Aug 30 1993
From The Space Library
Astronauts assigned to the Space Shuttle Columbia mission in the fall of 1993 were scheduled to conduct experiments on rats while in orbit. After beheading the rats, they were to dissect them. This would be the first dissection of an animal in space, to NASA's knowledge. The remaining rats aboard the Shuttle were scheduled for a similar fate once they returned to Earth. NASA's Willy Hinds, a biologist and immunologist who is in charge of the project, said that "these tissues... are the biological equivalent of the Moon rocks." (AP Aug 30/93; LA Times, Sept 5/93)
Scientists failed in a new attempt to get the Mars Observer spacecraft to re-establish contact with Earth, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory said. The spacecraft did not respond to commands to turn on its primary telecommunications equipment. A proposal to try to restart the Observer's central computer was rejected because it was thought to pose an unnecessary risk to telecommunications with other space-craft. (RTW, Aug 30/93; W Post, Aug 31/93; AP, Aug 31/931 CSM, Sept 1/93)
The European Space Agency, eager to boost its cooperation with Russia, said that it was studying the joint development of a new generation of space vehicles. Jean-Jacques Dorian, director of policy planning, told journalists on the eve of Moscow's first aerospace show that the agency had contracts worth millions of dollars with a number of Russian firms. (RTW, Aug 30/93)
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