Projects: Space Information
The Planetary Report
Volume XXIII, Number 2, March/April 2003
On the Cover
In this cross section of the sky, a partial Moon hangs
in the dark space above Earth's horizon and airglow. A digital still camera
on board the space shuttle Columbia captured this oblique view on January
26, 2003. The image, as well as other pictures from Columbia in this issue,
was transmitted to Earth during the mission.
From The Editor
I feel as if I’ve written this column
before: in 1986, in the aftermath of
the Challenger tragedy. Then, as now, we
faced a critical examination of why human
beings should explore space at all, and
why human life should be risked in any
endeavor with so intangible a return.
The official examination first will focus
on Columbia itself, next on the space
shuttle program, and then expand, as if
through concentric rings, to encompass
NASA itself. Beyond that, in the public
arena, the space programs of all nations
will be debated and reviewed. Things will
change.
How they change could largely be up to those of us who care deeply about this
great endeavor of humanity. The name of our organization says what we are about.
The planets are our destination, and we have always looked beyond low-Earth
orbit—
that narrow circle to which the space shuttle is confined.
As a first step, as you’ll read in Lou Friedman’s article on
page 4, the Society is organizing a top-level meeting of leaders in the space
community. We then will take the debate to the wider public. We will be calling
on our members to join together and provide evidence that people want to explore
space, to move beyond Earth orbit, and to reach that destination we long to
attain.
— Charlene M. Anderson
Features
How Will We Go? The Future of Human Spaceflight
We know human spaceflight
will change in the wake of the Columbia tragedy. How it will be affected
and in what direction it will move will be determined in the weeks and
months ahead. The Planetary Society will participate in the discussions
to come, and Executive Director Louis Friedman has already been considering
the future.
A Shuttle Mission Like No Other
The mission of Columbia was
a special one for The Planetary Society. It carried on board an astrobiology
experiment we sponsored involving two young researchers: one a Palestinian
biology student, the other an Israeli medical student. Amir
Alexander,
a Society web editor, was particularly close to this effort and tells its
story here.
Stand By! We’re Landing
on Titan
Chris McKay, a member of The Planetary Society’s Board of Directors,
spends most of his time studying organic chemicals and pondering the possibilities
for life in our solar system. Saturn’s moon Titan would be an ideal laboratory
for him, and while he can’t go there himself, the Huygens probe carried by
the Cassini spacecraft should touch down on Titan early in 2005 and radio
back enough data to keep him busy for years. Chris gives us a preview of
what to expect.
Departments
Members’ Dialogue
World Watch
We Make It Happen!
Questions and Answers
Society News
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