Jul 18 1994
From The Space Library
NASA announced that it and the National Space Agency of Ukraine (NSAU) had agreed July 13 to explore possible cooperation in remote sensing and Earth sciences, telemedicine, space biology, space welding, advanced concepts and technology, and student and scientist exchanges. Robert W. Clarke, NASA Associate Administrator for Policy Coordination and International Relations, headed the U.S. delegation and Valeriy G. Komarov, Deputy Director General of NSAU, headed the Ukrainian delegation. (NASA Release 94-119)
The impact of a huge Fragment G, a two-mile-wide piece of Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9, was as great as six million megatons of TNT when it hit Jupiter early July 18, according to NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. A similar piece hit late July 18, and a further piece was expected on July 20. In contrast, the total energy that could be created on Earth with atomic bombs was 10,000 megatons. The comet left a scar larger than Earth's diameter on Jupiter's gaseous surface. Scientists began to study the long-term effects on Jupiter of the comet's impact. The media also focused on the work of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland, in tracking developments on Jupiter and the excellent view of Jupiter for astronomers at the South Pole. In the final stage of the comet barrage that ended late July 21, four large comet fragments hit Jupiter, creating tremendous fireworks for watching astronomers. Furthermore, as a result of the scars made by the fragments, white hot gases from the planet's interior erupted through the holes in great fireballs. In measuring the dazzling light produced, astronomers believed they had detected hydrogen sulfide, which could contribute to Jupiter's colors. The potential dangers associated with the comet collision with Jupiter led the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology to propose legislation that, if passed, would direct NASA to submit a plan by February 1995 for a 10-year program to catalog "all comets and asteroids that are greater than one kilometer in diameter" traveling along orbits that intersect that of the Earth. (LA Times, Jul 18/94; C Trib, Jul 18/94; LA Times, Jul 19/94; W Post, Jul 19/94; W Times, Jul 19/94; USA Today, Jul 19/94; B Sun, Jul 19/94; C Trib, Jul 19/94; NY Times, Jul 20/94; USA Today, Jul 20/94; W Times, Jul 20/94; LA Times, Jul 20/94; B Sun, Jul 20/94; CSM, Jul 20/94; C Trib, Jul 20/94; P Inq, Jul 20/94; NY Times, Jul 21/94; USA Today, Jul 21/94; B Sun, Jul 21/94; LA Times, Jul 21/94; C Trib, Jul 21/94; P Inq, Jul 21/94; LA Times, Jul 22/94; NY Times, Jul 22/94; W Post, Jul 22/94; B Sun, Jul 22/94; USA Today, Jul 22/94; W Times, Jul 22/94; Time, Jul 25/94; LA Times, Jul 26/94; NY Times, Jul 26/94; USA Today, Jul 26/94; CSM, Jul 28/94; NY Times, Aug 1/94)
Astronaut Neil A. Armstrong made a rare public appearance at an airshow in New Knoxville, spoke briefly to reporters and signed autographs. He said he had accepted an invitation to the White House on the 25th anniversary of his Moon walk. (Western Star, Jul 20/94)
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