Scientists at the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS) in Japan are bringing their first interplanetary mission, Nozomi, back to life. On April 21, 2002, the spacecraft was bombarded by extremely energetic solar particles from a coronal mass ejection, which pounded the craft for over six hours and caused a temporary shutdown. But engineers are now confident that the mission will soon be back on track. Originally known as “Planet-B,” Nozomi was renamed after launch to the Japanese word for “hope.” It is en route to Mars, where it will study the planet’s atmosphere and ionosphere.
August 6th, 2002
New Life to Mars Life Debate Astronomy.com
A quarter of the magnetic material in a famous martian meteorite was most likely created by microbes, insist a team of researchers from the United States and Canada. The claim isn’t new, but additional evidence for it is. In the August issue of the journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology, a team of nine researchers headed by Kathie Thomas-Keprta, an astrobiologist at NASA’s Johnson Space Center, presents new evidence that at least some of the magnetite crystals in ALH84001 are organic. About 25 percent of the magnetite crystals in ALH84001 have passed a set of criteria that only biological magnetite crystals have ever met before.
July 6th, 2002
Hunting for Marsquakes Astronomy.com
Earthquakes great and small happen virtually every day on our planet. Even our moon experiences quakes. But do any of our planetary neighbors, like Mars, get shaken? Scientists don’t know, but they will soon find out. Since the 1960s, researchers have sent numerous spacecraft to explore Mars. These probes, such as the Mariner series, brought back images of craters and relics of ancient volcanoes on the Red Planet’s surface. But no one was sure what was happening inside Mars. Underground, it might well be seething with activity. Now, Thomas Pike of the Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine in London is designing an instrument to check for “marsquakes.”
May 9th, 2002
Martian Scrapbook Astronomy.com
Scientists and engineers have been busy putting together the newest volume of the photo anthology produced by the Mars Global Surveyor mission. The latest release of 15,251 images expands the collection to over 93,000 snapshots. Every six months, Malin Space Science Systems, which operates Global Surveyor’s Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC), shares a new group of images after preparing them for public release. The latest compilation comes from the first six months of the orbiter’s extended mission, which began February 1, 2001.
May 6th, 2002
Space Birth Astronomy.com
A bold collective, including three universities and the Mars Society, recently announced its plans to launch a “crew” of mice into orbit. The project’s goal is to study the long-term effects of being born and living in a low-gravity environment like that on the Red Planet. Dubbed the Mars Gravity mission, the endeavor is part of the Mars Society’s Translife Initiative to develop a support structure for a martian settlement. Student researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of Washington
April 21st, 2002
No Green Seen on the Red Planet Astronomy.com
When NASA planetary scientist Carol Stoker was preparing a poster paper about her work on developing autonomous intelligence for Mars rovers, little did she know it would land her in the middle of the media’s spotlight. But that’s just what happened before NASA’s second Astrobiology Science Conference, held at Ames Research Center last week. After a brief abstract of her paper was posted on the conference website, an online news article reported that Stoker’s research had “found ‘intriguing’ evidence that may indicate there is life on Mars.” It’s true that Stoker’s abstract used the word “intriguing.” However, there is no hint in the abstract
April 20th, 2002
What Lies Beneath? Astronomy.com
Hydrogen-producing Earth rocks may hold a key to extraterrestrial life forms. Scientists have long known that hydrogen gas is set free from many common rocks when water infiltrates fresh cracks within them. Primitive bacteria that comprise a subterranean biomass possibly outweighing all living things at Earth’s surface thrive on this hydrogen, using it as an energy source. A recent study describes a different hydrogen-producing reaction within the minerals that make up the bulk of certain rocks that were once hot or molten. This latter process could indicate a novel support system for microbes on other planets. Friedemann Freund of NASA’s Ames Research Center suspects that similar hydrogen-consuming microbes may exist deep in the rocks on Mars and other planets that contain water today or were once wet.
February 3rd, 2002
Antarctica Astronomy.com
Scientists began recognizing physical similarities between Antarctica