Apr 9 1997
From The Space Library
Michael H. Carr of the U.S. Geological Survey announced that the Galileo spacecraft had captured images revealing iceberg-like structures, suggesting the presence of frozen water on Jupiter's moon Europa. The discovery provided strong support for the theory that an ocean once existed on the moon's surface. Astronomers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory called the discovery "mind-blowing" and "the clearest evidence to date that there is liquid water and melting close to the surface of Europa." Ronald Greeley, the Arizona State University geologist who managed the Galileo imaging team, described the structures in the Europa images as "blocks of ice, similar to those seen on the Earth's polar seas during springtime thaws." Greeley concluded that a "thin icy layer covering water or slushy ice" might possibly exist on Europa's surface. The images revealed one possible ice formation that spread across Europa's surface in patches as wide as 4 miles (6.4 kilometers). Scientists disagreed on exactly how to interpret the images and on whether future exploration would be able to prove the presence of an ocean. Nevertheless, excitement over the findings spread throughout the research community. In its use of the Galileo probe to explore Europa, NASA continued its mission to search the universe for other environments suitable for life. The Galileo probe almost lost the images when an antenna on the craft jammed, slowing data transmission to Earth. Galileo came within 363 miles (584 kilometers) of Europa to capture the highly celebrated pictures.
At a tense hearing of the U.S. House Committee on Science and Technology, NASA announced the necessity of a significant delay in the on-orbit assembly of the ISS. NASA Administrator Daniel S. Goldin explained the delay, "We knew from the outset that building the International Space Station was going to be tremendously challenging. Space exploration is not easy or predictable. We will work through this schedule issue." NASA had scheduled the on-orbit construction to begin in November 1997, after Russia had launched Functional Cargo Block, known by its Russian abbreviation FGB. Inadequate funding for the Russian Space Agency, however, had delayed the construction of this ISS building block, pushing back the overall schedule. Russia had also delayed building the service module, another key component of the ISS.235 NASA's announcement invoked further criticism from members of Congress opposed to the ISS initiative. Representative F. James Sensenbrenner Jr. (R-WI), long a vocal opponent of the ISS, said simply, "I told you so." Before the official announcement of the delay, Sensenbrenner had argued that NASA needed to consider alternative plans, in case the Russian Space Agency proved unable to meet its obligations. NASA Associate Administrator for Space Flight Wilbur C. Trafton countered criticism, noting that the international contribution to the effort had surpassed US$6 billion and that NASA and its partners still expected to complete the overall project on time in 2002. Because the enormous undertaking involved "15 countries, dozens of companies, and thousands of workers," keeping production to preestablished deadlines had proven difficult.
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