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Архив RU.SPACE.NEWS за 04 марта 1998

Дата: 04 марта 1998 (1998-03-04) От: Alexander Bondugin Тема: Dust And Soil Experiment Chosen For Mars 2001 Mission Привет всем! Вот, свалилось из Internet... MEDIA RELATIONS OFFICE JET PROPULSION LABORATORY CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION PASADENA, CALIF. 91109 TELEPHONE (818) 354-5011 http://www.jpl.nasa.gov Contact: John G. Watson FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE February 27, 1998 DUST AND SOIL EXPERIMENT CHOSEN FOR MARS 2001 MISSION Potential hazards that the soil and dust of Mars might pose to human explorers will be studied by an instrument recently selected by NASA to fly on the Mars Surveyor 2001 lander spacecraft. The Mars Environmental Compatibility Assessment (MECA) was one of two experiments chosen by NASA this month from a field of 39 proposals for instruments to perform studies that will benefit eventual human exploration of the red planet. MECA will analyze the dust and soil of Mars to investigate potential hazards to human explorers. The instrument will examine dust and soil using an optical microscope provided by the Max Planck Institute for Aeronomy in Germany and the University of Arizona. In the experiment, soil will be mixed with water carried aboard the spacecraft to investigate such topics as the acidity or alkalinity of the soil; potential for oxidation; electrical conductivity; and the presence of potentially toxic dissolved ions on Mars. The experiment will also monitor the charge buildup on the instrument's digging arm to learn about electrostatic buildup. The 2001 Mars missions represent the first step in an agency initiative to fly experiments supporting NASA's Human Exploration and Development of Space program on robotic exploration missions carried out by NASA's Office of Space Science. The 2001 lander is scheduled to launch in April 2001, while its companion orbiter spacecraft is set to launch approximately one month earlier. NASA's Office of Life and Microgravity Sciences and Applications sponsors MECA. Dr. Michael Hecht of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory is project manager, Dr. Thomas Meloy of West Virginia University is principal investigator and John Marshall of NASA's Ames Research Laboratory is deputy principal investigator. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA. ##### Hа сегодня все, пока! =SANA=

Дата: 04 марта 1998 (1998-03-04) От: Alexander Bondugin Тема: Lunar Prospector Initial Science Results Briefing On March 5 Привет всем! Вот, свалилось из Internet... Doug Isbell/Don Savage Headquarters, Washington, DC March 2, 1998 (Phone: 202/358-1547) Elizabeth Carter Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA (Phone: 650/604-2742 ) NOTE TO EDITORS: N98-23 LUNAR PROSPECTOR INITIAL SCIENCE RESULTS BRIEFING ON MARCH 5 The initial scientific findings and status of NASA's Lunar Prospector mission, now in orbit around the Moon, will be the subject of a press briefing at 1 p.m. EST, Thursday, March 5, at NASA's Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA. Lunar Prospector, the third mission in NASA's Discovery Program of lower-cost, highly focused Solar System exploration missions, was launched Jan. 6, 1998, to provide the first global maps of the Moon's elemental surface composition and gravitational and magnetic fields. The briefing will be broadcast live on NASA Television with two-way question-and-answer capability for reporters covering from participating NASA Centers. Participants in the press briefing are: * Scott Hubbard, Lunar Prospector Mission Manager, Ames Research Center * Dr. Alan Binder, Lunar Prospector Principal Investigator, Lunar Research Institute, Gilroy, CA * Dr. William Feldman, Co-Investigator for the Gamma Ray Spectrometer, Neutron Spectrometer, and the Alpha Particle Spectrometer, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM * Dr. Alex Konopliv, Co-Investigator for the Doppler Gravity Experiment, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA NASA Television is available on GE-2, transponder 9C at 85 degrees West longitude, with vertical polarization. Frequency is on 3880.0 megahertz, with audio on 6.8 megahertz. Information on Lunar Prospector is available on the Internet at the following address: http://lunar.arc.nasa.gov -end- Hа сегодня все, пока! =SANA=

Дата: 04 марта 1998 (1998-03-04) От: Alexander Bondugin Тема: Cassini Update - March 3, 1998 Привет всем! Вот, свалилось из Internet... MEDIA RELATIONS OFFICE JET PROPULSION LABORATORY CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION PASADENA, CALIF. 91109 TELEPHONE (818) 354-5011 http://www.jpl.nasa.gov Cassini Mission Status March 3, 1998 The Cassini spacecraft successfully performed the second scheduled trajectory adjustment of its mission last week, fine- tuning its flight path in preparation for its flyby of Venus on April 26. The trajectory adjustment needed was so minor that the maneuver was performed using Cassini's small hydrazine thrusters instead of the spacecraft's large main engine. Engineering data recorded during the thruster firing confirmed that the maneuver went as planned, with all spacecraft and ground components performing perfectly. A final trajectory adjustment prior to the Venus flyby is scheduled in early April. Cassini remains in excellent health, flying at a speed relative to the Sun of approximately 137,000 kilometers per hour (about 85,000 miles per hour). It is slowly gaining speed as it feels the tug of gravity from Venus. The spacecraft will gain a significant boost in speed when it swings around Venus next month. Cassini has traveled approximately 362 million kilometers (about 224 million miles) since launch on October 15, 1997. ##### Hа сегодня все, пока! =SANA=

Дата: 04 марта 1998 (1998-03-04) От: Alexander Bondugin Тема: SJI's Sky and Space Update - March 1, 1998 Привет всем! Вот, свалилось из Internet... SAN JUAN INSTITUTE'S SKY AND SPACE UPDATE Summary information about the night sky and recent findings and events in solar system exploration and science. Updated every 2 weeks. LAST UPDATED: SUN. MAR. 1, 1998 Prepared by: Dr. Bruce Betts and Andre Bormanis OBJECTS TO LOOK FOR IN THE NIGHT SKY (MID-NORTHERN LATITUDES) MERCURY climbs back into the western sky shortly after sunset, and looks like a moderately bright star. By mid-month it will be at its highest position in the evening sky, some 19 degrees from the Sun. VENUS is visible in the low east-southeast in the pre-dawn sky, looking like an extremely bright star. MARS is very low in the southwest in the early evening. It looks like a dim yellowish-orange star. On Mar. 10, Mars lies one degree to the left of Mercury, which is about ten times brighter. JUPITER is still too close to the Sun to be seen. By the end of the month, it will reappear low in the east just before dawn. SATURN is moderately low in the west shortly after sunset. It is the brightest object in this part of the sky, looking like a yellowish star. SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE OBSERVERS: Planets located in the southern part of the sky for northern hemisphere observers will appear higher in southern hemisphere skies; those in the north will appear lower. THE MOON First Quarter Moon occurs Mar. 5 at 12:41 a.m. PST (UT - 8 hours). Full Moon occurs Mar. 12 at 20:34 p.m. PST. This month's Full Moon is also called the Sap Moon, Crow Moon, or Lenten Moon (the period of Lent began on Ash Wednesday, Feb. 25, and ends on Easter Sunday, Apr. 12). HUMAN SPACEFLIGHT UPDATE STS-90: The next Space Shuttle mission, STS-90, is scheduled for launch on Apr. 16, at 11:19 a.m. PST. The oldest Space Shuttle, Columbia, will make its twenty-fifth flight into space on this mission. Columbia will fly the Spacelab facility into space for the last time. Spacelab is a research laboratory, designed and built by the European Space Agency, that fits in the Shuttle's cargo bay. The 17 day STS-90 mission will focus on how the space environment affects the human neurological system, i.e., the brain, spinal cord, peripheral nerves, and sensory organs. The kinds of experiments that have been conducted in the Spacelab facility since the early 1980's will be carried out aboard the International Space Station, which will be assembled in Earth orbit beginning this summer. PLANETARY SPACEFLIGHT UPDATE VOYAGER MILESTONE: The Voyager 1 spacecraft has become the most distant man-made object in the solar system. Launched Sep. 5, 1977, Voyager 1 is now some 10.4 billion kilometers from Earth. In late February its distance exceeded that of Pioneer 10, the previous most-distant spacecraft record holder. Voyager 1 flew past Jupiter on Mar. 5, 1979, and Saturn on Nov. 12, 1980. Thanks to its radio-isotope powered electrical generators, mission scientists expect both the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft to continue transmitting data about the distant reaches of the solar system until at least the year 2020. GALILEO: The Galileo Extended Mission continues. On Feb. 10, Galileo cruised above Jupiter's intriguing moon Europa at an altitude of 3552 kilometers. Because Jupiter was in conjunction with the Sun during most of February, scientific data from the encounter is just now being transmitted to Earth. Galileo's next encounter with Europa will take place on Mar. 29. Scientists hope to learn whether liquid water exists beneath Europa's frozen crust. NASA is planning to build and launch a dedicated Europa orbiter early in the next century. CASSINI: The Cassini spacecraft, headed for Saturn, continues to function as expected. The spacecraft has already traveled 271 million kilometers since its Oct. 15 launch. THESE WEEKS IN SPACE HISTORY MAR. 1, 1966: The Soviet Union's Venera 1 probe became the first spacecraft to land on the planet Venus. Due to a runaway greenhouse effect, temperatures on the surface of Venus reach 900 degrees Fahrenheit. MAR. 3, 1972: Pioneer 10, the first spacecraft to leave the solar system, was launched from Cape Kennedy, Florida. MAR. 10, 1977: Astronomers discovered a system of rings around the planet Uranus. RANDOM SPACE FACT At Voyager 1's present distance, sunlight is only one five-thousandth as intense as it is on Earth. Radio signals from Voyager 1, traveling at the speed of light (300,000 kilometers per second) take 9 hours and 36 minutes to reach Earth. ********************************************************************** The San Juan Institute (SJI) is a non-profit corporation headquartered in San Juan Capistrano, CA with divisions there and in Tucson, AZ. SJI carries out research and education in planetary and Earth sciences and astronomy, with funding provided by government grants and private donations, which are always needed. Partial funding for the SSU has been provided by NASA's Solar System Exploration Division. ********************************************************************** mailed 3/2/98 by Tobin Fricke, SJI. San Juan Capistrano Research Institute Ph: 714-240-2010, Fax: 714-240-0482 31882 Camino Capistrano, Suite 107 Email: educate@sji.org San Juan Capistrano, CA 92675 Web site: http://www.sji.org Hа сегодня все, пока! =SANA=

Дата: 04 марта 1998 (1998-03-04) От: Alexander Bondugin Тема: STARDUST Update - February 27, 1998 Привет всем! Вот, свалилось из Internet... STARDUST Status Report February 27, 1998 Ken Atkins STARDUST Project Manager STARDUST Assembly, Test and Launch Operations (ATLO) made good progress this week with telecom interface tests nearing completion today. A solution was developed for the data transfer problems discovered in the Cometary and Interstellar Dust Analyzer (CIDA) interface testing last month. Plans show the upgraded electronic simulator box arriving from Germany next week to support validating and testing the fix. New ATLO flow plans allowed the CIDA team two weeks of schedule relief for their flight unit delivery. The flight Sample Return Capsule (SRC) canister bake-out was completed to provide the required clean environment for aerogel collector tray installation. The SRC avionics completed 100 hours burn in and the certification was completed to permit flight installation. Fault Protection workshop #3 was held this week in order to concentrate on Fault Protection test planning and execution. Results were very good,indicating a thorough test program for the fault protection software. The flight solar arrays completed functional lighting tests and acoustic test. The first chip containing public names, letters and pictures has been installed on the SRC avionics deck. 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/ Hа сегодня все, пока! =SANA=

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