Mar 18 1991
From The Space Library
NASA announced that the spacecraft Galileo would execute a trajectory correction maneuver on March 20 to help aim it for the first-ever flyby of an asteroid next October. To perform the maneuver, Galileo would fire its small thrusters on and off during a three and one half hour period, thus changing its speed about five miles per hour. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California, manages the Galileo project. (NASA Release 91-43)
NASA issued a summary fact sheet on its earth science research programs. Past NASA satellite missions used various remote-sensing instruments to study parts of the Earth system. The Coastal Zone Color Scanner on Nimbus-7 observed the biological productivity of the oceans. The Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS), on the same satellite, returned 12 years of data on global ozone levels and helped identify the Antarctic "ozone hole." In the 1990s, NASA was to study the interaction of all environmental factors air, water, land, and biological life, that make up the Earth system-to help decision-makers understand global environmental trends and protect the planet.
The Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite, to be placed in orbit by the Space Shuttle in the fall of 1991, would make comprehensive measurements of the stratosphere. TOPEX/Poseidon is a U.S.-French ocean-topography satellite to be launched aboard a French Ariane rocket in 1992. It would pro-vide detailed measurements of the oceans' global circulation patterns. Lageos-II, a joint mission with the Italian Space Agency, would provide data on the Earth's geodynamics in 1992. The Earth Observing System (EOS) is a series of satellites carrying various instruments that were scheduled to make simultaneous, global-scale observations of related environmental variables and climate. The EOS Data and Information System were to come on-line in the early 1990s to analyze existing data and provide them to scientists around the world.
EOS data will also be provided by Earth Probes, low-cost missions for small launch vehicles and instruments such as TOMS. In the mid-1990s, the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission, a joint mission with Japan, would observe rainfall in Earth's low' latitudes. The NASA Scatterometer, to be launched in 1995 aboard the Japanese Earth Observing Satellite, would pro-vide global measurements of sea surface winds.
In addition, Space Shuttle missions provide a unique means for experiments that require multiple flights. A series of at least five international Spacelab missions in the 1990s, designated the Atmospheric Laboratory for Applications and Science, were scheduled to investigate atmospheric science and solar science questions relating to global change. The Shuttle also was to carry the Shuttle Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet experiment. The Space Radar Laboratory was to measure surface geology, vegetation, and ocean circulation.
Mission to Planet Earth is NASA's contribution to the U.S. Global Change Research Program, a multiagency effort. In turn, this program is part of international efforts to study the environment, including the International Biosphere Geosphere Program and the World Climate Change Research Program. (NASA Facts, Mar 18/91)
NASA's scaled-back design for Space Station Freedom was to be considered at a National Space Council meeting at the White House. The National Space Council members include members of the Cabinet, the director of the Office of Management and Budget, the White House Chief of Staff, the presidential science adviser, the director of the Central Intelligence Agency, and NASA Administrator Richard Truly. (W Post, Mar 18/91)
NASA's Hubble Space Telescope enabled the most detailed images of Mars ever taken. Scientists said the telescope made possible a long-term program to monitor seasonal climate and surface changes on Mars that previously had been impossible. According to the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, the images revealed Martian features as small as 31 miles across. (W Post, Mar 18/91; UPI, Mar 18/91; CSM, Mar 19/91; Htsvl Tms, Mar 25/91)
Launch Box-Your TV Connection to Outer Space, a new 14-episode program, is an educational series created by teachers for classroom use. NASA, Nickelodeon, and the Astronauts Memorial Foundation joined to fund the series, the first segment of which was scheduled to appear on May 9. The series includes footage of actual NASA missions as well as lesson plans for teachers. (Business Wire, Mar 18/91)
An editorial in Aviation Week and Space Technology commented on the regeneration of U.S. aerospace technological strengths represented by the National Aerospace Plane (NASP) and NASA's space program. The editorial quoted Assistant Air Force Secretary for Acquisition John J. Welch, Jr. as strongly endorsing the NASP before Congress, calling it "bur flagship science and technology program." The editorial commends NASA's downsizing of its Space Station plans, as well as the work of The Synthesis Group in working on a master plan for the Moon/Mars missions. (Av Wk, Mar 18/91)
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