Space & Astronomy/Space and Astronomy (October 1993).iso/pc/text/spacedig/v08/v8_248.txt

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Subject: SPACE Digest V8 #248

SPACE Digest                                      Volume 8 : Issue 248

Today's Topics:
          Mars Underground News Vol II, No 1
               Re: SPACE Digest V8 #221
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: 17 May 88 03:12:10 GMT
From: nbires!isis!scicom![e-mail]  (Robert Brumley)
Subject: Mars Underground News Vol II, No 1



This is the latest issue of the Mars Underground News, which contains
information relevant to the exploration of the planet Mars.  Any replies
can be sent directly to Tom Meyer, the editor, at boulder!cubldr!meyer_t or
to me and I will forward.  Enjoy.


      Robert Brumley
Post: 4661 S. Vivian St.
      Morrison, CO  80465
Tel:  [phone]
UUCP: (isis,hao)!scicom!rwb


----------------------------------<cut here>----------------------------------


MARS Underground News                                          Vol. II No. 1


FLETCHER SAYS MOON BEST FIRST STEP

NASA Administrator, Dr. James C. Fletcher, speaking before the National Space
Symposium in Colorado Springs, Colo. said that the moon, rather than Mars, may
be the best initial destination for possible U.S./USSR manned missions.  "Going
to the moon together would give the two leading spacefaring nations in the
world an opportunity to build a stable base for further cooperation, which
could, one day, lead to a cooperative mission to Mars," he said.

Dr. Fletcher stressed that any cooperative manned activity should be preceded
by a program of cooperative unmanned activities.

"Flying out to Mars together before building such a foundation could, for
several reasons, be less practical," Dr. Fletcher told participants at the
April symposium.  In the last several months, a number of parties have
advocated a U.S./USSR manned mission to Mars.  Dr. Fletcher cited three
crucial factors favoring the moon for an initial cooperative manned mission:

* Timing - A joint mission to the moon would involve a relatively short
timetable, while a Mars mission "would probably encompass four or five
presidential administrations," Dr. Fletcher said.  He said relations between
the United States and Soviet Union have yet to demonstrate that degree of
stability.

* Cooperative experience - A year ago, the United States and Soviet Union
signed a space science agreement that established joint working groups in five
areas.  The efforts of these groups "could lay the groundwork for a strong
bridge of mutual cooperation and mutual trust," he said.

* Technical readiness - Both nations realize there are "many technical unknowns
involved in a manned Mars mission," Dr. Fletcher said.  These issues, such as
the effects of prolonged weightlessness on the human body, must be considered
before commitments can be made for a Mars mission.

Complete copies of Dr. Fletcher's speech are available from the NASA Newsroom,
[phone].


ROMANENKO RESULTS

Can humans sustain a zero-G trip to Mars?  According to preliminary reports
from the Soviet Union, cosmonaut Romanenko's physiological adaptation to
microgravity required less time, and resulted in smaller losses in bone
strength and mineral content than has been observed in previous flights.

On December 27, 1987, Soviet cosmonaut Col. Yuri Romanenko established an
Earth orbit endurance record of 327 days (11 months) aboard the Mir space
station.  According to Anders Hansson from the Institute for Space Biomedicine
in Sheffield, England, Romanenko reported a 5% loss in bone calcium which
levelled off after 80-110 days of flight.  Muscle atrophy was more extensive at
10% loss of volume, but only 1% loss of muscle fiber.

Romanenko's success, as reported in the December 29, 1987 issue of the New York
Times, may be attributed to a rigorous work schedule, two hours of exercise on
a stationary bicycle and treadmill, and the "penguin" suits which were designed
with elastic bands to provide resistance to movement for additional muscular
conditioning.  According to a report by Keller and Strauss presented at the
1988 Lunar Base Conference, Houston, Texas, there is a close correlation
between skeletal adaption and activity.  While Romanenko's regimen was
adequate, they concluded that more rigorous activity such as weight training or
sprinting may be a more effective countermeasure than more sedentary and less
intense activities such as bicycling or running.  -- Kelly McMillen


ADVANCE ON ROBBINS REPORT

In September 1986, the NASA Advisory Council convened a committee of 17
prominent scientists and physicians to make a comprehensive review of NASA's
life sciences program, recommend goals, and developed scientific and technical
strategies for achieving those goals.  Under the chairmanship of Nobel
laureate Dr. Frederick C. Robbins, the NASA Life Sciences Strategic Planning
Study Committee met periodically for more than a year, visiting field centers,
meeting with international representatives, surveying professional
organizations and groups active in medicine and biology, and reviewing the
issues relevant to the future of basic science, space exploration and,
particularly, extended human space flight.

Their findings and recommendations will be available in a report, "Exploring
the Living Universe: A Strategy for Space Life Sciences," scheduled for release
in mid-June.  This report takes a bold approach to near-term requirements for
biomedical research, gravitational biology, biospherics and exobiology.  It
also studies the factors that potentially limit human space flight, including
physiological deconditioning, radiation exposure, psychological difficulties
and environmental requirements.

A logical followup to the Paine Report and the Ride Report, the Robbins Report
will be available from NASA by calling [phone].
-- Paula Korn


TOO EARLY FOR JOINT MANNED MISSIONS

In a November 18, 1987 letter to the President from Congressmen Manuel Lujan,
Jr. and Robert Roe, the Congressional twosome asked that the White House
explore with the Soviet Union "the possibility of a joint American-Soviet
manned mission to Mars." The politicians, both top members of the U.S. House
Committee on Science, Space, and Technology called the mission a "venture that
could have more lasting beneficial results in terms of international good-will
and technological progress."  The response from the White House was handled by
J. Edward Fox, Assistant Secretary for Legislative Affairs at the U.S.
Department of State.  "At the present time," explained the Fox, "the
Department believes it would be premature to commit the United States to join
with the Soviet Union in such a major space project.  The United States has not
yet committed itself to Mars missions beyond the Mars Observer, much less to
its own manned mission to Mars, and the current budget situation makes such a
commitment difficult at best."  The State Department reply also noted that, as
space cooperation with the Soviets improves, so too will a confidence level in
attempting more ambitious cooperative projects.  -- Leonard David


REAGAN BOOSTS HUMAN EXPLORATION

Speaking before the annual meeting of the Electronic Industries Association in
Washington, D.C., President Ronald Reagan underscored his interest in the
health of the U.S. civilian space program, including human exploration beyond
the confines of Earth.  "...I look to the time, before the end of the first
decade of the next century, when we may have manned visits to other planets,"
stated the President.  In his dinner address before the electronic trade group,
Reagan supported the National Aerospace Plane (NASP) as "an important
investment in our future," noting the plane will be capable of taking off from
Dulles Airport, leaping into space, docking with the Space Station -- similar
to taking off from Washington, D.C. and heading for London.  "Not only the
Moon, but the entire Solar System beckons, which is why I have issued a new
national space policy that reaffirms the goal of U.S. leadership in space and
sets a new goal of expanding human exploration into the solar system," Reagan
said.  The President also remarked that he has asked for $100 million for the
initiation of Project Pathfinder, noting the program will "lay the foundation
for potential manned and unmaned missions beyond the Earth's orbit." "Tonight I
ask Congress and all the American people to join me in making the long-term
investment required to advance U.S. leadership in space.  We must begin that
investment by funding the increases I've proposed for our civil space program.
Can we afford to stop our exploration and wait for others to pass us?," the
President questioned.  -- Leonard David


MARS' WATER CYCLES UNDER STUDY

Scientist Bruce Jakosky, a research associate with the Laboratory for
Atmospheric and Space Physics at the University of Colorado at Boulder, is
studying Mars' water cycle in an attempt to learn more about climatic trends on
Earth.  Jakosky was recently selected to assist in coordinating the scientific
study of the Red Planet by the 1992 Mars Observer mission.  According to
Jakosky, the cyclical system on Mars is remarkably similar to ours, providing
an excellent model for hypothesizing about Earth's ice ages and future climatic
changes.  The Colorado scientist said the vast valleys and channels cutting the
surface of Mars may be erosional features caused by the red planet's periodic
tilting to and away from from the Sun.  As Mars tilts toward the Sun every few
hundred thousand years, its polar ice caps warm and cause water vapor to be
disributed over much of the planet, he theorizes.  "The snow and ice build-up,
which may be as deep as 10 to 15 meters during high tilt, melts from
underneath, quite similar to a greenhouse effect in which the Sun's rays are
absorbed but heat is not emitted," Jakosky explains.  "It's this run-off from
underneath that may cause erosion and form the channels we now see on the
surface." - Leonard David MEETING REPORTS

CASE FOR MARS RESULTS: LIFE SUPPORT

The critical issue of life support for human Mars missions is advancing on
several important fronts.  Within NASA and associated contractors, the
development of the CELSS Breadboard project (closed ecological support system)
continues at Kennedy Space Center with supporting research from Johnson and
Ames Research Centers.  The Biospheres II Venture, a privately funded, and
University supported research facitlity in Arizona has recently put 8 people
into the closed-system environment for a 2 year trial period.  Further research
is continuing aboard the Soviet Mir Space Station, though comprehensive reports
are not yet available.

Among participants at the Case for Mars III held in Boulder, Colorado last
July, new ideas presented in the Life Support session included Alice Eichold's
proposal that rather than build the space station from the "outside in," the
design should be directed toward integrating the need for recreation into the
context of routine duty.  As an architect from the University of California,
Eichold's innovative ideas serve a dual purpose in the CELSS program:
utilization of space for the psychological and physical well being of crew
members and conservation of space from an engineering point of view.
Additionally, Tyler Volk (New York Univ.) examines the consequences of
not requiring that all wastes from life support be recycled back to the
food plants and concludes that cellulose production on Mars could be
an important input for many non-metabolic material requirements on Mars.
The fluxes of carbon in cellulose production would probably exceed those in
food production and therefore settlements on Mars could utilize "cellulose
farms" in making materials for structural components and perhaps furnishings
for a Mars base or colony.

George Swanson's (Univ. of Colo.) approach to fitness management, discussed in
the Biomedical session, was to redefine the parameters of cardio-respiratory
fitness by characterizing blood lactate response.  His model suggests that the
index of fitness should be O2 consumption when the rate of change of lactate
just exceeds the rate of O2 consumption rather than defining fitness from the
"threshold" model done previously.  Additional topics provided insight into the
problems of bone loss (M. Cohen), space suit design (J. Billingham), and
radiation biology (B. Clark). John Billingham suggested that the space suit be
inflated to cover extremities and to constrict muscular blood flow, an idea
similar to the "penguin suit" designed by Soviets for use aboard the Mir
station.  -- Penelope Boston & Kelly McMillen


FUTURE MEETINGS

Exobiology in Solar System Exploration

A Symposium on Exobiology in Solar System Exploration will be held August
24-26, 1988.  Symposium topics will include solar system bodies, such as
planets, comets, asteroids and other celestial bodies, current knowledge
regarding Mars and the question of exobiology, and planned and future NASA
activities.  In addition, speakers will address the current status of the Mars
Observer mission and the U.S. Mars rover sample return project.  The program
will be held at or near Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California.  For
further information, contact: Judith Huntington or Deborah Schwartz; NASA Ames
Research Center; Mail Stop: 239-12; Moffett Field, California 94035; (415)
694-4204.


Dust on Mars III

A call for abstracts has been issued for the MECA_LPI Workshop entitled "Dust
on Mars III" to be held September 21-23, 1988, at Estes Park, Colorado.  The
goal of the workshop is to stimulate cooperative research on, and discussion
of, dust-related processes on Mars; this should provide valuable background
information and help in preparation and scientific planning for the Mars
Observer mission.  The workshop will address the following general questions:
1. How is dust ejected from the martian surface into the atmosphere? 2. How
does the global atmospheric circulation affect the redistribution of dust on
Mars? 3. Are there sources and sinks of dust on Mars? If so where are they and
how do they vary with time? 4. How many components of dust are there on Mars,
and what are their properties? The deadline for abstracts is July 15, 1988.
Any questions please contact LPI Projects office: [phone] or Steve Lee,
Organizer [phone].


4th International Conference on Mars

Although the last mission to Mars ended nearly a decade ago, continuing and new
studies have addressed several major areas.  In addition, a new generation of
spacecraft explorations is planned, beginning with the Soviet mission to Phobos
to be launched this year; the Mars Observer mission is scheduled for launch in
1992, and a series of additional Soviet and American missions are under
consideration.  This seems like a good time to review what is known about Mars
and to study the many intriguing questions.  To the end, a Fourth International
Conference on Mars is planned for January 10-13, 1989; the location will be in
Tucson.

Major objectives of the conference will be to summarize what is thought to be
fairly well known at the beginning of the new era of spacecraft exploration,
and to focus discussion on areas of uncertainty.  The intended theme of the
conference is to summarize those aspects that are known with reasonable
confidence; identify the key points at which interpretations diverge; discuss
the implications of alternate interpretations; and identify key future
measurements.

An important goal or outcome of the conference will be the production of a
source and text book on Mars, planned to be published by the university of
arizona press as part of the space science series.  For more information
contact Hugh Kieffer, USGS 2255 No.  Gemini Drive, Flagstaff, AZ 86001.

******************

 Editor: Tom Meyer
 Technical Advisor: Christopher McKay
 Contributors: Penelope J. Boston, Leonard David, Paula Korn, Kelly McMillen
 Mail news correspondence to: Mars Underground News, P.O. Box 4877, Boulder,
 CO 80306

 The electronic version of The Mars Underground News is distributed
by The Space Network BBS [phone].


The printed version of The Mars Underground News
is published by The Planetary Society
 Publisher: Charlene Anderson
 In order to receive The Mars Underground News by mail
send $10 (for 1 yr, 4 issues) to:
 The Planetary Society, 65 N. Catalina Avenue, Pasadena, CA  91106

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

End of Mars Underground News Vol II, No 1.

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

Date: 17 May 88 19:46:02 GMT
From: necntc!ima!haddock![e-mail]  (Elias Israel)
Subject: Re: SPACE Digest V8 #221

In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] writes:
>> Anyone who has ever visited the top of an Hawaiian volcano should
>> think twice about the damage that would be done by installing a launch
>> site in such a unique environment.  A hike below the rim of Haleakala
>> on Maui is a truely amazing trip--the closest thing to a walk on
>> another planet that any of us are likely to experience.
>
>Particularly if no one lets us build a spaceport:
>
>    A) near a city because it's to dangerous in a highly developed
>       area.
>    B) away from a city because it damages the undeveloped
>       environment.


Amen!
First, the location for the proposed spaceport in Hawaii is in Palima
Point on the big island (Hawaii) not anywhere near Maui. Yes, I have
been to Haleakala and it's one of the most beautiful sights anywhere.
Palima Point is not on or near Mauna Kea or Mauna Loa, the two ACTIVE
volcanoes of the big island. From the sketches that I have seen, the
proposed site is (guess what) on the beach, on the south of the island,
I think.

Also, the benefits of a site in Hawaii are hefty! For the state of
Hawaii, the flow the technology to the state can only mean more money
for the state coffers. Naturally, Governor Waihee is a supporter of the
Palima Point proposal. For the possible users of the launch facility,
it sure is hard to beat a launch site with water in every direction
that's only 12 degress off the equator and in a friendly country to
boot!

I say do it. The age of commercial space development is coming. If you
thought the GOVERNMENT did some nifty things in space, just wait until
the businessmen who *know what they're doing* take a crack at it.

Elias Israel           | "Justice, n. A commodity which in more or
Interactive Systems Corp.  | less adulterated condition the State sells
Boston, MA           | to the citizen as a reward for his allegiance,
..!ima!haddock!eli       | taxes, and personal service."
               |     -- Ambrose Bierce, _The Devil's Dictionary_

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End of SPACE Digest V8 #248
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