Jan 24 1995
From The Space Library
The New York Times reported that this month University of Illinois atmospheric scientists began aiming a powerful laser beam into the atmosphere above the South Pole, expecting to illuminate many details about the deletion of the global ozone layer. The scientists hoped that the laser will help them create continuous three-dimensional maps of the chemical composition and physical details of the atmosphere throughout the year. (NY Times, Jan 24/95)
According to an article in Space News, the fate of a proposed U.S. mission to Pluto rested on the ability of NASA engineers to cut the program's cost below the existing $580 million estimate, presumably by incorporating high-risk technologies. U.S. scientists said time was running out for a Pluto mission. The planet is currently moving away from the Sun. Scientists predicted that by 2025, Pluto's atmosphere will be completely frozen for centuries, precluding any effort to view the planet's surface. The existing plan called for launching two probes in 2001 that would map the surfaces of Pluto and its Moon Charon before flying off into deep space. Cost-cutting measures being considered included reducing the amount of fuel for maneuvers at Pluto and the type of power source the craft will utilize for the mission. (Space News, Jan 23-29/95)
An article in Space News noted that in the year since its dramatic repair, the once-ridiculed Hubble Space Telescope had opened a new window on the universe and established itself as one of the most important observatories ever built. Astronomers were full of praise for Hubble, which had finally lived up to its pre-launch hype. (Space News, Jan 23-29/95; Fla Today, Jan 22/95)
Scientists at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, announced that the El Nino phenomenon had returned and was getting stronger. The TOPEX/Poseidon satellite, a program of NASA and the French space agency, Centre Nationale d'Etude Spatiales, provided radar data confirming the buildup of a large warm water mass called a Kelvin wave in the tropical Pacific Ocean. This high sea-surface temperature heats the atmosphere and alters atmospheric jet streams, which affect worldwide weather pat-terns. (NASA Release 95-7; W Post, Jan 25/95; LA Times, Jan 25/95; AP, Jan 24/95; H Post, Jan 25/95; Reuters Press Agency, Jan 24/95; Bakersfield Californian, Jan 25/95)
A Russian booster rocket placed a U.S. commercial communications satellite into orbit for the first time. The FAISAT satellite was owned by Final Analysis, Inc., of Greenbelt, Maryland. (H Chron, Jan 25/95; ITAR-TASS, Jan 24/95)
Russian cosmonauts aboard the Mir Space Station carried out geological studies of the Earth's surface and its mineral and petroleum resources. The three cosmonauts underwent physical examinations and were reported healthy. (ITAR-TASS, Jan 24/95)
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