May 17 1993
From The Space Library
Space News for this day. (1MB PDF)
NASA announced that researchers at NASA's Lewis Research Center, Cleveland, Ohio, had developed an ion exchange material that in laboratory tests effectively removed contaminants from water. Tests showed that the new material was easy to use and inexpensive to produce. (NASA Release 93-86)
The media reported that NASA and the astronomical community had differing views on an orbiting billboard that would beam a Moon-sized message back to Earth. NASA spokesman Charles Redmond said that the "space bill-board" was in line with the Space Agency's aims, that is, to encourage commercial development of space. A quite different view was expressed by Carl Sagan, a well-known U.S. astronomer and university professor, who called the project an "abomination" and said that it was "the thin edge of a wedge which may destroy optical ground-based astronomy...." An American Astronomical Society spokesman said the billboard would hamper Earth-based astronomy, add to the growing pollution of the night sky by light, and even infringe on everyone's enjoyment of nature's sunsets." (RTW, May 17/93)
NASA announced the formation of an International Mars Exploration Working Group. in addition to NASA, members included the European Space Agency, the Russian Space Research Institute, the Italian Space Agency, the German Space Agency, and the French Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales. The group would focus on producing an international strategy for the exploration of Mars after the year 2000. (NASA Release 93-87)
NASA announced that it had joined with American Bio-Technologies Inc. of Cambridge, Massachusetts, in an attempt to arrive at a better understanding of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS). The goal was to use advanced x-ray technology and expertise developed by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, in Huntsville, Alabama, to advance knowledge of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and AIDS, to develop new therapeutic approaches for HIV and AIDS, and to develop superior biological materials for vaccine development and HIV detection. (NASA Release 93-88)
The Associated Press reported that the Everglades-style airboat used to maintain navigation lights at the Space Shuttle's California landing site had been named "Puddle shuttle," after a contest among workers. (AP, May 17/93)
The Washington Post reported that NASA's dream of building a permanent human outpost in space was generating much controversy. President Clinton's decision to shrink Space Station funding and his mandate that the station be redesigned added to the controversy. (W Post, May 17/93)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
