Aug 2 1969
From The Space Library
Press conference on Mariner VI preliminary results was held at JPL Scientists reported experiments had revealed that recurring white blob seen in previous Mars pictures was 300-mi wide crater with peak in center; linear features known as canals were actually large, irregular, low-contrast splotches without specific detail; temperature in equatorial area ranged from 75°F to -100°F; atmosphere was almost nonexistent, Mars had no sharply defined borders separating light and dark areas; and Martian surface was more heavily cratered than previously believed. Dr. Charles A. Barth of Univ. of Colorado said any life on Mars would be very different from life on earth, perhaps form that used carbon dioxide. He said uv spectrometer had found atomic carbon and carbon monoxide, but no traces of nitrogen-essential to life on earth. Dr. George C. Pimentel of Univ. of California at Berkeley said infrared spectrometer had detected presence of unknown compound related to methane, building block of life on earth. He also reported detection of super-thin layer of water ice hanging in atmosphere above Mars equator. (Auerbach, W Post, 8/3/69, A3; Lannan, W Star, 8/3/69, A5)
NASA's Mariner VII televised two good test pictures before start of its first series of 34 approach shots more than 1 million mi from Mars. (AP, W Star, 8/2/69, A3; NASA News Release, 9/11/69)
Initial results of tests at MSC's Lunar Receiving Laboratory in which mice were exposed to lunar samples showed no indication of life on ported. All 24 sterilized mice that had lunar dust injected into their stomachs July 31 and 240 mice inoculated Aug. 1 were "alive and kicking. . . . They have shown no untoward reaction to the sample and seem to be in very good health." (AP, W Star, 8/3/69, A5)
Lick Observatory scientists said at news conference they had measured distance between earth and moon to be 226,970.9 mi, based on data from Aug. 1 test in which laser beam successfully hit reflector on moon, LRL preventive medicine specialist Dr. Norman D. Jones re-moon. Figure was accurate to within 150 ft and eventually might be pinned down to inches. (AP, NYT, 8/4/69, 13)
Romanian President Nicolae Ceausescu met President and Mrs. Nixon on arrival at Otopeni Airport, Bucharest. President Nixon replied to welcome: ". . . this significant moment in the history of relations between our two countries coincides with a great moment in the history of the human race. Mankind has landed on the moon. We have established a foothold in outer space. But there are goals we have not reached here on earth. We are still building a just peace in the world. This is a work that requires the same cooperation and patience and perseverance from men of good will that it took to launch that vehicle to the moon." (PD, 8/4/69, 1065)
Washington Post editorial: "It is not often that the public has a chance to share in the day to day unraveling of scientific mysteries. The men and women who engage in basic research prefer to work quietly in laboratories and eventually announce their findings in the atmosphere of scholarly meetings or academic publications. But at Houston and Pasadena MSC and JPL } these days, the public has become a silent observer of the plodding work that goes into basic research. Regardless of the drama that is involved, the study of the rocks brought back by Apollo 11 from the moon and of the pictures being transmitted back by Mariners 6 and 7 as they fly past Mars is simply basic research. Although results are trickling out each day, the dimensions of each discovery are hard to measure and an understanding of their cumulative impact is likely to be long in coming." (W Post, 8/2/69, Al2)
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