Oh Canada!

Reuters Newswire, June 1, 2000: "Scientists Excited by Rare Meteorite Find in Canada"

Yukon Fireball Smoke Train
Smoke train photos of January 18, 2000 fireball taken by Ewald Lemke (Atlin Realty, Atlin, British Columbia). Taken with a Kodak DC 20 digital camera, this sequence covers a 14-minute period starting about 90-seconds after the fireball flashed over.
This January a few people witnessed a bright fireball light the morning sky in western Canada and Alaska, but thousands were alerted to its arrival when the ground shook upon its impact.  Though it had been witnessed and felt by thousands, nobody knew exactly where it had hit in this rugged and sparsely populated region of North America.  A week later, on January 26th, an outdoor guide and pilot named Jim Brook was traversing frozen Tagish Lake in northern British Columbia in his pickup truck.  He discovered charcoal-like chunks of meteorites spread for 10-miles on the ice. "As soon as I saw them on the lake I knew what they were. I was aware of the fireball then and had been interested in it,"' said Brook at a press conference.  Brook collected some samples and informed university scientists about the find.  Before scientists could launch an expedition, snow covered the site.  A decision was made to keep the location quite until the Spring thaw. 

Research on Brook's samples revealed that the meteor was of the extremely rare carbonaceous chondrite variety.  Composed of organic substance, meteors of this type are thought to be relics from the formation of the solar system and may give clues to the origin of life on Earth.  Because this 4.5-billion year-old organic material would melt away when exposed to liquid water, scientists were eager to recover as much of this material as possible while it was still in frozen, pristine condition.

Investigation also revealed that a U.S. defense satellite had tracked the meteor through the atmosphere.  This data was used to conclude that the meteor was originally a 200-ton asteroid that orbited between Mars and Jupiter.  

In April the snow melted and researchers raced to retrieve samples before the ice melted.  Armed with a chainsaw, spoons and chopsticks, about 500 pieces were collected over several days.  None was bigger than a small potato.  The rest of the meteor has since sunk into Tagish Lake.

Mars Polar Lander Snafu

Aerospace America, June 2000, Washington Watch: “NASA Mars review” 

Have You Seen Me?
A NASA review of the lost Mars Polar Lander mission concluded that the probe cut-off its engines too soon and crashed into the ground.  It also concluded that this mission was underfunded by 30% and was managed by inexperienced people.  The 18-member committee was headed by Thomas Young, a retired Lockheed Martin executive.  Based on the report, NASA plans personnel changes and is expected to cancel the 2001 Mars Lander mission.  The Mars exploration program now faces restructuring.

Coming to a Planet Near You

Aerospace America, Nov 1999, Feature: “Bringing Life to Space Exploration/Mission Concepts...” sidebar
The following unmanned exploration missions -- all using autonomous robots -- are being studied at NASA [After the Mars Lander snafu, I bet many of  these will never get off the ground.]:
A network of communications satellites around Mars would be used to coordinate the activities of automated science stations, propellant plants, rovers, balloons, airplanes and sub-surface devices.  
The proposed Venus Sample Return would collect samples from the surface to be returned to Earth by balloon-launched rocket.
Multiple landings, sample collecting and Earth return are the goal of the Comet Nucleus Sample Return Mission.  The hazardous and unpredictable environment of a comet nucleus requires the vehicles to make critical autonomous decisions in the landing phase.

Cryobot/Hydrobot
Jupiter's moon Europa is of special interest because of the possibility of liquid water beneath its frozen surface.  Europa Orbiter Mission would detect this liquid ocean and select sites for the Europa Lander.  Finally a Europa Cryobot/Hydrobot would melt its way through the ice and release a submarine to search for bio signatures.
Saturn's moon Titan may get a visit from the Titan Organics Explorer to explore its atmosphere and possible ocean.  An orbiter,  flying aerobots and rovers would work together to study the moon.
Looking for Earth-like planets is the goal of the Terrestrial Planet Finder mission.  Launched to deep-space, this interferometer would probe distant stars for planets.  Autonomous controls would guide the delicate observations and compensate for equipment defects and degradation.

06/15/2000