Mar 6 1997
From The Space Library
NASA researchers at Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) in Huntsville, Alabama, announced a plan to collaborate with Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in Berkeley, California, to explore the potential of the substance Aerogel, which has tremendous insulating capabilities. Scientists said that they were optimistic that they could manipulate the material, rendering it transparent and, therefore, especially useful in constructing energy-efficient windows for homes and automobiles. During the 1930s, a researcher at Stanford University had discovered Aerogel, often called frozen smoke because of its hazy appearance. NASA engineers had used Aerogel as an insulating agent aboard Mars Pathfinder in 1996. Although the substance is the lightest solid known-only three times the density of air, a block of Aerogel weighing less than 1 pound (0.5 kilograms) can support 0.5 tons (450 kilograms or 0.45 tonnes). Aerogel's large internal surface area, which disperses heat throughout its structure, causes the material's extreme insulating capability-a 1-inch-thick (2.5-centimeter-thick) Aerogel window would offer the same insulation value as 15 panes of glass. John M. Horack, Assistant Laboratory Director for Space and Science Communications at MSFC, called the development of Aerogel "a great example of how NASA space research generates scientific knowledge that can be used to improve the quality of life on Earth.
A panel of scientists at the National Research Council issued a report warning NASA of the slight possibility that a mission to Mars might actually bring microbes back to the United States. Although their report clearly stated that the so-called Microbe Peril was unlikely, the panel argued, nevertheless, that a probe returning from an exploratory mission to Mars could possibly serve as a conduit to bring Martian germs back to Earth. The panel issued its warning because of NASA's plan to send a mission to Mars to obtain samples of substances on the planet, and because NASA scientists had recently identified signs of possible microscopic life on a meteorite. The panel's report stated, "If life forms ever existed on Mars, either by having been formed in an independent origin or having been transferred there from Earth, it is possible that they could have continued to exist up to the present time."
NASA announced the selection of four industry partners to study and develop a new Earth-imaging radar system. The proposed LightSAR system would use advanced technologies to reduce the cost and increase the efficiency of radar-based satellites, which gather scientific data and provide commercial remote sensing. Project Manager Steven Bard of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) pointed out the unique team approach planned for the project. NASA intended to work with industry partners from the start, to assess the potential commercial market for LightSAR products and services and to share the cost of developing the expensive new technology with private companies. The four primary contractors selected were DBA Systems Inc., Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Research and Development Laboratories, and Vexcel Corporation.
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