Jet Propulsion Laboratory UNIVERSE
Pasadena, California - Vol. 28, No. 1 - January 9, 1998

Special issue: 1997 in review/1998 preview

1997 - The year of Mars Pathfinder

Mission captivates the world while setting new standards in 
planetary exploration

By DIANE AINSWORTH
   Of all the headline news in 1997, Mars Pathfinder's 
remarkable landing and performance on the surface of frozen, 
nearly airless Mars stole the show. Pathfinder became a landmark 
mission and a catalyst for new and affordable ways of exploring 
other worlds. 
   Pathfinder's landing marked America's return to the red 
planet after more than 20 years. In addition to a swift, seven-
month cruise to the planet, Pathfinder dived directly into the 
Martian atmosphere and landed with the aid of a parachute and 
giant cocoon of airbags. This novel entry technique had never 
been demonstrated before.
   Nor had any spacecraft before Pathfinder carried a roving 
vehicle the size of a small microwave oven to the surface of 
another planet. Pathfinder's companion rover, named "Sojourner" 
after Sojourner Truth, a female abolitionist who lived during 
the American Civil War, was the first robotic vehicle ever to 
make direct measurements of rocks and soil on Mars.
   Over the course of three months -- which was three times the 
design lifetime of the spacecraft -- Mars Pathfinder returned 
about 2.6 gigabits of data, which included more than 16,000 
images of the Martian landscape from the lander camera, 550 
images from the rover and about 8.5 million temperature, 
pressure and wind measurements. All science objectives had been 
fulfilled when the mission ended, 83 days after a nearly perfect 
landing on July 4. The only remaining objective was to complete 
a high-resolution 360-degree image of the landing site called 
the "Super Pan," of which 83 percent had been received. The last 
successful data transmission cycle from Pathfinder was completed 
at 3:23 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time on Sept. 27, 1997.
   Sojourner, built to last seven days, wound up roaming the 
floor of an ancient flood basin and exploring about 250 square 
meters (820 square feet) of the Martian surface. In all, the 
rover traveled a total of about 100 meters (328 feet) in 230 
commanded maneuvers, performed more than 16 in-situ chemical 
analyses of rocks and soil, and carried out numerous soil 
mechanics and technology experiments.
   "The mission demonstrated a reliable and low-cost system for 
placing science payloads on the surface of Mars," said Project 
Manager Brian Muirhead. "We've validated NASA's commitment to 
low-cost planetary exploration, shown the usefulness of sending 
microrovers to explore Mars, and obtained significant science 
data to help understand the structure and meteorology of the 
Martian atmosphere and to understand the composition of the 
Martian rocks and soil." 
   "Pathfinder was an unequivocal success and has given us 
phenomenal insights into how to operate future landers and 
rovers on the surface of Mars," added Dr. Wesley Huntress, 
associate administrator for science at NASA Headquarters, when 
the mission was officially declared over. "I congratulate the 
entire Pathfinder team on their accomplishment, which is a lofty 
but wonderful standard for future missions to attempt to 
exceed."
   Part of NASA's Discovery program of low-cost planetary 
missions with highly focused science goals, the spacecraft used 
an innovative method of directly entering the Martian 
atmosphere. Assisted by an 11-meter (36-foot) diameter 
parachute, the spacecraft descended to the surface of Mars and 
landed, using airbags to cushion the impact. 
   This innovative method of diving into the Martian atmosphere 
worked like a charm. "Every event during the entry, descent and 
landing (EDL) went almost perfectly," said Mission Manager 
Richard Cook. "The sequences were executed right on time and 
well within our margins."
   Pathfinder's descent through the Martian atmosphere was 
nearly flawless. After being suspended from a 20-meter (65-foot) 
bridle and firing its retro rockets, the spacecraft released a 
5.8-meter (19-foot) diameter cluster of airbags intended to 
soften the landing. The entry, descent and landing sequence 
marked the first time this airbag technique had been used. 
Pathfinder hit the ground at a speed of about 18 meters per 
second (40 mph) and bounced about 16 times across the landscape 
before coming to a halt, Dr. Tim Parker of JPL later reported. 
The airbag sustained little damage. To top it off, the 
spacecraft landed on its base petal, consequently allowing a 
thumb-sized auxiliary antenna to communicate the successful 
landing just three minutes after impact.
   Once safely on the surface, Pathfinder opened its solar-
powered petals and unveiled the small, 10.5-kilogram (23-pound) 
rover and science instruments to their new home. Science 
operations got under way within a day of landing, after the 
rover had exited the lander using one of two exit ramps.
As the rover ventured out into unexplored territory, the 
lander's camera began to image the surroundings, often taking 
shots of the rover so that scientists and engineers could 
monitor the vehicle's progress. A new portrait of the Martian 
environment began to emerge as the spacecraft started to record 
weather patterns, atmospheric opacity, winds and a variety of 
other Martian conditions. The rover's alpha proton X-ray 
spectrometer began studying rocks and making direct measurements 
of their chemical compositions, another first in this mission.
   Some of the rocks near the landing site were rich in silica, 
or quartz, and some were identified as possible conglomerates, 
reported Project Scientist Dr. Matthew Golombek and his 
colleagues. Conglomerates are usually formed by running water, 
which smoothes and rounds pebbles and cobbles found in the 
conglomerate. Running water would also be the agent necessary to 
deposit these rocks in a sand or clay matrix.
   "If you consider all of the evidence we have at Ares Vallis -
- the rounded pebbles and cobbles and the possible conglomerate, 
the abundant sand- and dust-sized particles and models for their 
origins, in addition to the high silica rocks," Golombek said, 
"it suggests a water-rich planet that may have been more Earth-
like than previously recognized, with a warmer and wetter past 
in which liquid water was stable and the atmosphere was 
thicker."
   A panoramic view of Pathfinder's Ares Vallis landing site was 
featured on the cover of the Dec. 5, 1997 issue of Science, 
showing traces of this warmer, wetter past. The Ares Vallis 
flood plain was covered with a variety of rock types, boulders, 
rounded and semi-rounded cobbles and pebbles, deposited by 
floods which occurred early in Mars' evolution. 
   "Before the Pathfinder mission, knowledge of the kinds of 
rocks present on Mars was based mostly on the Martian meteorites 
found on Earth, which are all igneous rocks rich in magnesium 
and iron and relatively low in silica," Golombek and his 
colleagues reported in Science.  Chemical analyses of more than 
16 rocks and studies of different regions of soil--along with 
spectral imaging of rock colors, textures and structures--
confirmed that these rocks had compositions distinct from those 
of the Martian meteorites found on Earth.
   "The rocks that were analyzed by the rover's alpha proton X-
ray spectrometer were basaltic or volcanic rocks, with granite-
like origins, known as andesitic rocks," Golombek said. "The 
high silica or quartz content of some rocks suggests that they 
were formed as the crust of Mars was being recycled, or cooled 
and heated up, by the underlying mantle.  Analyses of rocks with 
lower silica content appear to be rich in sulfur, implying that 
they are covered with dust or weathered. Rover images show that 
some rocks appear to have small air sacks or cavities, which 
would indicate that they may be volcanic. In addition, the soils 
are chemically distinct from the rocks measured at the landing 
site."
   Golombek noted that the rocky surface and rock types found in 
Ares Vallis matched the characteristics of a flood plain on 
Earth, created when a catastrophic flood washed rocks and 
surface materials from another region into the basin. Ares 
Vallis was formed in the same way that the 40-kilometer-long 
(25-mile) Ephrata Fan of the Channeled Scabland in Washington 
state was formed, and the Pathfinder scientists traveled to that 
area a year before the landing to study the geology and 
experiment with rover prototype hardware.
   Additional data from the Pathfinder landing site revealed 
that magnetic dust in the Martian atmosphere had been gradually 
blanketing most of the magnetic targets on the lander over time. 
"The dust is bright red, with magnetic properties that are 
similar to that of composite particles," Golombek said. "A small 
amount of the mineral maghemite has been deposited almost like a 
stain or cement. These results could be interpreted to mean that 
the iron was dissolved out of crustal materials in water, 
suggesting an active hydrologic cycle on Mars. The maghemite 
stain could be a freeze-dried precipitate."
   Another team of scientists used daily radio Doppler tracking 
and less frequent two-way radio ranging techniques during 
communications sessions with the spacecraft to pinpoint the 
location of the Pathfinder lander in inertial space and the 
direction of Mars' rotational axis. 
   Dr. William Folkner, an interdisciplinary scientist at JPL, 
and co-investigators were able to estimate the Martian polar 
moment of inertia, which showed that Mars had a dense metallic 
core surrounded by a lighter mantle. The results implied that 
the radius of Mars' core was larger than about 1,300 kilometers 
(807 miles) and less than about 2,400 kilometers (1,490 miles). 
Mars' core and mantle were probably warmer than Earth's at 
comparable depths.
   "Variations in Mars' rotation around its own spin axis are 
thought to be dominated by mass exchange between the polar caps 
and the atmosphere," Folkner said. "During winter, part of the 
atmosphere condenses at the poles. If the southern cap increased 
symmetrically as the northern cap decreased, then there would 
not be any change in moment of inertia or rotation rate. 
However, because of Mars' orbital eccentricity, differences in 
elevation and albedo, the polar caps are not formed 
symmetrically.
   "The unbalanced waxing and waning of the Martian polar ice 
caps results in seasonal changes in air pressure at the 
Pathfinder and Viking landing sites," he added. "These changes 
in air pressure are correlated with changes in Mars' rotation 
rate, which have been observed in our radio tracking 
measurements."
   The season and time of arrival of Mars Pathfinder in the late 
northern summer resulted in some variations in the temperature 
of the upper atmosphere compared to Viking data, Dr. Tim 
Schofield, JPL team leader of the atmospheric structure and 
meteorology instrument, and colleagues reported.
   High in the atmosphere, at altitudes of 80 kilometers (50 
miles) above the surface, temperatures were cold enough to make 
carbon dioxide condense and form carbon dioxide clouds. At 
altitudes of between 60 and 120 kilometers (37 and 75 miles), 
the Martian atmosphere was an average of 20 degrees colder than 
Viking measurements, Schofield said. Seasonal variations and 
Pathfinder's entry at 3 a.m. local solar time, compared with 
Viking's entry at 4 p.m. local solar time, may account for these 
variations. On the surface, however, daytime temperatures were 
typically 10 to 12 degrees warmer than Viking surface 
temperatures.
   Pathfinder measured regular pressure fluctuations twice a 
day, which suggested that a moderate amount of dust was being 
uniformly mixed in a warm lower atmosphere, as was the case with 
Viking data. The daily average pressure reached a minimum on the 
20th day of the mission (Sol 20), indicating the winter south 
polar cap had reached its maximum size.
   Schofield said that surface temperatures followed a regular 
daily cycle, with a maximum of 15 degrees Fahrenheit during the 
day and a minimum of minus 105 degrees Fahrenheit at night. The 
science team also observed rapid daytime temperature 
fluctuations of up to 30 degrees Fahrenheit in as little as 25 
to 30 seconds. These observations suggested that cold air was 
warmed by the surface and convected upward in small eddies.
Among a variety of other science findings, Pathfinder also 
observed winds that were light and variable compared to the 
winds encountered by the Viking landers. The winds blew steadily 
from the south during the Martian nights, but during the day 
they rotated in a clockwise direction from south to west to 
north to east. Whirlwinds or dust devils were detected 
repeatedly from mid-morning through the late afternoons.
   Additional scientific findings are likely to result in the 
months ahead as researchers continue to analyze data from this 
mission. Meanwhile, another mission--Mars Global Surveyor--will be 
observing the planet from space, while other missions gear up 
for launches in the near term. As part of a sustained program of 
exploration, Mars is likely to become a familiar place to 
everyone over the next decade. ###

Reconfigured MGS ready for mission based on new orbit

By DIANE AINSWORTH
   1997 saw the arrival of two spacecraft at Mars and the 
beginning of an extended program of Mars exploration. Two months 
after Pathfinder's landing, NASA's Mars Global Surveyor was 
captured in orbit on Sept. 12, after a 10-month journey through 
deep space.
   Global Surveyor was designed to replace Mars Observer, which 
was lost in August 1993. Ingenuity, teamwork and an 
exceptionally dedicated group of engineers and scientists 
quickly went to work to develop and launch the spacecraft within 
a short amount of time and on a tight budget. The time and cost 
of the mission broke all the records--26 months to build the 
spacecraft at a cost of only $148 million, which was well under 
the cost cap and a fraction of what it cost to build previous 
spacecraft destined for Mars.
   Mars Global Surveyor carried six scientific instruments to 
study Mars' climate, surface topography and subsurface 
resources. Its primary scientific objective, though, was to map 
the entire surface of the red planet.
   The journey to Mars wasn't as smooth as the team had hoped 
for, but each problem that cropped up was remedied in a creative 
and swift manner. In mid-November, as the spacecraft began to 
aerobrake into the upper fringes of the Martian atmosphere, 
structural damage to the yoke hinge of one of the solar panels, 
incurred during initial deployment of the panels shortly after 
launch, caused the unlatched panel to begin flexing during each 
dip lower into the Martian atmosphere. 
   Mechanical stress analysis tests suggested that the solar 
panel yoke--a triangular, aluminum honeycomb material sandwiched 
between two sheets of graphite epoxy--had probably fractured on 
one surface during initial deployment. The analysis further 
suggested that the fractured surface, with increased pressure on 
the panel during aerobraking, began to pull away from the 
aluminum honeycomb beneath it. 
   The flight team at Lockheed Martin Astronautics in Denver, in 
collaboration with atmospheric specialists at JPL, decided upon 
a more gradual aerobraking strategy in which to lower the 
spacecraft. Aerobraking was reinitiated at 0.2 newtons per 
square meter (3/100,000 of 1 pound per square inch), about one-
third of the original aerobraking level. That level was thought 
to be safe, but could be adjusted in the event of additional 
trouble with the panel.
   Science teams then came up with a new aerobraking strategy 
and a new mapping orbit. 
   The new mapping orbit would be a mirror image of the original 
mapping orbit, but it would take an additional year to set up. 
The spacecraft would have to take a six-month hiatus in the 
spring of 1998 to allow Mars to move into the proper alignment 
for mapping. The spacecraft's orbit would take Global Surveyor 
across Mars' equator at 2 a.m. rather than at 2 p.m., and the 
side of Mars that would have been dark would now be illuminated 
by the Sun. 
   "From the perspective of the science instruments, the orbit 
will look just like the original orbit, except that instead of 
taking data from north to south on the sunny side of Mars, 
Global Surveyor will be making its observations in a south to 
north direction in the sunlight," said Glenn E. Cunningham, Mars 
Global Surveyor project manager, at a mid-November press 
briefing at JPL. Rather than reaching its final mapping orbit in 
mid-January 1998, and beginning the science mission in mid-March 
1998, Mars Global Surveyor would achieve its final orbital 
position in mid-January 1999, and mapping was to begin in mid-
March 1999. Apart from the year's delay in beginning mapping, 
the new mapping orbit would preserve all of the science 
objectives of the mission. 
   During this year's hiatus, Global Surveyor will remain in a 
fixed, elliptical orbit in which it will pass much closer to the 
surface of Mars during each periapsis--or closest part of its 
orbit around Mars--than it will in the final mapping orbit. These 
close-range bonus passes will provide superb opportunities for 
data acquisition. The spacecraft's full suite of instruments, 
including the laser altimeter, will be turned on during this 
time to study the planet close up.  
   "We expect to gain some spectacular new data during this 
time," Cunningham said. "The spacecraft's orbit will still be 
elliptical during this period, with a duration of between eight 
to 12 hours, but at periapsis, the surface resolution will be 
much greater and the lighting angles will be spectacular."
   If additional problems arise with the aerobraking process, 
the new mission plan will offer the Surveyor team other 
opportunities to reach an elliptical orbit that will satisfy 
many of the mission's science objectives.  These so-called "off-
ramps" from the aerobraking process will be detailed in a new 
mission plan to be reviewed by NASA officials in February 1998. 
   With renewed vigor that the science mission had not been 
compromised, the flight team resumed aerobraking on Nov. 7. 
Since then, the spacecraft's scientific instruments have 
performed flawlessly, continuing to return new information about 
Martian magnetic properties, its atmosphere, surface features, 
temperatures and mineralogy.  
   Among the most intriguing science discoveries was 
confirmation that Mars had a weak, non-uniform, planet-wide 
magnetic field. The discovery continues to baffle scientists, 
but it was the first time that Mars' magnetic field had, in 
fact, been studied.
   The spacecraft's magnetometer, which began making 
measurements of Mars' magnetic field after its capture in orbit 
on Sept. 11, detected the magnetic field just four days after 
the beginning of its orbit around Mars. The existence of a 
planetary magnetic field has important implications for the 
geological history of Mars and for the possible development and 
continued existence of life on Mars.
   "Preliminary evidence of a stronger than expected magnetic 
field of planetary origin was collected and is now under 
detailed study," said Dr. Mario Acuna, principal investigator of 
the magnetometer/electron reflectometer instrument at NASA's 
Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. "This was the first 
opportunity in the mission to collect close-in magnetic field 
data. Much additional data will be collected in upcoming orbits 
during the aerobraking phase of the mission to further 
characterize the strength and geometry of the field. 
   "The current observations suggest a field with a polarity 
similar to that of Earth's and opposite that of Jupiter, with a 
maximum strength not exceeding 1/800 of the magnetic field at 
the Earth's surface.
   "This result is the first conclusive evidence of a magnetic 
field at Mars," Acuna continued. "More distant observations 
obtained previously by the Russian missions Mars 2,3 and 5 and 
Phobos 1 and 2 were inconclusive regarding the presence or 
absence of a magnetic field of internal origin."
   The magnetic field holds important clues to the evolution of 
Mars. Planets like Earth, Jupiter and Saturn generate their 
magnetic fields by means of a dynamo made up of moving molten 
metal at the core. This metal is a very good conductor of 
electricity, and the rotation of the planet creates electrical 
currents deep within the planet, which give rise to the magnetic 
field. A molten interior suggests the existence of internal heat 
sources that could give rise to volcanoes and a flowing crust 
responsible for moving continents over geologic time periods. 
The latter phenomenon is called plate tectonics.
   "A magnetic field shields a planet from fast-moving, 
electrically charged particles from the Sun, which may affect 
its atmosphere, as well as cosmic rays, which are an impediment 
to life," Acuna said. "If Mars had a more active dynamo in its 
past, as we suspected from the existence of ancient volcanoes 
there, then it may have had a thicker atmosphere and liquid 
water on its surface."
   It is not known whether the current weaker field now results 
from a less active dynamo, or if the dynamo is now extinct and 
what the scientists are observing is really a remnant of an 
ancient magnetic field still detectable in the Martian crust. 
   "Whether this weak magnetic field implies that we are 
observing a fossil crustal magnetic field associated with a now 
extinct dynamo -- or merely a weak but active dynamo similar to 
that of Earth, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune -- remains to 
be seen," Acuna said.
   Mars Global Surveyor is the first in a sustained program of 
robotic exploration of Mars. In December 1998, a second pair of 
spacecraft will be launched toward the red planet, carrying 
instruments that will augment this new global portrait of Mars. 
As those spacecraft arrive at Mars, Global Surveyor will be 
generating a global map of the planet that will aid in the 
selection of future landing sites. ###


Cassini well on its way to Saturn

By MARY BETH MURRILL
   After years of diligent work to design, build and test the 
Cassini spacecraft, its instruments and ground systems, the 
mission team was rewarded this year with a dramatic predawn 
launch on Oct. 15 from Cape Canaveral, Fla. as Cassini began its 
long voyage to Saturn.
   Cassini team members from across the U.S. joined fellow 
mission contributors from the European Space Agency and the 
Italian Space Agency to watch the Air Force Titan IV/Centaur 
launch vehicle lift Cassini into a moonlit sky studded with 
silvery clouds.  
   Since then, the spacecraft has remained in excellent health 
as it travels toward its first mission milestone -- a swingby of 
Venus on April 26, 1998.
   "Everyone who contributed to the program, and their families 
too, can take pride in the perfect launch and Cassini's superb 
performance now that the mission is under way," said Cassini 
Program Manager Richard Spehalski.  "Designing, building and 
launching Cassini was an incredible effort by the best people in 
the business," he said.  
   "Many of the people who worked on Cassini are moving on to 
other projects now, and those projects will benefit from the 
commitment to excellence and mission success that permeated 
every aspect of Cassini's development."
   After a complete systems health check, the spacecraft team, 
which built Cassini, formally turned over control of the 
spacecraft to the operations team that will fly Cassini and 
conduct day-to-day operations throughout the rest of the 
mission.
   The last of NASA's flagship planetary exploration missions, 
Cassini will perform an intensive, detailed study of the 
Saturnian system, including the ring system, the planet, its 
magnetic environment, and moons, especially the big moon Titan. 
The European Space Agency's Huygens Probe will parachute a 
science package through Titan's atmosphere and to its surface 
after Cassini reaches Saturn in 2004. The Cassini orbiter 
itself, built at JPL, will orbit Saturn for at least four years. 
Taken together, the scientific information gathered by the 18 
instruments on the Cassini orbiter and Huygens probe will 
provide a comprehensive understanding of the Saturnian system.
   Hundreds of supportive e-mail messages of encouragement were 
received by the JPL home page and the Cassini Web page both 
before and after Cassini's successful launch. This message came 
from an Arkansas-based contractor where Cassini work was 
performed: "Congratulations to you and your fantastic team of 
people.  Everybody at LaBarge is very stoked at the part they 
have played in the launch. You must have mixed emotions watching 
Cassini fly away into space. Well, here's to 11 years of great 
science and the elation you've earned for a job well done (even 
though it's not over yet)."
   More words of support and interest in the mission came from 
across the U.S. and around the world, even as misinformation 
about the mission's nuclear safety and radioisotope 
thermoelectric generators (RTGs) received wide circulation 
through the news media and the Internet.
   One message from Phoenix was typical: "Believe me, you have 
many supporters like myself and my friends that are in awe of 
the information you are gathering about our universe and I look 
forward to the wonders you will unlock on this mission. Good 
luck."
   A telescope operator at Griffith Observatory weighed in with 
this reality check: "I have been showing Saturn to the public 
every night that I work. I have been talking about the Cassini 
project for the last month; it seems that unfortunately most 
people are unaware that we are about to embark on this most 
exciting endeavor, and none that I have spoken to have even 
heard of RTGs, so that controversy is overblown. The best of 
luck on launch day and throughout the mission, I know that many 
wonders await us at Saturn. All I can say is a big THANK YOU for 
all that JPL's explorations have added to my life."
   Cassini's flight through the inner solar system over the next 
two years will be highlighted by planetary gravity assist flybys 
of Venus and Earth.  The first of Cassini's four such flybys 
will occur April 21, 1998 when the spacecraft swings around 
Venus at a closest-approach altitude of 336 kilometers. On Dec. 
3, 1998, the spacecraft is scheduled to perform a "deep space 
maneuver" that will adjust the trajectory to achieve the optimum 
geometry for the next Venus flyby on June 24, 1999 at 623 
kilometers (387 miles) altitude. Cassini's flyby of the Earth 
will follow on Aug. 18, 1999 at an altitude of 1,157 kilometers 
(719 miles). ###


Galileo starts two-year extended Europa mission

By JANE PLATT
   After yielding a rich harvest of science results in 1997, 
NASA's Galileo spacecraft wrapped up its primary mission on Dec. 
7 and began a two-year follow-on journey, known as the Galileo 
Europa mission.
   The transition from primary to extended mission brought a 
change in management.  Bob Mitchell, who served as mission 
director for the last year of Galileo's primary mission, was 
appointed project manager for the Galileo Europa Mission, taking 
over from Bill O'Neil, who served as Galileo project manager for 
the flight to Jupiter and the two-year primary mission at 
Jupiter. O'Neil will serve as a consultant on the senior staff 
of JPL's Telecommunications and Mission Operations Directorate 
pending his next assignment at the Laboratory.
   "A great bounty of Jupiter system science has been obtained 
and the continuing study of these data will surely add many more 
important discoveries," O'Neil said of the mission. "I've been 
involved with the Galileo mission since its beginning in 1977, 
and have been at the helm since 1990 for the flight to Jupiter, 
the first-ever outer planet entry and orbit insertion, and 
throughout the two-year primary mission tour of the Jovian 
system. I feel extraordinarily fortunate to have had this 
priceless, truly unique experience. But it is time for new 
challenges. I am delighted to turn the reins over to Bob 
Mitchell. Having worked closely with Bob for more than 25 years, 
I know that he will do a superb job leading the team."
   "Accomplishing what we have set out to do with such a small 
team is going to be a real challenge," Mitchell said. "But we 
have an excellent team in place, and I'm looking forward to it."
   The first flyby of the Galileo Europa Mission took place on 
Dec. 16, when the spacecraft swooped past Europa at an altitude 
of 200 kilometers (124 miles), making it the closest Europa 
encounter of the entire Galileo mission. The extended mission 
will include seven more Europa flybys, four encounters with 
Callisto, and one or two close flybys of Io, depending on 
spacecraft health.
   Pictures and other data returned by Galileo during its 
primary mission continued to fascinate the public in 1997. New 
images of Europa revealed evidence of ice flows, a complex 
network of crisscrossed ridges, chunky ice rafts and relatively 
smooth, crater-free patches. The areas of rafting added to the 
mounting evidence of liquid oceans under Europa's icy crust at 
some point in its history. The presence of oceans would increase 
the odds that life could have existed there. 
   "We're intrigued by these blocks of ice, similar to those 
seen on Earth's polar seas during springtime thaws," said Dr. 
Ronald Greeley, an Arizona State University geologist and 
Galileo imaging team member. "The size and geometry of these 
features lead us to believe there was a thin icy layer covering 
water or slushy ice, and that some motion caused these crustal 
plates to break up."
   Galileo investigators discovered a hydrogen atmosphere around 
Ganymede and both hydrogen and carbon dioxide in an atmosphere 
on Callisto. The spacecraft also found that Europa has an 
ionosphere, produced by ionization of its tenuous oxygen 
atmosphere. This finding came after a series of six occultation 
experiments, when the radio signal was interrupted while Europa 
was positioned between Galileo and Earth. These experiments were 
performed during Galileo's encounters with Europa in December 
1996 and February 1997.
   "While this discovery does not relate to the question of 
possible life on Europa, it does show us there are complex 
surface and atmospheric processes occurring there, and Europa is 
not just some dead hunk of material," said lead investigator Dr. 
Arvydas Kliore of JPL.
   Galileo also transmitted new evidence of numerous high-
temperature volcanoes on Jupiter's volatile moon, Io. One recent 
discovery revealed a new dark spot the size of Arizona on Io. 
The visible change occurred between Galileo's seventh and tenth 
orbits of Jupiter, and produced a dark area about 400 kilometers 
(249 miles) in diameter, surrounding a volcanic center named 
Pillan Patera.
   "This is the largest surface change on Io observed by Galileo 
during its entire two-year tour of the Jovian system," said 
Galileo imaging team member Dr. Alfred McEwen, a University of 
Arizona research scientist.
   Other significant results from Galileo this past year 
included the confirmation of the spacecraft's 1996 discovery of 
a magnetic field and magnetosphere on Ganymede, and the 
discoveries that all the Galilean moons except Callisto have a 
core.  Callisto did show signs of surface erosion and blanketing 
at fine scale. 
   "Before Galileo, we could only make educated guesses about 
the structure of the Jovian moons," said Dr. John Anderson, a 
JPL planetary scientist. "Now, with the help of the spacecraft, 
we can measure the gravitational fields of the satellites and 
determine their interior structure and density. We can determine 
how the matter is distributed inside."
   Galileo's instruments also detected some interesting, Earth-
like phenomena on Jupiter, including the presence of lightning 
and aurora.  Recent findings confirm the suspicion that the 
thunderstorms provide energy for the low pressure centers on 
Jupiter, which in turn feed the Great Red Spot, white ovals and 
other large storms.
   In 1997, Galileo also found clusters of volcanic vents and 
hot spots in greatest concentration on Io in the areas closest 
and farthest from Jupiter. Other discoveries include evidence of 
salt and carbon dioxide in Europa's icy crust and landslides on 
Callisto. 
   While the spacecraft was busy making scientific history, 
Galileo team members made history of their own in January. 
O'Neil, Johnson, and others met with Pope John Paul II during a 
trip to Italy.  
   "None of us ever anticipated that Project Galileo would 
result in a papal audience, "O'Neil said. "The Pope seemed very 
interested in learning about Galileo results. He encouraged 
continuing exploration of the universe."
   O'Neil and Johnson received honorary doctorates from the 
University of Padova and attended the Three Galileos Conference, 
a meeting designed to honor Galileo the man, Galileo the 
mission, and Galileo the new national telescope of Italy. ###
________________________________________________________________

JPL makes big splash with El Nio observations

By MARY HARDIN
   JPL has been riding the wave of early El Nio forecasting in 
1997 as three Lab-managed instruments where used by 
meteorologists to confirm that the ocean warming phenomenon is 
back in the Pacific.
   And while the El Nio predictions have resulted in stories of 
panicked sandbagging and TV weather forecaster hyperbole, JPL 
scientists say their data show this El Nio is the real thing.  
JPL's TOPEX/Poseidon radar altimeter, the NASA Scatterometer 
(NSCAT) and the Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) have all 
contributed to tracking the current El Nio condition in the 
Pacific.
   "The sea surface height data that we have collected all year 
confirm what the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric 
Administration has predicteda full-blown El Nio condition is 
established in the Pacific," said Dr. Lee-Lueng Fu, project 
scientist for the U.S./French TOPEX/Poseidon satellite at JPL. 
The five years of global ocean topography observations made by 
TOPEX/ Poseidon have been a boon for El Nio researchers, who 
have been able to track three El Nio events since the 
satellite's launch in August 1992. 
   NOAA issued its first advisory regarding the presence of El 
Nio conditions in May 1997. A number of El Nio forecast 
activities supported by NOAA indicated the likelihood of a 
moderate or strong El Nio this winter. The forecast model 
operated at NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Prediction 
used data collected by the TOPEX/Poseidon satellite.
   An El Nio is thought to be triggered when steady westward 
blowing trade winds weaken and even reverse direction.  This 
change in the winds allows the large mass of warm water that is 
normally located near Australia to move eastward along the 
equator until it reaches the coast of South America. This 
displaced pool of unusually warm water affects evaporation, 
where rain clouds form and, consequently, alters the typical 
atmospheric jet stream patterns around the world. The change in 
the wind strength and direction also impacts global weather 
patterns.
   "Since the beginning of NSCAT's operation in September 1996, 
the scatterometer observed stronger than normal easterly winds 
in the central and western tropical Pacific, which piled up warm 
water in the west as indicated by the higher than normal sea 
level and sea surface temperature," said Dr. W. Timothy Liu, 
NSCAT project scientist at JPL. 
   Unfortunately, the NSCAT observations stopped in June 1997 
when Japan's Advanced Earth Observing Satellite (ADEOS) suffered 
a fatal solar array problem and the mission was lost.
   Another key component to the JPL El Nio watch has been the 
water vapor data collected from NASA's Upper Atmosphere Research 
Satellite (UARS).
   "JPL's Microwave Limb Sounder experiment on UARS detected an 
unusually large build-up of water vapor in the atmosphere at 
heights of approximately 12 kilometers (eight miles) over the 
central-eastern tropical Pacific. Not since the last strong El 
Nio in the winter of 1991-92 have we seen such a large buildup 
of water vapor in this part of the atmosphere," said JPL's Dr. 
William Read. "Increased water vapor at these heights can be 
associated with more intense winter-time storm activity from the 
`pineapple express,' a pattern of atmospheric motions that 
brings tropical moisture from Hawaii to the southwestern United 
States. 
   "This phenomena is an example of how the ocean and atmosphere 
work together to dictate the severity of El Nio events." ###

______________________________________________________________
Next generation: Mars '98

   The Mars Surveyor '98 program is the next generation of 
spacecraft to be sent to Mars. Consisting of an orbiter--to be 
launched Dec. 10, 1998, and lander, set for launch on Jan. 3, 
1999--the Mars '98 mission will add to the knowledge gained by 
the Global Surveyor and Pathfinder missions. The general science 
theme for the 1998 Surveyor missions is "Volatiles and Climate 
History." 
   The Mars '98 orbiter will arrive at Mars Sept. 23, 1999, 
while the lander will touch down Dec. 3, 1999.
   Upon arrival at Mars, the spacecraft will use a series of 
aerobraking maneuvers to achieve a stable orbit, and then use 
atmospheric instruments and cameras to provide detailed 
information about the surface and climate of Mars.
   The '98 orbiter mission will carry a rebuilt version of the 
Mars Observer Pressure Modulated Infrared Radiometer (PMIRR), as 
well as the Mars color imaging system. PMIRR will observe the 
global distribution and time variation of temperature, pressure, 
dust, water vapor and condensates in the Martian atmosphere. The 
imaging system will observe synoptically Martian atmospheric 
processes at global scale and study details of the interaction 
of the atmosphere with the surface at a variety of scales in 
both space and time. In addition to the science payload, the 
orbiter spacecraft will provide an on-orbit data relay 
capability for future U.S. and/or international surface 
stations. 
   The lander will land near the southern polar cap and is 
equipped with cameras, a robotics arm and instruments to measure 
the composition of the Martian soil. Two small microprobes are 
also piggybacking on the lander, which will penetrate into the 
Martian subsurface to detect water ice.
   The science package for the lander includes the Mars Volatile 
and Climate Surveyor (MVACS) integrated lander payload, the Mars 
Descent Imager (MARDI) and an atmospheric lidar experiment 
provided by the Russian Space Agency Institute for Space 
Science. The integrated lander payload includes a surface stereo 
imager with Mars Pathfinder heritage; a meteorology package; an 
instrumented robotic arm for sample acquisition, soil 
manipulation and closeup imaging of the surface and subsurface; 
and the thermal and evolved gas analysis experiment for 
determining the nature and abundance of volatile material in the 
Martian soil. 
   The images obtained while the lander descends to the surface 
will establish the geological and physical context of the 
landing site. The atmospheric lidar experiment will determine 
the dust content of the Martian atmosphere above the landing 
site.
   Dr. John McNamee of JPL is Mars Surveyor '98 project manager. 
###
_______________________________________________________________

New Millennium Program prepares for full plate of missions

By JOHN G. WATSON
   The adventurous New Millennium Program made great strides in 
1997 in its preparations for a series of missions launching from 
1998 to 2003, with many more in the pipeline.
   The program is a flagship NASA venture whose goal is the 
development and testing of revolutionary technologies in space 
flight so that they may be confidently used in science missions 
of the future. Through a series of deep space and Earth-orbiting 
missions, the New Millennium Program will validate the essential 
technologies and capabilities required for challenging, new 
types of missions to be flown in the next century. 
   In November, Dr. Fuk Li was named program manager, after 
serving as acting program manager for several weeks following 
the retirement of veteran JPL manager Kane Casani. Li, a remote 
sensing expert who most recently served as manager of JPL's 
Earth Science Program office, has the challenging task of 
overseeing a wide variety of "faster, better, cheaper" missions 
whose key technologies typically have never been used in space 
flight before. 
   A key element of the New Millennium Program is the teaming of 
government with industry and academia to improve America's 
technological infrastructure. For this purpose, a series of 
Integrated Product Development Teams composed of private firms, 
universities and research labs are now working to identify, 
design and deliver technologies needed to enable future science 
missions so that they can be tested through upcoming New 
Millennium missions.
   Those missions begin this summer with Deep Space 1, whose 
launch period starts July 1. Flying by asteroid McAuliffe, then 
by Mars and finally by comet West-Kohoutek-Ikemura, DS1 will be 
the first spacecraft ever to rely on solar electric propulsion 
rather than conventional propellant-based systems for its main 
source of thrust.
   Solar electric propulsion is but one of 12 advanced 
technologies to be demonstrated on this high-risk mission. 
Others include new telecommunications equipment; autonomous 
optical navigation; advanced solar arrays; a miniature 
integrated ion and electron spectrometer; microelectronic 
devices; and a miniaturized camera and imaging spectrometer that 
will take pictures and make chemical maps of the target asteroid 
and comet. 
   Late last summer, the DS1 bus arrived at JPL from the Arizona 
facilities of DS1's industry partner, Spectrum Astro, and the 
spacecraft has since been almost fully assembled. It is now 
preparing for testing in the 25-foot space simulator in Building 
150 in preparation for its delivery to the Cape in early spring. 
   Deep Space 2 will send two small probes weighing two 
kilograms (4.5 pounds) each aboard the 1998 Mars Surveyor lander 
to study Mars' soil and atmosphere. In-situ instrument 
technologies for making direct measurements of the Martian 
surface will include a meteorological pressure sensor, 
temperature sensors for measuring the thermal properties of the 
Martian soil, and a subsurface soil collection and analysis 
instrument.
   1997 saw many crucial tests of the probe and instrumentation 
design, nearly all taking place at the New Mexico Institute of 
Mining Technology's Energetic Materials Research and Test Center 
in Socorro, N.M. A critical test took place on Oct. 29, when two 
of the most sensitive subsystems, a battery assembly and a tiny 
motor and drill assembly for extracting a subterranean soil 
sample, were successfully qualified. Fully integrated systems 
testing will take place in 1998 in preparation for DS2's January 
1999 launch.
   An advanced, lightweight scientific instrument designed to 
produce visible and short-wave infrared images of Earth's land 
surfaces was selected as the New Millennium Program's first 
Earth-observing mission. Launching in May 1999, Earth Orbiter 1 
is managed by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, 
Md. Like DS1, it too will validate 12 technologies. 
   The mission will serve multiple purposes, including providing 
remote-sensing measurements of Earth that are consistent with 
data collected since 1972 by the Landsat series of satellites, 
which is used by farmers, foresters, geologists and city 
planners. In addition, it will acquire data with finer spectral 
resolution, a capability long sought by many scientists studying 
Earth and its environs, and it will lay the technological 
groundwork for inexpensive, more compact imaging instruments in 
the future.
   In 1997, a successful EO-1 critical design was conducted. 
Focal plane and telescope elements are on schedule to be 
delivered to MIT's Lincoln Laboratory, the instrument 
integrator, in the first half of 1998. All of the major 
structural elements of the bus are fabricated, and the 
mechanical assembly and flight electrical harness are now in 
process. Spacecraft bus-level integration will begin this 
spring, and the instrument is due for bus integration at the end 
of 1998.
   In mid-November, NASA announced that Earth Orbiter 2 will 
encompass the Space-Readiness Coherent Lidar Experiment 
(Sparcle), flying in the cargo bay of the space shuttle. 
Scheduled to launch in 2001, its goal is to determine whether a 
space-based sensor can accurately measure global winds within 
Earth's atmosphere from just above the surface to a height of 
about 16 kilometers (10 miles). 
   Among the many candidate New Millennium Program launches are 
Deep Space 3, an interferometry mission encompassing three 
spacecraft orbiting the sun in formation, and Deep Space 
4/Champollion, the first landing of a science payload on the 
nucleus of an active comet.
   Landing in 2005, DS4 will analyze the nucleus; conduct an 
atomic, molecular and mineralogical composition assessment down 
to a depth of one meter; assess such physical properties as 
thermal conductivity; send back both standard and stereographic 
images; and attempt to return a nucleus sample to Earth by 2010. 
   1997's DS4 activities have included developing detailed 
designs of the lander and carrier spacecraft, testing of 
spacecraft anchoring systems at the China Lake Naval Weapons 
Testing Center in Ridgecrest, Calif., and the construction of a 
lab at JPL dedicated to the creation of cometary simulant 
materials that replicate the possible properties of a comet 
nucleus for further spacecraft anchor and drilling tests. q

_______________________________________________________________

Origins advances its study of star, galaxy and life formation

By JANE PLATT
   1997 was a busy year for the Origins program, an ambitious 
and intriguing series of missions to teach us more about star 
and galaxy formation and extend the search for life beyond our 
solar system. 
   For the first of the Origins missions, the Space Infrared 
Telescope Facility (SIRTF), the year was spent with planning and 
design during the project's Phase B. SIRTF passed its 
preliminary design review and non-advocate review in late 
September, and will undergo its critical design review in the 
fall of 1998. The development of SIRTF's large, sensitive 
infrared detector arrays was completed and construction of the 
flight detectors was initiated. SIRTF will enter Phase C/D in 
April 1998.
   With a planned launch in 2001, SIRTF will explore galaxy 
evolution and star formation in other galaxies, and will probe 
the distant reaches of the observable universe to study some of 
the most luminous galaxies known.  Within our own galaxy, SIRTF 
will search for brown dwarfs, and will detect and characterize 
extra-solar disks that may represent new solar systems forming.
SIRTF will complete NASA's Great Observatories Program, a suite 
of observatories designed to study the universe at all 
wavelengths. The other observatories in this family are the 
Hubble Space Telescope, the Advanced X-ray Astrophysics 
Facility, and The Compton Gamma Ray Observatory.
   NASA has selected the Infrared Processing and Analysis Center 
(IPAC), which is operated jointly by Caltech and JPL, to be the 
home institution for the SIRTF science center.
   Dr. Tom Soifer of Caltech has been named director of the 
center, which will be responsible for operating SIRTF and 
processing its data. The SIRTF mission is managed by JPL for 
NASA's Office of Space Science.
   Another in the series of Origins missions, the Space 
Interferometry Mission, entered Phase A in October 1997. Chris 
Jones, the former Cassini spacecraft development manager, was 
appointed project manager for SIM, which will have an 
unprecedented ability to pinpoint stars and determine with high 
accuracy ages and distances in the universe. Within the Milky 
Way galaxy, SIM will search for signs of planet formation in 
disks of material orbiting other stars. The spacecraft will look 
for the wobble of stars that are caused by planets orbiting 
around them.
   As the world's first long baseline optical space 
interferometer, SIM will serve as a technological stepping stone 
for the Terrestrial Planet Finder, a future Origins mission 
designed to capture a "family portrait" of other planetary 
systems. The Planet Finder would characterize the atmospheres of 
newly-discovered "Earthlike" planets to determine which of them 
might be habitable.
   The planned Keck interferometer successfully completed its 
preliminary design review in September, with a critical design 
review scheduled next summer. The Keck project will link the two 
10-meter (393-inch) telescopes at Hawaii's Keck Observatory on 
Mauna Kea into one interferometer, later adding four 2-meter 
(79-inch) outrigger telescopes to complete the six-element 
imaging array. The project has begun the process of applying to 
Hawaii's conservation district for permits to install the 
outriggers. The linking of the two main telescopes is scheduled 
for completion in 2000, with 2002 set as the target date for the 
outriggers to begin operations.
   The Keck interferometer will survey 500 nearby stars, using 
astrometry for extra-solar planet detection. It will look for 
the wobble caused by planets of a mass as low as Uranus out to a 
distance of 10 parsecs. The so-called "warm Jupiters," the type 
of planets currently being detected indirectly, will be seen 
directly using the six-element interferometer.
   In addition, the Keck interferometer will determine the 
extent of the zodiacal dust clouds believed to shroud other 
solar systems, gathering information that will affect the design 
of the Terrestrial Planet Finder.
   New images of various celestial objects were captured by the 
2-Micron All-Sky Survey (2MASS), which began operations in 1997 
using the first of a pair of twin telescopes. The two 1.3 meter 
(51-inch) telescopes will peer through the Milky Way galaxy's 
curtain of interstellar dust to conduct a near-infrared survey 
of the entire celestial sky. Operations began in 1997 at the 
Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory site atop Mount Hopkins 
near Tucson, Ariz., while the other 2MASS telescope, at a 
National Optical Astronomy Observatories site in Cerro Tololo, 
Chile, will begin operating in February of 1998. 2MASS, which is 
primarily funded by NASA, is based at the University of 
Massachusetts, Amherst. IPAC is processing the 2MASS data.
   The survey is designed to catalogue 300 million stars and 1 
million galaxies in the local universe, along with such exotic 
targets as quasars, black holes and brown dwarfs. It will also 
observe many known asteroids and possibly some comets.
   It's expected that 2MASS will discover new infrared sources 
that may form the basis for future space observatories, like the 
Advanced X-Ray Facility (AXAF), the Space Infrared Telescope 
Facility and the Next Generation Space Telescope.
   Another project supported by Caltech's IPAC is the Wide-Field 
Infrared Explorer (WIRE), which has a mission to discover how 
galaxies change through time and to detect the birth of new 
galaxies, called proto-galaxies.
   Within weeks of the September 1998 launch of the WIRE 
spacecraft into low Earth orbit, this small telescope will 
detect tens of thousands of starburst galaxies--galaxies where 
stars are forming at a much higher rate than usual--as well as an 
unknown number of proto-galaxies. ###
_______________________________________________________________

Ice and Fire: 3 missions rolled into 1

By JANE PLATT
   1997 brought new names and greater budget certainty to the 
three missions of the Ice and Fire Preprojects. Rob Staehle, 
formerly preproject manager of Pluto Express, was appointed to 
manage the preproject work for all three Ice and Fire missions--
Europa Orbiter, Solar Probe and the renamed Pluto-Kuiper 
Express.
   Pluto-Kuiper Express underwent a name change to reflect its 
new designation as an extended mission after the Pluto flyby, to 
visit one or more objects in the Kuiper disk.
   Perhaps the most dramatic change for the Ice and Fire 
Preprojects came with the budgetary separation of the technology 
development from the missions. The technology budget received a 
new start in FY '98 as the Advanced Flight Systems (X2000) 
Program, under the leadership of JPL's Anthony Spear. The Ice 
and Fire Preprojects are the primary users of X2000 technology. 
The Outer Planets/Solar Probe Program, which is to carry out the 
Ice and Fire missions, is slated for its new start in FY2000. 
   Although the preprojects' three missions are diverse, they 
were combined because of the potential for using the same 
electronics, software, mission operations systems and, perhaps, 
even the same mission operations teams for all three. The 
technology of X2000 may enable such a high level of efficiency 
that the Ice and Fire spacecraft cost could be lower than that 
of the Mars Pathfinder spacecraft.
   Ice and Fire got a big boost in 1997 from various new and 
intriguing science discoveries. Interest in the Europa Orbiter, 
for instance, was heightened by the return of fascinating new 
Galileo pictures showing more evidence that the icy moon may 
have had liquid oceans at some point in its history, perhaps 
even today.  This premise was boosted by the images of volcanic 
ice flows and chunky "rafting" features resembling icebergs on 
Earth.
   The science community watched with interest new images from 
the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory, which showed newly 
discovered polar plumes in the Sun's corona.  The Solar Probe 
mission, which is now a serious candidate for a 2004 launch, 
will fly through those plumes and make in-situ measurements. 
The discovery of more objects in the Kuiper disk inspired the 
broadening of the Pluto-Kuiper Express mission scope, as more 
questions arise about the farthest reaches of the solar system. 
###
_______________________________________________________________

Lab contribution helps to create best-ever map of Antarctica

   JPL played a significant role in creating the best map ever 
of Antarctica by participating in the Antarctica Mapping Mission 
in 1997.
   The mapping mission used data from the Canadian Space 
Agency's imaging radar satellite, RADARSAT. JPL provided the 
complicated mission planning to accomplish the mapping within a 
three-week period in September and October 1997.  The Lab also 
helped with the Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) processing and 
adding data system capabilities to the Alaska SAR Facility (ASF) 
to incorporate the new data into its data archive.
   The science campaign was led by Dr. Kenneth Jezek, from the 
Byrd Polar Research Center, Ohio State University (OSU). In 
addition to JPL, the mapping mission was a collaborative effort 
with OSU, CSA, NASA, ASF at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks, 
the Vexcel Corporation and the National Imagery and Mapping 
Agency. In order to obtain this unprecedented map of Antarctica, 
RADARSAT was rotated 180 degrees so it could image the opposite 
side of its orbital tracks.  This maneuver allowed the satellite 
to take the first radar images of the continent south of 77 
degrees latitude. 
   Imaging radar is the perfect tool for mapping Antarctica, 
since radar can image during darkness and through clouds. 
Antarctica is the last remaining continent to be mapped with 
high-resolution radar, with even cloud-enshrouded Venus having 
been mapped with radar earlier this decade.
   During the dedicated campaign, RADARSAT imaged Antarctica and 
stored the data onboard, then later in its orbit transmitted the 
stored data to three ground stations, two in Canada and one at 
ASF.  ASF is processing all the Antarctica data and OSU will 
generate the complete Antarctic mosaic, that will serve as the 
baseline for decades to come for gauging future changes in the 
ice sheet. ###
_______________________________________________________________

Scatterometry program ends year with promise

By MARY HARDIN
   For the Lab's scatterometry program, 1997 was a good news, 
bad news, good news kind of a year.
   The NASA Scatterometer (NSCAT) was successfully launched back 
in August 1996 on Japan's Advanced Earth Observing Satellite 
(ADEOS). The ocean-wind monitoring instrument was one of the 
first to detect changes in the equatorial trade winds in early 
1997 and contributed to the early forecasts of the El Nio 
phenomenon. 
   Unfortunately, right when the instrument was collecting its 
most important El Nio observations, the ADEOS satellite 
suffered a fatal solar array problem and the mission was lost on 
June 30, 1997.
   However, in an unprecedented move, NASA has approved an 
immediate new start for a mission dubbed QuikSCAT, for a "quick" 
scatterometer mission that will pick up where the global ocean 
wind observations made by NSCAT left off. The mission will fill 
in the ocean wind data gaps created by the loss of NSCAT and 
prior to the launch of JPL's SeaWinds on Japan's ADEOS II in the 
summer of 2000.
   "The challenge levied to us requires the satellite, 
instrument, ground system and launch vehicle be developed, 
integrated and launched in less than a year, something that has 
not been accomplished before," said JPL's Jim Graf, the QuikSCAT 
project manager.
   "To accomplish this extremely short schedule, the satellite 
was chosen from a source with existing satellite hardware and 
Ball Aerospace was chosen under NASA's newly instituted 
Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity contracts to be the 
spacecraft contractor," Graf said. "The instrument will be 
assembled by JPL from SeaWinds hardware spares."
   QuikSCAT is planned for launch from Vandenberg Air Force 
Base, aboard a Titan II vehicle. Total cost for the QuikSCAT 
mission is approximately $93 million, including $39 million to 
Ball Aerospace Systems Division for the spacecraft and $22 
million for the launch vehicle. JPL's cost to develop the 
instrument is $13 million. The remainder of the funds is spent 
on science, operations and ground system support. Congress 
approved NASA's use of fiscal year 1997 appropriated funds to 
start the mission.
   JPL's NSCAT/SeaWinds program office has been assigned the 
QuikSCAT management responsibility and will provide management, 
ground systems and a SeaWinds-type scatterometer instrument. 
Another unique aspect of the mission will be the collaboration 
with NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, which will procure the 
satellite under the newly instituted Rapid Spacecraft       
Procurement, which enables a quick acquisition of a science bus.
   QuikSCAT will use a rotating dish antenna with two microwave 
beams of the same design as SeaWinds. The antenna will radiate 
microwave pulses at a frequency of 13.4 gigahertz across 90 
percent of the Earth's ice-free oceans. The instrument will 
collect wind speed and wind direction data in a continuous 1,800 
kilometer-wide (1,118 mile) band, making approximately 400,000 
measurements every day.
   Measuring ocean winds is important because winds are a 
driving force for oceanic motions, ranging from small-scale 
waves to large-scale systems of ocean currents. Winds directly 
affect the turbulent exchanges of heat, moisture and greenhouse 
gases between the atmosphere and the ocean. These air-sea 
exchanges, in turn, determine regional weather patterns and 
shape global climate.  
   The QuikSCAT instrument is being built at JPL in the 
Spacecraft Assembly Facility high bay 2 right next to SeaWinds.
   The SeaWinds instrument is still on track to fly on the 
Japanese Space Agency's ADEOS II satellite; however, the launch 
will be delayed by approximately nine months. The engineering 
model of the instrument has been successfully integrated on the 
satellite in Japan. Also, a major design change to the SeaWinds 
instrument was implemented in 1997. NSCAT's performance 
dramatically exceeded its science requirements, and the change 
to SeaWinds modified the instrument's resolution from the 
required 50 kilometers to match NSCAT's actual measurements of 
25 kilometers. The hardware and software changes were extensive 
and the team accomplished them on schedule and without impacting 
commitments to Japan. ###
_______________________________________________________________

STRV mission will validate spaceborne technologies

   In 1998, JPL will manage a validation mission for 
demonstration of advanced spaceborne technologies that is funded 
by the Department of Defense's Ballistic Missile Defense 
Organization.
   The Earth-orbiting Space Technology Research Vehicle-2 
project, also known as STRV-2, is scheduled to launch Nov. 1, 
1998 from Vandenberg Air Force Base.
   STRV-2's key test is the use of high modulus graphite fibers 
and cyanate ester resin composite materials for the three-piece, 
14-kilogram (31-pound) spacecraft structure.
   Several other of its experiments are designed to gather 
primary data about radiation, micrometeorites and debris in a 
high-radiation zone at approximately 1,800 kilometers (1,120 
miles) above Earth. This high altitude is desirable for military 
and commercial satellites which, until now, have typically 
remained at lower altitudes pending further studies about risks 
in this zone. 
   STRV-2 experiments include: 
   - The Space Active Modular Materials Experiment (SAMMES), 
featuring four components measuring radiation and solar energy; 
   - An electronic testbed featuring the investigation both of 
micrometeorite particles and the use of advanced instruments in 
a radiation environment; 
   - A midwave-length imager system for detection of non-
afterburning targets from space; 
   - A satellite-to-ground station laser communications test, 
encompassing the first-ever demonstration of lasers for space 
communications; and 
   - A vibration isolation system testing use of sensitive 
instruments on vibrating spacecraft.
   JPL's contributions cover such areas as configuration 
control, payload integration, environmental testing and support 
to mission operations.
   Jim Kenny is STRV-2 project manager. ###
_______________________________________________________________

JPL has major role in Earth Observing System

By MARGUERITE SYVERTSON, Division 32 outreach specialist

   After 15 years of scientific studies, agency reviews and 
cutting hardware, NASA will launch the first spacecraft of the 
Earth Observing System (EOS) in mid-1998 from Vandenberg Air 
Force Base. Onboard EOS AM-1 (so named because of its morning 
equator crossing time) will be five instruments that will study 
the land surface, clouds, aerosols, oceans, and energy budget. 
JPL scientists and engineers play a major role in two of these 
instruments: the Multi-Angle Imaging Spectroradiometer (MISR) 
and the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission Reflectance 
Radiometer (ASTER).
   "MISR and its aircraft counterpart, AirMISR, and the 
associated data processing software, are all built by JPL. This 
has made for a well-integrated team that is very responsive to 
science needs," explained Dr. David Diner, principal 
investigator for MISR. The instrument comprises nine cameras 
that observe the Earth at nine different angles, both fore and 
aft of the spacecraft. Each camera operates at four different 
wavelengths (red, green, blue, and near infrared) for a total of 
36 different images. 
   "The experiment represents a new way to look at the Earth," 
Diner said. "We'll use the multi-angle images to obtain detailed 
characterizations of airborne dust and haze, clouds and the 
surface. This will help us understand the Earth's climate." MISR 
will also provide stereoscopic images of both the land surface 
and clouds.
   ASTER is a cooperative effort between NASA and Japan's 
Ministry of International Trade and Industry.  The instrument 
was built in Japan, and the international science team is 
jointly led by Dr. Hiroji Tsu of Japan's Earth Remote Sensing 
Data Analysis Center and Dr. Anne Kahle of JPL. ASTER's 14 
channels in the visible, near infrared, shortwave infrared, and 
thermal infrared will allow scientists to study volcanoes, 
geology, topography, evapotranspiration, clouds, ice, and land 
changes at spatial resolutions of 15 to 90 meters.
   Managed by Goddard Space Flight Center, EOS is a long-term 
mission to study changes in Earth's land cover, oceans and 
atmosphere in order to understand natural and human-induced 
changes in the environment. Along with the instrument science 
teams, 55 interdisciplinary science teams from around the world 
will use EOS data to study everything from the agriculture of 
China to Earth's angular momentum. 
   Two interdisciplinary investigations are led by JPL 
scientists: "Air-Sea Interaction and Ocean Circulation in 
Climate Changes," by Dr. Timothy Liu, and "Retrieval, 
Assimilation and Modeling of Atmospheric Water Vapor from Ground 
and Space GPS Networks: Investigation of the Global and Regional 
Hydrological Cycles," led Dr. Jean Dickey. Many other JPL 
scientists are co-investigators on EOS teams.
   Future EOS spacecraft include the PM-1 (named for post 
meridiem, or afternoon, equator flyover) mission, scheduled for 
launch in late 2000, and the EOS-CHEM (for chemistry) mission, 
scheduled for launch in 2002. JPL's Atmospheric Infrared Sounder 
(AIRS) will fly as one of six instruments aboard PM-1. AIRS will 
make extensive measurements of surface and air temperatures, 
humidity, clouds and atmospheric composition to improve climate 
models, weather predictions, and observations of phenomena such 
as El Nio and La Nia (where trade winds intensify over the 
Pacific, typically causing more rain in Indonesia and drought in 
the U.S.). The AIRS science team is led by JPL Chief Scientist 
Dr. Moustafa Chahine.
   The Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) and the Tropospheric 
Emission Spectrometer (TES) will fly on the CHEM mission. MLS 
will continue measurements of ozone, chlorine monoxide, and 
other constituents that affect stratospheric ozone loss, as well 
as humidity in the upper troposphere, that have been made by the 
MLS instrument aboard the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite 
since 1991. Dr. Joe Waters is the MLS principal investigator.
TES will monitor those gases involved in ozone formation, acid 
deposition (acid rain), and volcanic eruptions in the lower 
atmosphere (troposphere). These measurements will increase 
scientists' understanding of the carbon cycle, pollution, ozone 
loss and natural variations in Earth's atmosphere. Dr. Reinhard 
Beer is principal investigator. ###
_______________________________________________________________

Stardust mission to start spacecraft assembly, test

By MARY BETH MURRILL
   Stardust, the "faster, better, cheaper" Discovery Program 
mission that will send a spacecraft to gather a sample from a 
comet, has met the milestones necessary to begin assembly and 
test of the spacecraft hardware and software in early January at 
Lockheed Martin Astronautics in Denver. 
   Scheduled for launch in February 1999, the Stardust 
spacecraft will embark on a seven-year journey through the coma 
and to within about 150 kilometers of the nucleus of Comet Wild-
2 (pronounced "VILT-2). It will be the first space mission to 
gather dust and other material from a comet and bring it back to 
Earth for scientific analysis.
   Stardust's scientific bounty from its five-year voyage will 
also include samples of the interstellar dust that passes 
through the solar system. Return of this interstellar material 
will provide scientists with their first opportunity for 
laboratory study of the composition of the interstellar medium.
   "We've experienced good cost and schedule performance in 
1997," said Stardust Project Manager Dr. Kenneth Atkins. "We've 
learned lessons from previous Discovery projects like Mars 
Pathfinder, and we've been working to leverage common 
efficiencies with the other Mars projects being worked by JPL 
and Lockheed Martin." The project finalized its designs in June 
and has completed and collected almost all the hardware and 
software components in preparation for the system assembly and 
test, Atkins said.
   In February, Stardust mission engineers from JPL and Lockheed 
Martin will convene for a parachute drop test for the Stardust 
sample return reentry capsule system on the snowy desert plateau 
of the Utah Test and Training Range near Salt Lake City. The 
test range is the scheduled delivery site for Stardust's sample 
return in January 2006.
   Comet Wild-2 is a 'fresh' comet that was recently (in 1974) 
deflected by Jupiter's gravity from an earlier orbit lying much 
farther out in the solar system. Having spent most of the last 
4.6 billion years in the coldest, most distant reaches of the 
solar system, Wild-2 represents a well-preserved example of the 
fundamental building blocks out of which the solar system 
formed.
   Both the comet and interstellar dust samples will be 
collected in aerogel, a lightweight transparent silica gel, the 
lowest density solid material in the world. (Aerogel was most 
recently used as a lightweight insulating material to protect 
the Mars Pathfinder Sojourner's electronics from the harsh, cold 
climate of Mars.)
   In November, the project received tens of thousands of 
responses to its invitation to the public to "send your name to 
a comet." JPL's Microdevices Lab will etch the names on a 
silicon wafer that will be placed on the Stardust reentry 
capsule. The names, collected in partnership with The Planetary 
Society, will make a round trip to Comet Wild 2, returning to 
Earth in the sample return capsule. ###
_______________________________________________________________

Planning begins on asteroid 'nano-rover'

By MARY BETH MURRILL
   A formal project office was established in 1997 to manage the 
U.S. contribution to the Japanese-managed Muses-C mission to 
collect and return to Earth a sample from an asteroid.
   This innovative mission will use new flight technology, 
including solar electric propulsion, to send a spacecraft to 
asteroid 4660 Nereus and deliver a JPL-developed rover, which 
measures about the size of a shoebox, to the asteroid's surface. 
The Japanese Muses-C spacecraft will also fire explosive charges 
into the asteroid, collect the samples that are ejected from the 
impacts, and return the samples to Earth in a capsule for 
laboratory analysis. The mission is scheduled for launch in 
2002.
   "This represents an opportunity for the U.S. and Japan's 
space engineers and scientists to combine their expertise to 
achieve major science and technology goals in a cost-constrained 
environment," said Ross Jones, project manager for the U.S. 
portion of the mission called Muses-C ("N" stands for "NASA"). 
Overall management of the Muses-C project resides at Japan's 
Institute of Space and Astronautical Science.
   In addition to providing the rover, JPL will arrange for the 
testing of the Muses-C reentry heat shield at NASA's Ames 
Research Center, arrange for supplemental Deep Space Network 
tracking of the spacecraft, and assist in spacecraft navigation. 
JPL's responsibilities also include arranging for recovery of 
the return capsule and performance of work to meet the 
requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act. 
   The asteroid samples will be returned to a landing site in 
the U.S, and American and Japanese investigators will 
collaborate on shared data from the rover and the spacecraft.
   In 1997, the JPL Muses-CN project team completed hardware and 
software integration of a nano-rover prototype. Performance 
evaluations of the camera and spectrometer for the rover also 
began, as did research and analysis of navigation and sample 
reentry work. Preliminary plans for the heat shield design 
review and testing are in place at the Ames Research Center.
   Muses-CN project highlights at JPL in the coming year will 
include the completion of the rover engineering model design, 
and release of the announcement of opportunity to the science 
community, beginning the selection process for scientists who 
will be investigators on the project. ###
_______________________________________________________________

Tech transfer mission a key for corporate America

By MERLE McKENZIE, Manager, Commercial Technology Program
   Technology has a powerful effect on the productivity and 
profitability of corporate America. Corporate interest in JPL's 
technology can have a powerful impact on the Laboratory's 
future. JPL's "other mission," technology transfer and 
commercialization, bridges these two needs and the cultures they 
represent. The Commercial Technology Program Office at JPL 
provides this vital function.
   The end of 1997 also completes the first decade of JPL's 
technology transfer program. The results--and perspective--are at 
hand to assess and judge why this leveraging of JPL technology 
into U.S. companies is so important and how it best works.
   The importance of the function has been nationally 
recognized. As a result of the Government Performance and 
Results Act, Congress is looking to all federal agencies to 
ensure the use of the federal technology base by U.S. companies. 
In response, in 1997's release of the NASA Strategic Plan, the 
Space Science Enterprise established the goal of transferring 
technology to achieve globally-competitive economic returns to 
the nation.
   JPL is already successful in this area. Fundamentally, the 
concept is simple: as part of its exploration mission, JPL 
continually feeds its technology pipeline from early research to 
mission application; U.S. companies can then make use of this 
technology in their markets. In practice, however, three 
elements are essential for technology transfer to really work. 
First, companies need to know that JPL proactively pursues 
technology transfer and how to access it. Second, the JPL 
technology pipeline needs to be managed and matched to the needs 
of the companies. Third, the cultural differences between 
industry and the Laboratory have to be actively bridged. In 1997 
JPL continued to make significant progress in all three of these 
areas.
   As the 10-year cornerstone of technology transfer, the JPL 
Technology Affiliates Program continues to solve individual 
company problems by employing special JPL technology and 
expertise. In this last fiscal year, JPL technologists worked on 
85 company tasks funded by the companies at $3 million. One 
example of this work was the transfer of antenna and satellite 
tracking technology to KVH, Inc., via a NASA license. The result 
was a new product for mobile, direct broadcast reception, now 
offered for purchase. The Affiliates Program also provides an 
avenue for companies to access JPL's test facilities. This 
expertise and capability shortens a company's product 
development cycle, getting products into markets sooner.
   As part of an annual survey, corporate affiliates gave 
Technology Affiliates high marks, and continue to vote with 
their wallets, with an overall repeat customer rate of 75 
percent.  To date, Technology Affiliates has solved more than 
300 problems for U.S. companies and, equally important, built 
the knowledge and practice required to bridge the culture gap 
between JPL and industry.
   The Technology Cooperation Agreement program completed its 
NASA-sponsored activity last year. This program is focused on 
cost-shared, dual-use technology development. To date, 40 joint 
research and development activities were completed with 44 
companies. An example in 1997 is Schick Technologies, Inc., 
which incorporated JPL research in active pixel technology into 
a low-cost device for bone density assessment. Direct NASA 
support for such agreements has been completed, but use of this 
mechanism will continue through leveraging of existing 
technology development resources.
   Over the last two years, three additional technology transfer 
processes have been developed. The first targets technology 
applications in growth markets of high potential value to JPL. 
The second establishes JPL's intent to play a role in regional 
economic growth. The third directly supports JPL mission 
outreach through licensing of copyright, trademark or design 
patents.
   1997 results of these processes include many new 
relationships. For example, JPL is exploring cooperation on 
emerging global environmental markets with the Pasadena-based 
Jacobs Engineering Group, a worldwide engineering and 
construction company, along with many local and regional 
economic development entities. JPL also has licensed, through 
Caltech, with more than 35 companies whose products engage the 
public (e.g., Mattel Inc.).
   All of these technology transfer programs and mechanisms 
build from the powerful licensing foundation provided by the 
collaboration of the Commercial Technology Program Office with 
Caltech's Office of Technology Transfer and Chief Patent 
Counsel, and the NASA Patent Counsel and Technology 
Commercialization Office. The proactive work of these offices is 
well recognized in the licensing of both software and hardware 
technology.
   Looking to 1998, the new year's resolutions for technology 
transfer include: additional documentation of processes, 
increased communications within the Laboratory to demonstrate 
the technology transfer program's value, and additional focus on 
supporting JPL's exploration mission. Those who work in the 
program look forward to new growth in their role in the 
technology future of both JPL and U.S. industry. Stay tuned! ###
_______________________________________________________________


'97's challenges bring changes to DSN

By SHIRLEY WOLFF, TMOD outreach coordinator
   1997 brought many changes to the Deep Space Network (DSN). It 
was the first full year in which the DSN operated under the 
management of NASA's Space Operations Management Office. Major 
organizational changes were introduced within the 
Telecommunications and Mission Operations Directorate (TMOD) 
that will result in a truly integrated, end-to-end, multi-
mission ground system derived from the DSN and the Advanced 
Multi-Mission Operations System (AMMOS). It was also a very busy 
year for tracking activities.
   The DSN provided communications support for 46 NASA and other 
missions, including international customers. Cassini was one of 
14 launches, and the Mars Global Surveyor orbit insertion one of 
12 critical mission events supported during 1997. The DSN 
continues to track the twin Voyager spacecraft--in space for more 
than 20 years--and now more than 6 billion miles from Earth.
   The unique demands of the Mars Pathfinder mission created 
some special communications challenges. To accommodate the 
difficulties of communicating with the relatively low-powered 
lander, a rapid paced, quick-response time was essential, 
requiring the DSN to be exceptionally flexible with schedules. 
An unusual request from Pathfinder was the requirement to 
receive semaphore signals sent during the descent and landing. 
The Galileo telemetry subsystem was modified to process and 
display the semaphores in real-time. This allowed project 
personnel to see that events were happening as planned and even 
that the spacecraft had landed right side up.
   For the Galileo mission, the DSN continued to implement the 
complex arraying function for the return of science data 
following Jovian moon encounters. Arraying the 70-meter antenna 
at Goldstone with a 70-meter and two 34-meter antennas in 
Canberra, Australia, plus the addition of a 64-meter antenna 
leased from the Parkes Observatory, increased by 10 times the 
quantity of raw data that could be received from Galileo.
   During 1997 two new 34-meter beam waveguide antennas, one 
each in Canberra and Madrid, Spain, began operational support 
for the many flight projects that use the DSN. The Canberra 
antenna played a role in the arraying support during the Galileo 
prime mission, while the Madrid antenna was operational in time 
for the October launch of the Cassini mission. Both of the new 
antennas provided the additional X-band uplink capability 
required by such missions as Mars Pathfinder, Mars Global 
Surveyor and Cassini.
   Recognizing that the Space Flight Operations Facility (SFOF) 
has the potential for being a single point of failure for 
missions, TMOD developed a new Emergency Control Center, which 
began operations in early October in time for the Cassini 
launch. Located at the Echo Site of the Goldstone complex, the 
center provides a backup site from which JPL can sustain 
emergency mission operations.
   TMOD is also preparing for a future where smaller, faster, 
cheaper spacecraft mean more missions flying concurrently, with 
greater tracking and data acquisition demands. New technologies 
will be required to meet this obligation and those under 
development during the past year include improved error 
correcting codes, called turbo codes, which will become the 
standard codes for future missions. Also in the experimental 
stage is the Spacecraft Transponding Modem (STM), the miniature 
spacecraft peripheral of the future. The STM combines the 
functionality of a spacecraft transponder, command unit, 
telemetry encoding, timing services, and frame interface in a 
package with far less mass, power and cost than today's 
transponders.
   The DSN Science Team has been supporting the development of 
an educational program made possible by the decommissioning of 
DSS 12, a 34-meter antenna at Goldstone. The antenna has been 
converted into a dedicated radio telescope, remotely controlled 
by trained volunteers at the Apple Valley Science and Technology 
Center. A pilot program that enables middle- and high-school 
teachers to conduct radio astronomy observations from their 
classrooms was begun in April. Students from nine schools in 
Alabama, California, Idaho, Kentucky and Michigan successfully 
conducted observations of Jupiter and participated in data 
analysis. The program will be expanded during 1998 to include 
schools nationwide.
   In the year ahead, TMOD will continue to upgrade and develop 
new systems and technologies for the DSN and associated systems 
to meet the growing demands of JPL's future missions. ###
_______________________________________________________________

Lab has strong year for contributions to education

By STEPHANIE ZELUCK
   1997 was a year of high activity for JPL's many educational 
programs, laying the groundwork for how new innovations will 
influence the teaching of science and mathematics in the next 
millennium. Among a variety of JPL educational programs, the 
following show the wide range of programs that are based upon 
unique JPL/NASA activities and materials that bring inspiration 
and discovery into the classroom.
   KidSat, NASA's pilot education program allowing students 
across the country to use a space shuttle--mounted digital camera 
to study the Earth, continued on shuttle flight STS-81 in 
January, and ended its pilot phase with its inclusion onboard 
STS-86 in September 1997.
   Working with JPL software engineers, students at nearby La 
Caada High School developed software to interface with the 
camera, a data system to archive the downloaded images, and 
classroom studies called "explorations" that involved detailed 
studies of areas imaged by the KidSat camera. Additionally, 50 
student mission operations centers allowed students around the 
U.S. to submit image requests to a mission operations gateway at 
UC San Diego, where they were verified, sent to payload 
operations at Johnson Space Center, and sent as a camera control 
file up to the space shuttle. 
   Curriculum for the KidSat project was developed by JPL, UC 
San Diego and the Johns Hopkins University Institute for the 
Academic Advancement of Youth. 
   Back down on Earth, JPL signed memorandums of understanding 
to participate in academic development and research 
opportunities with two universities -- California State 
University Northridge (CSUN) and Columbia University of New York 
City.
   In May, the Laboratory agreed with CSUN to actively share 
data with the university and provide teacher and student 
opportunities for enrichment. CSUN is continuing to work with 
JPL in developing curriculum materials and providing resources 
in the form of student assistance.
   One project included within the partnership is Project SUN 
(Students Understanding Nature), a worldwide network of 
detectors operated by students that monitor ultraviolet and 
continuous flux of solar radiation at the Earth's surface. JPL 
scientists are using these data to learn more about the Earth 
surface environment. 
   The agreement between JPL and Columbia University's Columbia 
Earth Institute, signed in August, calls for a collaborative 
study of Earth systems and their impacts on society.
   JPL organizations expected to participate in the 
collaboration will include engineering and science groups 
involved in synthetic aperture radar, global positioning system 
technology and applications, Earth imaging, oceanographic 
science and technology, and atmospheric science and technology.
   Under the agreement, activities being considered include 
joint areas of research and study; exchange of principal 
investigators and technical personnel; JPL hosting of students 
on a volunteer basis; participation in post-doctoral research 
programs; research internships and fellowships; and joint 
sponsorship of symposia, workshops and conferences.
   On the two-year college front, a new program called the Jet 
Propulsion Laboratory Undergraduate Scholars (JPLUS) will 
annually award the leading first-year student from each of 25 
local community colleges who are majoring in physical science, 
mathematics, computer science or engineering fields.
   JPLUS was created by JPL's Educational Affairs Office as a 
way to reach out and support undergraduate-level students using 
the extensive Southern California community college system. 
   Winners receive $500 and a certificate naming them as a JPL 
scholar for exemplary work in each of the first two years of 
school. They will also be given an opportunity to compete for a 
$4,000 Caltech/JPL Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship 
(SURF).
   The JPLUS program was dedicated to the late Robert B. 
Leighton, a longtime physicist and astronomer at Caltech who 
began his career at Los Angeles Community College. The program 
has been under way since last May.
   Taking hold of the latest in technology, the Consortium for 
the Application of Space Data to Education (CASDE) created a 
cutting-edge CD-ROM helping educators, students and 
environmental resource managers learn how to apply remotely-
sensed data to physics, geography and environmental monitoring.
   The CD-ROM provided several types of multispectral images as 
part of "Virtual Nebraska," a prototype of statewide electronic 
snapshots called "Virtual America" that will eventually expand 
to include other regions. The images help in obtaining detailed 
information about selected cities, including vegetation indexes, 
census data, water boundary information and land use. The disc 
also contains links to the CASDE home page, which in turn links 
to real-time weather related images and data from the GOES-8 and 
-9 satellites.
   CASDE is a partnership between JPL, the University at 
Nebraska, Lincoln, and Johns Hopkins University. Another CASDE 
CD-ROM is expected for release in early 1998.
   More information on JPL educational projects can be found on 
the World Wide Web at the following addresses: KidSat: 
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/kidsat. Project SUN: 
http://sunshine.jpl. nasa.gov . CASDE: http://www. 
casde.unl.edu/casde.html . ###
_______________________________________________________________

Universe

Editor, Mark Whalen 
Photos, JPL Photo Lab

Universe is published every other Friday by the Public Affairs 
Office of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of 
Technology, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, CA 91109.