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Newsletter #5 - November 7th, 2003

Mars Gravity Biosatellite will provide the first data on the adaptation of the mammalian body to the partial gravity of 0.38g found on the surface of Mars. It will help provide answers to one of the critical outstanding questions in the planning of future human expeditions to the Red Planet. Mars Gravity is led by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the University of Washington (UW) and the University of Queensland (UQ).

In this edition:
1. WATCH THIS SPACE - Mars Gravity Notices
2. EVENT HORIZON - News and Views on Events
3. TECH LIFE - Science and Engineering Updates
4. LIL' BIT OF SOL - Team Member News

1. WATCH THIS SPACE
Mars Gravity Notices

RECRUITING
The team is currently recruiting students, professionals and people with special skills or experience. Please contact info@marsgravity.org for more information.

Some campus information:

UW: Students of any major and experience level are welcome to join Mars Gravity during the Fall 2003 term. A variety of positions are available in the spacecraft bus engineering group and in management and resource development.

MIT: Positions are available in program management, resource development, payload engineering, and science development and testing. The second Fall 2003 recruiting drive is currently underway, primarily focused on students interested in becoming involved in January and the spring term.

UQ: Students and others are welcome to join the group during its intensive Summer holiday period at UQ from November to February. Those with an interest or special skills in Marketing, Fundraising, Journalism, and Educational Outreach are especially welcome.

NEW LOOK
A brand new website is soon to be rolled out at www.marsgravity.org. This will be accompanied by updated graphics of the latest spacecraft design, following the August Review.

Did you know?
The Mars Gravity logo is full of symbolism. It is based on the "gravity wells" of the planets Mars and Earth, superimposed over each other (Earth is the deeper one, since the gravity on the surface of Mars is only 38% of that on Earth). The wells thus form the body and arms of a human figure, with the Red Planet as the head. The ladder of DNA emerges from down at Earth and climbs up toward Mars and beyond. The three main colors of the "Mars Tricouleur" represent the three lead universities (Red - MIT, Green - UW and Blue - UQ).

2. EVENT HORIZON
News and Views on Events

MIT STUDENTS MEET LAST MOONWALKER
The Mars Gravity team was thrilled to meet with Apollo astronaut Harrison "Jack" Schmitt at MIT on Tuesday 30 September. Dr. Schmitt was the only professional scientist to walk on the moon, and was the lunar module pilot on the final lunar mission, Apollo 17 which returned 31 years ago on 17 December 1972. Following a tour of the MIT labs, where he was shown current Mars Gravity payload engineering prototypes and the science centrifuge, Dr. Schmitt expressed his enthusiasm for the program, noting that apart from the critical scientific questions to be answered, Mars Gravity was important for getting young people excited again about space.

WORLD SPACE WEEK
As part of the 2003 World Space Week, Mars Gravity hosted a popular panel discussion on the future of Space Exploration on Wednesday 8 October. World Space Week is an annual global event, established by the UN to honor the 1957 launch of Sputnik and the 1967 signing of the UN Outer Space Treaty. This year's theme was "Horizons Beyond Earth" and panel participants included:
* Larry Young - MIT Man Vehicle Lab Professor, founding director of the National Space Biomedical Research Institute
* Maria Zuber - MIT Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences department head, investigator on numerous robotic planetary missions * Jeff Hoffman - MIT Aero/Astro professor, former NASA astronaut
* Joe Parrish - President of Payload Systems, former NASA executive
* Jonathan McDowell - Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics researcher, noted space historian.

Topics of the panel discussion included past endeavors in space exploration, and potential future missions including robotic probes and human exploration, and future research challenges. Some forty people were in attendance.

"HENCOUPS" ON MARS
The Mars Gravity speaker series got underway at UQ on Thursday 10 July with two internationally acclaimed science communicators who provided a fascinating perspective on the Red Planet to over 80 people at a free public lecture. Nigel Henbest and Heather Couper, both astrophysicists by training who dub themselves as the "Hencoups," are often referred to as Britain's public face of space. They have written more than 60 books on space and are co-founders of Hencoup Enterprizes, a science and media consultancy group in Britain, as well as Pioneer Productions, one of the United Kingdom's leading television networks presenting factual and scientific programs. Heather is one of nine people on the board of the Millennium Commission, which has invested 2 million pounds of lottery money in infrastructure projects in the UK to mark the third millennium. The Australian tour of Nigel and Heather was co-sponsored by the British Council Australia.

Did You Know?
One hundred years ago, in 1903, E. W. Maunder conducted experiments with English schoolboys to demonstrate that the Martian canals can be explained by the mind's tendency to create linear markings from separate or discrete dots.

3. TECH LIFE
Science and Engineering Updates

SCIENCE REVISION
Following the Science Review held in May the first launch of the Mars Gravity Biosatellite was revised to include only adult mice. It was felt the narrower focus and lower complexity and risk would improve the chances of a first successful flight, with the goal of further flights in the program being used to probe the effects of Mars level gravity on the development of young animals.

AUGUST PROGRAM REVIEW
A mid-Phase B review was held at MIT in August which focused on engineering progress and challenges, and included team members from all three universities as well as expert advisers from academia and industry from across the US. The current state of the Payload, Bus and EDLS subsystems were reviewed, as was overall system integration and mission operations planning. Increasing maturity in design work was evident and the team took positive steps to enhance coordination across the three centers. Reviewers commented on the remarkable progress that has been made with over US$400,000 raised to date building on significant volunteer contributions. The team is now working on two fronts - to complete Preliminary Design (Phase B) activities and raise the money necessary to close out the phase, estimated at US$150,000.

Did You Know?
On 4 September 2003, the Mars Global Surveyor Mars Orbiter Camera acquired its first images that were suggested through the public target program. The images are of the summit caldera of the Martian volcano Pavonic Mons. In August the MOC team began accepting public suggestions for areas on Mars to be imaged by the high resolution camera, with the goal being to cast a wide net to enhance the science return of the experiment.

4. LIL' BIT OF SOL
Team Member News

ASGSB POSTER ACCEPTANCE
Thomas Coffee (MIT) and Thaddeus Fulford-Jones (Harvard/MIT) have each had a poster accepted to the annual American Society for Gravitational and Space Biology conference 12-16 November in Huntsville, Alabama. The ASGSB meeting is one of the largest annual gatherings of space life sciences researchers. These posters will be instrumental in showcasing some of the work done to date by the Payload and Science teams, and spreading the word about the Mars Gravity program. Congratulations to Thomas and Thaddeus, and good luck at the conference!