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MARTIAN MOON—The most detailed image of Phobos available to date is seen in
this computer-enhanced photograph taken by Mariner 9. Distance from the spacecraft
camera to the Mars moon was 5,540 kilometers (3,444 miles). The profusion of craters
suggests that Mars’ innermost moon is very old and possesses considerable structural
strength.
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MARTIAN MOUNTAIN—This crater near Nodus Gordii (the Gordian Knot) is 70
miles in diameter. The crater and its immediate surroundings are high ground, emerg
ing island-like from a sea of wind-blown dust. The multiple concentric fractures on the
western rim and the abundant rimless craterlets suggest that this is a caldera or volcanic
collapse crater, one equal in size to the largest on Earth or on the Moon.
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MARTIAN DATA—Dr. Arthur Lane, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a co-investigator
for the ultraviolet spectrometer experiment, examines the data transmitted from the
Mariner 9 spacecraft.
Detect Water Pollution
MOUNTAIN VIEW,
CALIF.—The detection of
water pollutants has been
made faster and more accu
rate by an instrument de
veloped at the National Aer
onautics and Space Admini
stration’s Ames Research
Center.
Called the differential ra
diometer, it measures the
concentration of chlorophyll
in a body of water. Chloro
phyll indicates the amount of
drifting microscopic plants,
phytoplankton present in
lakes and seas.
Vital to Plants
The growth of these plants
depends on the presence of
nutrients in the water, such
as nitrates and phosphates.
Small amounts of these sub
stances are vital to aquatic
plants.
The growth of these plants
depends on the presence of
nutrients.
But where too much of
these nutrients are present
due to agricultural runoff or
domestic sewage, excessive
growth can result. Such
NASA Studies Offshore Oil Platforms
HUNTSVILLE, ALA.—
Safer and pollution-free off
shore oil and gas operations
may be possible through us
ing engineering techniques
developed by the National
Aeronautics and Space Ad
ministration’s reliability and
quality control engineers.
The Department of Inter
ior’s U. S. Geological Survey
(USGS) believes a recent
study of offshore operations
by a team of NASA special
ists offers a number of good
suggestions for strengthen
ing and improving drilling
and production operations on
the outer continental shelf.
Recommendations
Although entirely different
from operations in space,
each offshore oil and gas
platform is a very compli
cated electrical, mechanical,
Mariner 9 Tests Navigation Technique
WASHlNGTON—Satellite
star optical navigation, a
new spacecraft navigation
technique, was successfully
demonstrated during Mariner
9’s approach to Mars in niid-
November.
Purpose of the experiment
was to demonstrate how tele
vision pictures of natural
satellites (the two moons of
Mars) against a star back
ground in conjunction with
Earth-based radio tracking
data could help to determine
more accurately the position
of a spacecraft.
Improved Accuracy
Improved navigational ac
curacy reduces the propor
tion of spacecraft weight
which must be spent on rock
et fuel for correction of tra
jectory error. This in turn
could reduce the cost of the
launch vehicle or increase the
number of scientific instru
ments carried on future mis
sions. Fifty to one hundred
pounds of fuel could be saved
through the satellite-star
navigation technique, permit
ting a major increase—up to
50 percent—in the scientific
payload for missions such as
the fly-by, outer planet
Grand Tour.
How Is Your Space Program IQ?
1. Since introduction of
communication space satel
lites, the cost of a three
minute telephone call be
tween Washington, D. C. and
London, England, has been
reduced by approximately
a. One-fourth.
b. One-third.
c. One-half.
Answer: c. (from sl2 to
$5.40)
2. As compared with the
total number of United
States’ successful space
launches, Russia in 1970
achieved
a. Less than half as many.
b. About twice as many.
c. Almost three times as
many.
Answer: c. (81 for the
USSR to 28 for the U. S.)
3. Hospitals or medical
schools that have installed
new surgical facilities em-
growth can be hazardous to
other plants and animal life.
Nutrient Levels
The amount of chlorophyll
then serves as an indicator
of nutrient levels. To avoid
the accumulation and decay
of aquatic plants, it is im
portant to detect changes be
fore the situation becomes
intolerable.
The differential radiometer
can map the plankton growth
of a large lake within twenty
minutes. It does this by
measuring two wavelengths
of sunlight backscattered
from the water. One is the
wavelength reflected by chlo
rophyll, the other is a stand
ard for comparison. The in
strument makes comparisons
1,400 times a second, and can
detect changes in chlorophyll
distribution instantly. The
differential radiometer has
wide applications. <
With the addition of a Po
laroid lens it has been used
successfully for the detection
of oil slicks. It is also cap
able of mapping soil runoff
in lakes, rivers, and ocean
shore lines.
and hydraulic system which
must peiform reliably to a
void accidents and pollution
to the marine and costal en
vironment. Currently, there
are over 1,800 drilling and
production platforms in the
Gulf of Mexico.
The extensive experience
of the NASA and aerospace
industry team in applying
quality control and hazard
analysis procedures to assure
reliable operations of com
plex spacecraft and launch
vehicles was sought by the
Geological Survey to study
offshore operations. Five
specialists headed by Morris
K. Dyer of the Marshall
Space Flight Center, Hunts
ville, Ala., conducted the
study. Copies of their re
port have been made avail
able to the petroleum com
panies by the USGS.
The experiment used TV
cameras which are part of
the Mariner Mars science
package for the optical meas
urements. The cameras were
activated three days before
encounter with Mars and 21
pictures of the two moons,
Phobos and Deimos, against
a two to four star back
ground were taken prior to
orbit insertion. These pic
tures were then telemetered
to Earth where they were
processed to locate the posi
tion of the bright satellites
against the relatively faint
star background which serv
ed as a reference grid. The
resultant position fixes and
the known emphemerides or
trajectories of the satellites
were correlated in a ground
based computer to determine
the spacecraft trajectory.
The combined radio and op
tical estimates for Mariner 9
were approximately twice as
accurate as radio navigation
alone.
The satellite-star optical
navigation experiment was
developed by the National
Aeronautics and Space Ad
ministration’s Jet Propulsion
Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.,
for the NASA Office of Ad
vanced Research and Tech
nology.
ploying space-related “clean
room” technology now total
a. Seven.
b. Eighteen.
c. Twenty-four.
Answer: c. (and an equal
number are under construc
tion or planned)
4. The Soviet Union is es
timated to be spending about
two per cent of its gross na
tional product on space ac
tivities as compared with the
comparable U. S. figure of
a. Less than half of one
per cent.
b. Three per cent.
c. Five per cent.
Answer: a.
5. The U. S. civilian space
program this fiscal year will
represent how much of the
federal budget dollar?
a. 7.6 cents.
b. 4.2 cents.
c. 1.4 cents.
Answer: c.
Page 3
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APOLLO 16 REHEARSAL—ApoIIo 16 astronauts Charles M. Duke and John W.
Young prepare to collect rock samples at a point along their simulated lunar traverse.
The prime and backup commanders and lunar module pilots from the crew of the Apollo
16 mission took part in a geology field trip in the Cosco Hills near Ridgecrest, Calif.
Sun’s Poles Cool (Relatively)
WASHINGTON—It’s cold,
in a relative sort of way, at
the Sun’s North and South
Poles.
The normal temperature of
the corona, except for the
polar areas and a few hot
spots around active regions,
is about two million degrees
Kelvin (3.6 million degrees
Fahrenheit). The polar caps,
however, have temperatures
of only about one million de
grees Kelvin (1.8 million de
grees Fahrenheit).
Temperature Scales
Kelvin is a temperature
scale used by scientists. It
starts at absolute zero, which
is theoretically as cold as
anything can get, and goes
up by Celsius (or centigrade)
degrees. Absolute zero is
—459.67 degrees Fahrenheit.
For those who have gotten
use to centigrade, the name
Satellite in Life Saving Role
WASHINGTON—A five
year old Earth-orbiting sat
ellite recently played a vital
role in saving the life of one
woman in Alaska and in re
lieving another seriously ill
patient on the same day.
The satellite is ATS-1 (Ap
plications Technology Satel
lite) which celebrated its
fifth birthday this December..
ATS is currently functioning
as a switchboard-in-the-sky
in a statewide Alaskan com
munications experiment un
der a cooperative program
between the National Aero
nautics and Space Adminis
tration and the Lister-Hill
National Center for Biomedi
cal Communications of the
Department of Health, Edu
cation, and Welfare.
Device Monitors Calcium in Bones
HUNTSVILLE, ALA.—A
device developed for moni
toring calcium content in
astronauts’ bones may soon
become a diagnostic and
treatment tool for patients
everywhere with bone prob
lems.
The development is called
an ultrasonic bone densitom
eter. It uses ultrasonics—
extremely high frequency
sound waves—to determine
the density of bone, which is
proportional to the amount
of calcium in the bone.
Developed at Marshall
The densitometer was de
veloped at the NASA-Mar
shall Space Flight Center to
be used in monitoring
changes of calcium content
when astronauts orbit the
Earth for long periods in the
Skylab, scheduled for launch
in 1973.
The Technology Utilization
Office at the Marshall Center
is pushing research to de
termine how the densitom
eter can be used in public
medicine.
Testing
One unit was sent to a
clinic in Memphis for pre
liminary testing. It will soon
— Griffin Pai!y News Sat, and Sun., Jan. 29-30, 1972
was changed to Celsius in
1948 by the Ninth General
Conference on Weights and
Measures. See how far be
hind you are? Anders Celsi
us was the 18th century
Swedish astronomer who in
vented the centigrade ther
mometer. Degrees Kelvin
were named for First Baron
Kelvin (William Thompson)
turn-of-the-century British
physicist and mathematician.
The discovery of the cooler
solar caps was jnade by Or
biting Solar Observatory-7,
placed into orbit by the Na
tional Aeronautics and Space
Administration.
Electronic Data
The solar caps do not ap
pear in a conventional photo
graph as round, white for
mations like the polar caps
on Earth and Mars, but they
do show up in electronic
Two Emergencies
During a routine educa
tional program on September
■3O via ATS in which physi
cians were instructing medi
cal aides in remote villages,
two emergency medical prob
lems were reported. In one
case a nurse in the village of
Chalkyitsik in northeastern
Alaska was attending a preg
nant woman who was hem
orrhaging severely. In the
other a woman was under
going an appendicitis attack
in Anatuvuk Pass in the
north central part of the
state.
NASA’s Goddard Space
Flight Center in Greenbelt,
Md., was notified of the
emergencies and its ATS-1
Control Center kept the sat-
go to another medical facil
ity for more tests.
Investigators hope to
prove that the densitometer
will be a good diagnostic tool
for detecting “osteogenesis
imperfecta,” a condition in
which calcium taken into the
body is not assimilated into
bone tissue.
One medical investigator
has already called the densi
tometer a good research tool
in the study of bone deteri
oration.
Inventor
The ultrasonic bone densi
tometer was developed by
ifV- SPACE
SHEET
measurements made into
black areas on the North and
South Poles of the Sun.
Scientists looking back on
sounding rocket experiment
data over a period of several
years now re-interpret previ
ous information to show evi
dence of “seasonal” varia
tions in the size of the caps.
If this proves to be true, the
polar caps are largest near
the time of least solar activ
ity and perhaps disappear
near times of maximum ac
tivity.
OSO-7 is studying the Sun
to learn more about our
nearest star, which is the
source of all life-giving en
ergy and, especially during
its active periods, is believed
to have a strong influence on
Earth’s weather and certain
ly on global communications.
ellite in operation through
most of the night.
Nurse Instructed
Through ATS, Dr. Michael
Carrol of the District Medi
cal Center, Tanana, Alaska,
provided instructions to the
nurse in Chalkyitsik who
successfully stopped the
hemorrhaging. She survived
the night and was successful
ly removed to Tanana the
next morning.
Almost simultaneously, via
the satellite, Dr. Carrol in
structed an aide in Anatuvuk
on treatment for that patient.
She also was relieved and
transferred to nearby Fort
Yukon the following morn
ing.
James M. Hoop of the MSFC
Astronautics Laboratory.
Hoop has applied for a patent
on the device.
Hoop said that before de
velopment of the densitom
eter, doctors monitoring the
condition of patients who
were suffering from bone de
terioration or doctors trying
to reach definite diagnostic
conclusions had to take X
rays often and regularly and
compare the results. Use of
an instrument such as the
densitometer would reduce
greatly and almost eliminate
the need for X-rays in bone
deterioration cases.