projects -> marsbugs -> 2004 projects -> Rajinder Sachar Committee projects -> Cape Lookout National Seashore Historic Resource Study By projects -> Cape Lookout National Seashore Historic Resource Study By projects -> Revolutionizing Climate Modeling – Project Athena: a multi-Institutional, International Collaboration projects -> What is a Hurricane? projects -> General Information projects -> Press Information projects -> 1 Introduction 3 2 Designing an Embedded System 4 2004 -> Editor/Publisher 2004 -> Editor/Publisher Download 1.87 Mb. Share with your friends:
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