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Marsbugs: The Electronic Astrobiology Newsletter, Volume 12, Number 32, 23 September 2005
Marsbugs: The Electronic Astrobiology Newsletter
Volume 12, Number 32, 23 September 2005
Editor/Publisher: David J. Thomas, Ph.D., Science Division, Lyon College, Batesville, Arkansas 72503-2317, USA.
Marsbugs is published on a weekly to monthly basis as warranted by the number of articles and announcements. Copyright of this compilation exists with the editor, but individual authors retain the copyright of specific articles. Opinions expressed in this newsletter are those of the authors, and are not necessarily endorsed by the editor or by Lyon College. E-mail subscriptions are free, and may be obtained by contacting the editor. Information concerning the scope of this newsletter, subscription formats and availability of back-issues is available at http://www.lyon.edu/projects/marsbugs. The editor does not condone "spamming" of subscribers. Readers would appreciate it if others would not send unsolicited e-mail using the Marsbugs mailing lists. Persons who have information that may be of interest to subscribers of Marsbugs should send that information to the editor.
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Marsbugs: The Electronic Astrobiology Newsletter, Volume 12, Number 32, 23 September 2005
Articles and News
Page 1 KILLER "TRIPLE BURP" OF METHANE CAUSED MASSIVE GLOBAL WARMING
Open University release
Page 2 ADVOCATES OF INTELLIGENT DESIGN WOULD DUMB DOWN STUDENTS
By Peter Ward
Page 2 SPACE CYCLE TESTS ARTIFICIAL GRAVITY AS SOLUTION TO MUSCLE LOSS
National Space Biomedical Research Institute release
Page 3 DECIPHERING MARS: THE CURRENT DECADE
By Jack Farmer
Page 4 ASTEROIDS CAUSED THE EARLY INNER SOLAR SYSTEM CATACLYSM
By Lori Stiles
Page 5 MAUNA KEA GIANTS FIND COMMON NURSERY FOR COMETS
National Astronomical Observatory of Japan release
Page 6 DEEP IMPACT COMET MAY HAVE FORMED IN GIANT PLANETS REGION
NASA/GSFC release
Page 7 BY DESIGN: INTERVIEW WITH BROTHER GUY CONSOLMAGNO
From Astrobiology Magazine
Page 9 NASA RELEASES PLANS FOR NEXT GENERATION SPACECRAFT
NASA release 05-266
Page 9 THE LIVING WORLDS HYPOTHESIS (INTERVIEW WITH DAVID GRINSPOON)
By Leslie Mullen
Announcements
Page 11 NASA AMES TO HOST SALLY RIDE SCIENCE FESTIVAL FOR GIRLS
NASA/ARC release 05-47AR
Page 12 ASTROBIOLOGY INTERPRETED IN YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK
From the NAI Newsletter
Page 12 NASA INSTITUTE FOR ADVANCED CONCEPTS (NIAC) 2005 ANNUAL MEETING
From the NAI Newsletter
Mission Reports
Page 12 CASSINI UPDATES
NASA/JPL releases
Page 14 MARS EXPLORATION ROVERS UPDATES
NASA/JPL release
Page 15 MARS EXPRESS UPDATES
ESA releases
Page 18 MARS GLOBAL SURVEYOR IMAGES
NASA/JPL/MSSS releases
Page 19 ORBITER'S LONG LIFE HELPS SCIENTISTS TRACK CHANGES ON MARS
NASA/JPL release 2005-152
Page 20 MARS RECONNAISSANCE ORBITER MISSION STATUS
NASA/JPL release 2005-146
Page 21 SOLAR FLARE INTERACTS WITH ROSETTA (REPORT FOR PERIOD 26 AUGUST TO 16 SEPTEMBER 2005)
ESA release
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Marsbugs: The Electronic Astrobiology Newsletter, Volume 12, Number 32, 23 September 2005
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Marsbugs: The Electronic Astrobiology Newsletter, Volume 12, Number 32, 23 September 2005
KILLER "TRIPLE BURP" OF METHANE CAUSED MASSIVE GLOBAL WARMING
Open University release
14 September 2005
Open University researchers have uncovered startling new evidence about an extreme period of a sudden, fatal dose of global warming some 180 million years ago during the time of the dinosaurs. The scientists' findings could provide vital clues about climate change happening today and in the future. The OU Department of Earth Sciences team, PhD student Dave Kemp and supervisors Drs. Angela Coe and Anthony Cohen, along with Dr. Lorenz Schwark of the University of Cologne, discovered evidence suggesting that vast amounts of methane gas were released to the atmosphere in three massive "methane burps" or pulses. The addition of methane, a greenhouse gas, to the atmosphere had a severe impact on the environment, warming Earth about 10°C, and resulting in the extinction of a large number of species on land and in the oceans.
Dr. Angela Coe says: "We've known about this event for a few years through earlier work by our team and others, but there's been a great deal of uncertainty about its precise size, duration, and underlying cause. What our present study shows is that this methane release was not just one event, but 3 consecutive pulses. Importantly, our data demonstrate that each individual pulse was very rapid. Also, whilst the methane release was very quick, we've found that the recovery took much longer, occurring over a few hundred thousand years".
The methane came from gas hydrate, a frozen mixture of water and methane found in huge quantities on the seabed. This hydrate suddenly melted, allowing the methane to escape. The OU researchers based their findings on geochemical analyses of mudrocks that are preserved along the Yorkshire coast near Whitby, UK, and date from the Jurassic Period of geological time.
Dave Kemp, whose PhD is funded by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), says: "The methane was released because slight wobbles in the Earth's orbit periodically bring our planet closer to the Sun, warming the oceans sufficiently to melt the vast reserves of hydrate. We believe that this effect was compounded by warming from greenhouse gases from volcanoes. After the methane was released into the atmosphere from the seabed it reacted rapidly with oxygen to form carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide is also a powerful greenhouse gas that persists in the atmosphere for many hundreds of years, and it was this gas which caused such a massive global warming effect."
Dr. Anthony Cohen adds: "One of the most important aspects of the study is that it provides an accurate timescale for how the Earth, and life, reacted to a sudden increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide. Today we are releasing large amounts of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere, primarily through the burning of fossil fuels. It is possible that the rate at which carbon dioxide is being added to the atmosphere now actually outstrips the rate at which it was added 180 million years ago. Given that the effects were so devastating then, it is extremely important to understand the details of past events in order to better comprehend present-day climate change. With this information, we are better informed about what action needs to be taken to mitigate or avoid some of the potential detrimental future effects."
Read the original news release at http://www3.open.ac.uk/events/5/2005915_30835_nr.doc.
Additional articles on this subject are available at:
http://www.astrobio.net/news/article1714.html
http://www.universetoday.com/am/publish/earth_wobble_burps.html
ADVOCATES OF INTELLIGENT DESIGN WOULD DUMB DOWN STUDENTS
By Peter Ward
From the Tacoma News Tribune
14 September 2005
I have a great idea. To improve the scholastic ability of our children, let's teach them that the Earth is flat. And let's be serious about it—really try to convince them the Earth is indeed flat as a pancake, and that all those laws of physics and pictures from space showing a round Earth have been misinterpreted by those arrogant scientists. To really get the point across, let's also tell our kids that hundreds of scientists and politicians support the view that the world is flat—even our president! If any kid questions this wonderful new theory, let's intimidate him or her into line and be sure to let our kids know those who oppose this new hypothesis are godless liberals intent on destroying America, just as U.S. Representative Tom DeLay (R-Texas) blamed the Columbine tragedy on those who teach evolution.
Such seems to be the unintelligent approach of the so-called intelligent design movement. I say "so-called" because Stephen Meyer, Jonathan Witt and their cohorts at Seattle's Discovery Institute who make their living peddling this snake oil would have you believe there is a massive groundswell of scientists who have been won over to their cause.
Read the full article at http://www.thenewstribune.com/opinion/insight/story/5100636p-4645187c.html.
SPACE CYCLE TESTS ARTIFICIAL GRAVITY AS SOLUTION TO MUSCLE LOSS
National Space Biomedical Research Institute release
14 September 2005
A bike-like centrifuge that creates artificial gravity may help astronauts combat muscle atrophy in space. Through a study at the University of California, Irvine, the National Space Biomedical Research Institute (NSBRI) is exploring the concept of a Space Cycle for in-flight resistance-training exercise.
"Even with onboard exercise, astronauts face the risk of losing muscle mass and function because their muscles are not bearing enough weight, or load," said Dr. Vincent J. Caiozzo, investigator on NSBRI's Muscle Alterations and Atrophy Team. "For exploration, it is important to find ways to increase load-bearing activity so astronauts can maintain strength."
Space Cycle is an artificial gravity exercise gym that enables the rider to perform resistance-training exercises without the use of weights. To achieve the desired amount of force, the rider on the left powers the cycle while the rider on the right performs squats. Photo courtesy of V. J. Caiozzo, University of California, Irvine.
Caiozzo's team is researching whether squats executed under artificial gravity conditions greater than or equal to Earth gravity (1g) produce the same kind of muscle responses that occur when a person performs weight training on Earth. With long-term initiatives like the International Space Station and the proposed lunar and Mars missions, the rate of muscle loss in some areas might rise to 25 percent unless measures are taken to confront atrophy. The loss of muscle strength during an extended mission could pose dramatic problems in the event of an emergency situation upon landing. The Space Cycle, a human-powered centrifuge under testing in Caiozzo's lab, generates various levels of artificial gravity ranging from Earth gravity to five times Earth's gravity. The speed of rotation determines the level of gravitational force.
The human-powered centrifuge generates various levels of artificial gravity ranging from 1g (Earth gravity) to 5g (five times Earth gravity), where the speed of rotation determines the level of gravitational force. Here, the rider is experiencing approximately 3 times the force of Earth's gravity. Photo courtesy of V. J. Caiozzo, University of California, Irvine.
Participants ride opposite one another—one on a bike and one on a platform. As one person pedals, the cycle moves in a circular motion around a centralized pole. The motion generates pressure on the rider, forcing him against the seat in a manner similar to the effect of gravity on Earth. On the platform, the other person performs squat exercises. Instruments on the device report the separate work rates of the participants. Caiozzo's team is determining the Space Cycle's effectiveness by comparing the participants' pre- and post-study muscle mass and strength, muscle fiber cross-sections from biopsies, and various cellular and molecular markers of growth.
"The novelty of artificial gravity resistance training is that each element of the body is loaded proportionally. Leg muscles can be made to work against high loads without the need for external weights, which is important in light of the limited mass and space available on missions," said Caiozzo, professor in the Departments of Orthopaedic Surgery, Physiology and Biophysics at UC Irvine.
In collaboration with Caiozzo, UC Irvine researchers Dr. Joyce Keyak and Dr. Jim Hicks are gathering data from the participants to determine whether the Space Cycle is also effective in maintaining bone mass and cardiovascular fitness.
"Space Cycle is an artificial gravity exercise gym," Caiozzo said. "The platform can be fitted with a treadmill, bike or any kind of exercise equipment and provides an environment for exercise under normal, Earth-like loading conditions."
NSBRI, funded by NASA, is a consortium of institutions studying the health risks related to long-duration space flight. The Institute's research and education projects take place at more than 70 institutions across the United States.
Related video and photos are available at http://www.nsbri.org/NewsPublicOut/20050914.html.
Read the original news release at http://www.nsbri.org/NewsPublicOut/Release.epl?r=86.
DECIPHERING MARS: THE CURRENT DECADE
By Jack Farmer
From Astrobiology Magazine
15 September 2005
I want to review some of the highlights that have come from recent missions, starting with the Mars Global Surveyor mission. I'm going to focus on three instruments: the Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC), which is a high-resolution camera that maps at about 2 meters per pixel; the Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA), which has been capable of mapping the surface at a couple of meters' resolution; and the Thermal Emission Spectrometer (TES), which is a mid-infrared instrument, looking at the mineralogy of the surface. And those instruments have really contributed a lot to advancing our understanding of Mars and have affected a lot the way we're approaching subsequent missions.
Images taken by the Mariner and Viking orbiters in the 1970s revealed extensive small-valley networks in the southern highlands of Mars, which we've pointed to for a long time now as potential evidence of water on the surface. With the higher-resolution Mars Global Surveyor Mars Orbital Camera, we've been able to see much more detail, including features that look a lot like the canyon lands of northern Arizona.
Tracks in the Martian soil made by the Spirit rover. Image credit: NASA/JPL/OSU/Cornell.
With the Mars Orbiter Camera we're also seeing layered rocks which could be sedimentary, or volcanic. We don't know for sure whether we're looking at original volcanic ash beds, lava flows, or recycled sedimentary materials. But there's layering all over Mars, layered sequences everywhere, which bodes well for anybody who's interested in looking for a sedimentary record, because hiding in there, there probably are sedimentary rocks. The Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter, which mapped the topography of Mars, has revolutionized our understanding of the geomorphology of the surface of Mars. For example, it revealed that the northern plains of Mars are probably the flattest surface in the solar system. The only thing comparable would be the abyssal plains of our ocean floors. Along with that has come the recognition of at least one continuous terrace, a bench that basically encircles the northern plains, which could be an ancient shoreline. This has added fuel to the claim that maybe Mars once had oceans. And this has helped us follow the water in a different way that wasn't expected early on.
TES has been mapping the surface in the mid-IR, looking for compositional variations. One of the important discoveries was of coarse-grained hematite at a place called Meridiani Planum. That was a compelling enough finding to convince the community to want to go there with the Mars Exploration Rover mission, and Opportunity rover has been exploring that site for over a year and a half now.
With regard to the question of subsurface water we have reasonable evidence that, early on in the history of Mars, water was abundant at the surface, carving channels, accumulating in basins and forming lakes and maybe even oceans. But over time, perhaps as early as 3.8 billion years ago, Mars began to lose its atmosphere. And with that, it lost the capability to sustain liquid water at its surface. If liquid water's around today, it may exist several kilometers below the surface as a global groundwater system. The question is, "How can we begin to address the idea of a subsurface hydrosphere on Mars?" Well, the Mars Global Surveyor, in particular the Mars Orbital Camera, has provided some compelling evidence: images of fluid seeps on the polar-facing slopes at high latitudes. Several years ago, Mike Malin and Ken Edgett first published data on about 140 such sites. There are even more now, and it turns out that the latitudinal distribution has expanded as well.