Former Director Lew Allen Dies Lew Allen Jr., the Retired U.S

Jet JANUARY Propulsion 2010 Laboratory volume 40

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Former director Lew Allen dies Lew Allen Jr., the retired U.S. Air Force 2009 general who served as JPL director from 1982 to 1990, died Jan. 4 at the age of 84. During the years Allen led JPL, the Labo- InReview ratory launched Galileo to Jupiter, Magel- lan to Venus and the Infrared Astronomical Satellite, and sent the Voyager 2 spacecraft The Dec. 14 launch of Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer capped a banner year in astronomy pro- on its flybys of Uranus and Neptune. A cham- grams for JPL, with other highlights including the launches of Kepler and Herschel/Planck, and the successful transition of Spitzer to a warm mission after its coolant was depleted. JPLers also cel- pion of technology, Allen invested money ebrated the return of Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 after a run of many years as the Hubble Space into research and development projects that Telescope’s prime instrument, delivering some of the most iconic images from deep space. paved the way for new capabilities in space science observations. In planetary exploration, one of the year’s highlights was Cassini’s equinox flyby of Saturn in August. Dawn flew by Mars en route to its destination bodies in the asteroid belt, and JPL’s Diviner instrument From the mid 1950s through the late on the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter set out to Earth’s natural satellite. 1960s, Allen worked as a physicist in the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory, as a proj- JPL’s suite of Earth satellites and instruments continued to relay evidence of ice loss. After a decade ect officer for the Air Force Special Weapons in orbit, the Quick Scatterometer ended its observations of winds across the world’s oceans. In a set- back, the Orbiting Carbon Observatory was lost due to a launch vehicle failure in February. Center, as special staff officer for the Space Technology Office of the Secretary of De- On Mars, the rovers continued to deliver science while Spirit was unable to free itself from soft soil. fense, and director of the Secretary of the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter successfully restarted science observations after being offline for three and a half months, and Mars Odyssey moved its orbit for a new perspective on the Red Planet. Air Force. By the 1970s, he was director of special projects and deputy commander of Here is a chronological list of JPL’s major highlights for 2009: satellite programs for the Space and Mis- sile Systems Organization; chief of staff, Images from the Hubble Space Telescope taken by Raghvendra Sahai of JPL and colleagues revealed 14 young, runaway stars that Headquarters Air Force Systems Command; are plowing through regions of dense interstellar gas, creating brilliant director of the National Security Agency; and arrowhead structures and trailing tails of glowing gas. “We think we chief of staff of the U.S. Air Force. In 1982 have found a new class of bright, high-velocity stellar interlopers,” he was recruited to JPL because of his ex- January said Sahai. “Finding these stars is a complete surprise because we pertise in the military space program. were not looking for them.” … The Mars Exploration Rovers Spirit Allen was the recipient of numerous mili- and Opportunity observed their fifth anniversary since being launched tary decorations and awards including the to the Red Planet on missions originally scheduled to last three months. … JPL’s Stardust spacecraft flew within 9,000 kilometers Department of Defense Joint Service Com- (5,600 miles) of Earth Jan. 14 on the way to a Stardust-NExT mission mendation Medal, Air Force Distinguished encounter with comet Tempel 1 in February 2011. … JPL’s Spitzer Service Medal, Legion of Merit with two oak Space Telescope observed a planet that heats up to red-hot temperatures in a matter of hours before quickly cooling back down. The infrared observatory measured heat emanating from the planet as it whipped behind and close to its star. In just six hours, the planet’s temperature rose from 800 to 1,500 kelvins (980 to 2,240 degrees Fahrenheit), marking the first time that weather changes were detected in real time on a planet outside our solar system. … Images of Saturn’s moon Titan from JPL’s Cassini spacecraft affirmed the presence of lakes of liquid hydrocarbons by capturing changes in the lakes brought on by rainfall. For several years, scientists had sus- pected that dark areas near Titan’s north and south poles might be liquid-filled lakes. An analysis of Titan’s south polar region revealed new lake features not seen in images of the same region taken a year earlier. The presence of extensive cloud systems covering the area in the intervening year suggests that the new lakes could be the result of a large rainstorm and that some lakes may thus owe their presence, size and distribution across Titan’s surface to the moon’s weather and changing seasons. Continued on page 2 Continued on page 7 2 JPL engineers and Caltech students revealed JPL’s Orbiting Carbon Observatory satellite the prototype Axel rover, which can rappel failed to reach orbit after its liftoff from Van- off cliffs, travel nimbly over steep and rocky denberg Air Force Base. The mission would terrain and explore deep craters. The device have provided the initial steps in the quest might help future robotic spacecraft bet- to measure carbon dioxide from space. An

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U ter explore and investigate foreign worlds investigation later revealed that the launch such as Mars. On Earth, Axel might assist in vehicle fairing failed to separate upon com- search-and-rescue operations. … Based on mand, which prevented the satellite from his leadership in determining the structure reaching its planned orbit. … Images from and composition of Earth’s atmosphere from JPL’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter showed space, JPL senior research scientist Moustafa a type of rock fracturing that here on Earth Chahine was elected to the National Academy is caused by rapid cooling of lava. Unique of Engineering, one of the highest professional fractures in lavas on ancient Mars suggest distinctions accorded to engineers and scien- water occasionally flooded portions of the tists. … JPL’s Dawn spacecraft flew by Mars planet’s surface. The characteristics of the for a gravity assist on its way to asteroid Ves- column-like fractures can help scientists ta and the dwarf planet Ceres. … NASA an- understand the role of water in geologic nounced a major opportunity for JPL starting processes on Mars. … Scientists at JPL and in the next decade. In collaboration with the the National Taiwan University used data JPL senior research European Space Agency, NASA will embark from satellite altimeters, measurements of scientist Moustafa Chahine on two outer-planet flagship missions. Plans ocean depth and temperature and an ocean call for the Europa Jupiter System Mission to model to analyze conditions present at the was elected to the National use two orbiters to conduct highly detailed time of the sudden intensification of 2008’s Academy of Engineering, studies of Jupiter and its moons Io, Europa, tropical cyclone Nargis just before its dev- one of the highest profes- Ganymede and Callisto. NASA would build astating landfall in Burma. Nargis intensified the Jupiter Europa orbiter, while the European from a weak category 1 storm to a category sional distinctions accorded Space Agency would build the Jupiter Gany- 4 monster during its final 24 hours before to engineers and scientists. mede orbiter. The pair would launch in 2020 making landfall in May, becoming Burma’s from different launch sites, with the orbiters worst natural disaster. “This research dem- reaching the Jupiter system in 2026. The Titan onstrates a significant potential benefit of Saturn System Mission would consist of a using altimeter data for operational weather NASA orbiter and a European Space Agency forecasting and tropical cyclone intensity lander and research balloon. JPL will man- predictions,” said study co-author Tim Liu age NASA’s contributions to the projects. … of JPL.

JPL’s Kepler mission successfully launched the constellation Ophiuchus, are approach- into space from Cape Canaveral Air Force ing each other at tremendous speeds and March Station, Fla., aboard a United Launch Alli- will crash into each other in a few million ance Delta II on March 6. Kepler is designed years, a relatively short period on a galactic to find the first Earth-size planets orbiting timescale. … JPL’s Mars rover Spirit ex- stars at distances where water could pool on posed bright Martian soil on a recent drive the planet’s surface. … JPL’s Cassini space- heading southwest. An image from the rov- craft found within Saturn’s G ring an embed- er’s front hazard-avoidance camera showed ded moonlet that appeared as a faint, moving how the front wheel churned up a long pinprick of light. Scientists believe it is a main stripe of bright soil during this drive; where source of the G ring and its single ring arc. Spirit has found such bright soil in the Cassini scientists analyzing images acquired past, subsequent analysis of the composi- over the course of about 600 days found the tion found concentrations of sulfur or silica tiny moonlet, half a kilometer (about a third that testified to past action of water at the of a mile) across, embedded within a partial site. … The team that developed and oper- ring, or ring arc, previously found by Cassini ated JPL’s Phoenix Mars Lander received in Saturn’s tenuous G ring. … The U.S. the 2009 John L. “Jack” Swigert Award House of Representatives passed a resolu- for Space Exploration from the Space tion to commend the scientific contributions Foundation “in recognition of the technical of the Mars Exploration Rovers and the staff developments that led to one of the most at JPL and Cornell University for successfully startling and meaningful discoveries of the operating the rovers. … A new image from new millennium.” Phoenix operated in the Spitzer showed a rare view of an imminent Martian arctic from May to November 2008. collision between the cores of two galaxies, The annual award honors the memory and each powered by a black hole with millions legacy of Swigert, the Apollo 13 command of times the mass of the sun. The galactic module pilot. JPL’s Kepler mission successfully launched into cores, located 400 million light-years away in space from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The parachute for JPL’s Mars Science Labo- discovered streams of young stars flowing ratory passed flight-qualification testing in- from their natal cocoons in distant galax- side the world’s largest wind tunnel, at NASA ies. These distant rivers of stars provide an Ames Research Center. The parachute, the answer to one of astronomy’s most funda- April largest ever built to fly on an extraterrestrial mental puzzles: how do young stars that flight, is designed to survive deployment at form clustered together in dense clouds of dust and gas disperse to form the large, John Casani Mach 2.2 in the Martian atmosphere, where it will generate up to 65,000 pounds of drag smooth distribution seen in the disks of was honored force. … Kepler took its “first light” images spiral galaxies like the Milky Way? … John with the National of the star-rich sky where it would soon be- Casani was honored with the National Air gin hunting for planets like Earth. The imag- and Space Museum’s prestigious Lifetime Air and Space es showed the mission’s target patch of sky, Achievement Award, the museum’s highest Museum’s prestigious a vast starry field in the Cygnus–Lyra region honor, at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Lifetime Achievement of our Milky Way galaxy. One image shows Space Museum. Casani, currently special millions of stars in Kepler’s full field of view, assistant to the director, is a JPL pioneer Award. while two others zoom in on portions of the who has worked at the Lab since the mid larger region. … Using observations from 1950s. Spitzer, an international team of astronomers

More than 30,000 people visited JPL for longest-running optical camera, the JPL- its annual open house May 2–3. JPL used developed Wide Field Planetary Camera 2, May such Web social-media tools as Ustream.tv a planetary nebula was imaged as the cam- and Twitter to reach people unable to at- era’s final iconic image. The May 4 picture tend the event in person. ... Scientists from shows planetary nebula Kohoutek 4-55, JPL and Dryden Flight Research Center where a bright inner ring is surrounded by embarked on a two-month expedition to a bipolar structure. The entire system is frigid Greenland and Iceland to test a pair then surrounded by a faint red halo, seen in of new, JPL-developed airborne radars that the emission by nitrogen gas. The camera can help monitor climate change and better was returned to Earth by the crew of Space characterize how Arctic ice is changing. A Shuttle Atlantis on May 24. … In a dual pod beneath a modified NASA Gulfstream III launch, the European Space Agency’s Her- aircraft’s fuselage held the flying testbeds for schel and Planck spacecraft successfully evaluating tools and technologies for future lifted off into space May 14 from French space-based radars—the L-band wavelength Guiana. Herschel will explore the earliest Uninhabited Aerial Vehicle Synthetic Aperture stages of star and galaxy birth in the uni- Radar, which calibrates and supplements verse and will help answer the question of satellite data, and the proof-of-concept Ka- how our sun and Milky Way galaxy came to band wavelength radar called the Glacier and be. Planck will look back to almost the be- Land Ice Surface Topography Interferometer. ginning of time itself, gathering new details … Spitzer’s primary mission ended as the to help explain how our universe came to telescope ran out of the liquid helium needed be. JPL contributed key technology to two to chill some of its instruments to operat- of Herschel’s three detector instruments: ing temperatures. Spitzer started its “warm” the Spectral and Photometric Imaging Re- mission with two channels of one instrument ceiver and the Heterodyne Instrument for still working at full capacity. ... The Cassini the Far-Infrared. For Planck, JPL is provid- mission Web site, http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov, ing most or all of the detectors, both of the was selected for the top honor in the science bolometers in the “high-frequency” instru- More than 30,000 category for the Webby awards. NASA’s main ment and the heterodyne receivers in the Web site, www.nasa.gov, also won the Peo- “low-frequency” instrument. people visited JPL ple’s Voice award for best government site. for its annual open … In tribute to the Hubble Space Telescope’s house May 2–3. 4 JPL’s Aquarius instrument shipped to Argen- they prepared for an impact with a perma- tina June 1. The Aquarius/SAC-D mission, nently dark crater near the south pole. … being developed by NASA and the Space The Mars Odyssey spacecraft completed Agency of Argentina for a 2010 launch, will an eight-month adjustment of its orbit, po- study how salt affects ocean circulation, the sitioning itself to look down at the day side n i v e r s e June

U water cycle and climate. … Twelve-year-old of the planet in mid-afternoon instead of late Clara Ma visited JPL to meet and sign the afternoon. The change gained sensitivity Mars Science Laboratory rover she named for infrared mapping of Martian minerals by “Curiosity” to win a student contest … NASA Odyssey’s Thermal Emission Imaging Sys- launched the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, tem camera. ... Scientists working on Cassini a mission to comprehensively map the entire for the first time detected sodium salts in ice moon, on June 18. Onboard was the JPL- grains of Saturn’s outermost ring. Detect- developed Diviner lunar radiometer experi- ing salty ice indicates that Saturn’s moon ment, which will make the first global survey Enceladus, which primarily replenishes the of the temperature of the lunar surface. Diviner ring with material from discharging water-ice will, for the first time, characterize the entire jets, could harbor a reservoir of liquid wa- thermal environment of the moon and will ter—perhaps an ocean—beneath its surface. identify cold traps and potential ice depos- … JPL’s Ulysses spacecraft, a joint NASA its as well as landing hazards such as rough and European Space Agency mission, of- terrain or rocks. … A new lunar topography ficially ceased operations June 30. Ulysses, map with the highest resolution of the moon’s which had an expected lifetime of five years, rugged south polar region provided new in- operated for more than 18 years and charted formation on the lunar surface’s permanently the unexplored regions of space above the A new lunar shadowed craters. The map, created by JPL poles of the sun, gathering unique informa- scientists who collected the data using the tion about the heliosphere, the bubble in topography map Deep Space Network’s Goldstone Solar Sys- space carved by the solar wind. provided new tem Radar, helped Lunar Crater Observation information on the and Sensing Satellite mission planners as lunar surface’s permanently shadowed craters.

JPL oceanographer Josh Willis was named a at Mauna Kea, Hawaii, gathered evidence winner of the 2009 Presidential Early Career indicating an impact. “We were extremely Award for Scientists and Engineers, the high- lucky to be seeing Jupiter at exactly the est honor bestowed by the U.S. government right time, the right hour, the right side of July on young professionals in the early stages Jupiter to witness the event,” said JPL sci- of their research careers. Willis uses satellite entist Glenn Orton. … JPL senior research- data as well as data collected at sea to study er Wolfgang Fink was part of a consortium the impact of global warming on the ocean, that received one of R&D Magazine’s 2009 and frequently lectures to the public and to R&D 100 awards for developing an artificial students to educate them about climate- retina. Fink and a Caltech associate de- change issues and human impacts on global vised and implemented a versatile image- warming. … JPL and Caltech announced a processing software system called the partnership with the city of Los Angeles that Artificial Retinal Implant Vision Simulator, will help provide innovative energy and water which enhances and processes the images solutions directly to the city’s Department of captured by a miniature camera; those pro- Spitzer imaged Water and Power. JPL and Caltech will ap- cessed images are then transmitted to the ply their expertise in climate-change science, artificial retina’s electrode array within the a wild creature remote sensing, environmental engineering eye to electrically stimulate visual percep- of the dark—a and systems design to assist the city in devel- tion in the blind. … Spitzer imaged a wild oping and deploying innovative technologies creature of the dark—a coiled galaxy with coiled galaxy to improve energy efficiency, increase the use an eye-like object at its center. The galaxy with an eye-like of renewable energy sources, conserve water NGC 1097 is located 50 million light-years object at its and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. … away. It is spiral-shaped like our Milky Scientists found evidence that another object Way, with long, spindly arms of stars. The center. bombarded Jupiter, exactly 15 years after the “eye” at the center of the galaxy is actually first impacts by the comet Shoemaker-Levy 9. a monstrous black hole, about 100 million Following up on a tip by an amateur astrono- times the mass of our sun, surrounded by a mer in Australia that a new dark “scar” had ring of stars. Our Milky Way’s central black suddenly appeared on Jupiter, scientists at hole is tame by comparison, with a mass of JPL, using NASA’s Infrared Telescope Facility a few million suns. Using the Goldstone Solar System Radar, ing organisms to make proteins, and this JPL scientists Marina Brozovic and Lance is the first time an amino acid has been Benner discovered that near-Earth asteroid found in a comet. “Our discovery supports 1994 CC is a triple system. The asteroid the theory that some of life’s ingredients August encountered Earth within 2.52 million kilo- formed in space and were delivered to meters (1.56 million miles) on June 10. Prior Earth long ago by meteorite and comet to the flyby, very little was known about this impacts,” noted researcher Jamie Elsila celestial body. … Images captured by Cassi- of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. ni revealed new three-dimensional objects … New data from Galaxy Evolution Ex- and structures in the planet’s otherwise flat plorer found proof that small stars come rings. A small object is visible in the outer in even bigger bundles than previously portion of Saturn’s B ring, casting a shadow believed. For example, in some places in on the rings as Saturn approaches its equi- the cosmos, about 2,000 low-mass stars nox. This new moonlet, situated about may form for each massive star. The little 300 miles (480 kilometers) inward from stars were there all along but masked by the outer edge of the B ring, was found massive, brighter stars. … By applying a by detection of its shadow that stretches method of calculating gravity that was first 25 miles, or 41 kilometers, across the rings. developed for the moon to data from JPL’s … The high-resolution camera on JPL’s Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter returned a JPL researchers found a way to measure dramatic oblique view of the Martian crater the pressure at the bottom of the ocean. that the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity Just as knowing atmospheric pressure explored for two years. The new view of allows meteorologists to predict winds and Victoria Crater shows layers on steep crater weather patterns, measurements of ocean- walls, difficult to see from straight overhead, bottom pressure provide oceanographers plus wheel tracks left by Opportunity be- with fundamental information about cur- New data from Galaxy Evolution tween September 2006 and August 2008. ... rents and global ocean circulation, and Explorer found proof that small Scientists discovered glycine, a fundamental also hold clues to questions about sea building block of life, in samples of comet level and climate. stars come in even bigger Wild 2 returned by JPL’s Stardust space- bundles than previously believed. craft. Glycine is an amino acid used by liv-

JPL escaped major damage from the Sta- mission captured its first rough images tion Fire that ravaged the Angeles National of the sky. “We are beginning to observe Forest from late August into early Septem- ancient light that has traveled more than September ber. The largest fire in Los Angeles County 13 billion years to reach us,” said JPL’s history, the blaze came within one-eighth Charles Lawrence, the NASA project scien- of a mile of JPL but never reached Labora- tist for the mission. “It’s tremendously excit- tory buildings. … NASA confirmed that the ing to see these very first data from Planck. Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array will They show that all systems are working well launch in 2011. The mission will carry the and give a preview of the all-sky images to first high-energy X-ray focusing telescopes come.” … Three JPL instruments played into orbit, providing a much deeper, clearer a central role in the discovery of water view of phenomena such as black holes and molecules in the moon’s polar regions—a supernova explosions than any previous possibility long imagined by scientists that instrument has shown in this region of the could help provide resources for future hu- spectrum. JPL will manage this NASA Small mans living there. The JPL-managed Moon Explorer mission, which is led by principal Mineralogy Mapper instrument aboard In- investigator Fiona Harrison, a professor of dia’s Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft reported physics and astronomy at Caltech. … The the observations. Data from the Visual and Diviner experiment aboard Lunar Reconnais- Infrared Mapping Spectrometer on Cassini sance Orbiter revealed richly detailed ther- and the High-Resolution Infrared Imaging mal behavior throughout the moon’s north Spectrometer on the JPL-managed Epoxi The largest fire and south polar regions, recording minimum spacecraft contributed to confirmation of in Los Angeles daytime brightness temperatures in portions the finding. … In a fortuitous and unexpect- of craters of less than –397 degrees Fahr- ed discovery, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter County history, enheit, among the lowest that have been revealed frozen water hiding just below the the blaze came measured anywhere in the solar system. surface of the Red Planet’s middle latitudes. within one-eighth “Diviner has given us the first confirmation The observations were obtained after mete- that these strange, permanently dark and orites excavated fresh craters. “This is our of a mile of JPL. extremely cold places actually exist on our first insight into how water and climate have moon,” said science team member Ashwin changed over the last 10,000 to 100,000 Vasavada of JPL. “Their presence greatly years,” said Suzanne Smrekar, the mission’s increases the likelihood that water or other deputy project scientist. compounds are frozen there.” … The Planck 6 JPL’s Shuttle Radar Topography Mission pro- instrument on Lunar Reconnaissance Or- vided two color-coded perspective views of biter obtained infrared observations of the the Independent State of Samoa and American impact site from about 50 miles away. … Samoa, which were inundated by a tsunami JPL chemist Adrian Ponce developed a generated by a major undersea earthquake new microscope-based method to rapidly n i v e r s e October

U Sept. 29. Digital topographic data such as assess any presence of microbial life on those produced by SRTM can be used to aid spacecraft. The new method may also help planners in predicting which coastal regions the military test for disease-causing bacte- are at the most risk. … Spitzer discovered an ria, such as a causative agent for anthrax, enormous ring around Saturn, by far the larg- and may also be useful in the medical, est of the giant planet’s many rings. The new pharmaceutical and other fields. … Re- belt lies at the far reaches of the Saturnian searchers detected the basic chemistry for system, with an orbit tilted 27 degrees from life in a second hot gas planet. Though not the main ring plane. The bulk of its material habitable, the planet has the same chem- starts about 3.7 million miles away from the istry that, if found around a rocky planet planet and extends outward roughly another in the future, could indicate the presence 7.4 million miles. One of Saturn’s farthest of life. “It’s the second planet outside our moons, Phoebe, circles within the ring and is solar system in which water, methane and likely the source of its material. It would take carbon dioxide have been found, which about 1 billion Earths stacked together to fill are potentially important for biological the ring. … Using updated data, near-Earth processes in habitable planets,” said JPL object scientists Steve Chesley and Paul Cho- researcher Mark Swain, who with co-inves- das documented the path of a large asteroid. tigators used data from Hubble and Spitzer Computational techniques showed that the to study HD 209458b, a hot, gaseous gi- JPL chemist Adrian Ponce probability of an Earth encounter for Apophis ant planet bigger than Jupiter that orbits a developed a new micro- in 2036 dropped from one in 45,000 to about sun-like star about 150 light-years away. four in a million. … JPL played a key role in … JPL opened the new, environmentally scope-based method what NASA termed “a smashing success” in friendly Flight Projects Center Oct. 26. JPL to rapidly assess any the search for water ice on the moon. In ad- was presented a gold certification under presence of microbial life dition to a JPL navigation team guiding the the Leadership in Energy and Environmen- Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite tal Design rating system, set up by the U.S. on spacecraft. to its target Oct. 9 for twin impacts to create Green Building Council. debris plumes for later study, JPL’s Diviner

Sea-level-height data from the Ocean Surface tions of JPL’s QuikScat satellite following Topography Mission/Jason-2 satellite showed the failure of a mechanism that spins the that a sustained weakening of trade winds scatterometer antenna. This degradation in the western and central equatorial Pacific was fully expected, as the spin mechanism November in October triggered a Kelvin wave, a strong, was designed to last about five years. eastward-moving wave of warm water. “In the QuikScat launched in 1999. … Using data American west, where we are struggling under from the JPL-developed Gravity Recovery serious drought conditions, this late-fall charge and Climate Experiment mission, scientists by El Niño is a pleasant surprise, upping the found that the East Antarctic ice sheet— odds for much-needed rain and an above- home to about 90 percent of Earth’s solid normal winter snowpack,” said JPL ocean- fresh water and previously considered ographer Bill Patzert. … JPL’s Wide Field and stable—may have begun to lose ice. The Planetary Camera 2, famed as the camera that team used the data to estimate the ice saved the Hubble Space Telescope, was given mass between 2002 and 2009. Their re- a new home in the Smithsonian’s National Air sults found that the ice sheet is losing and Space Museum after being returned to mass, mostly in coastal regions, at an Earth aboard Space Shuttle Atlantis in May. … estimated rate of 57 gigatonnes a year. A Kepler earned the 2009 Best of What’s New gigatonne is more than 2.2 trillion pounds. Grand Award from Popular Science magazine The ice loss there may have begun as Kepler earned the and a 2009 Breakthrough Award from Popu- early as 2006. The study also confirmed lar Mechanics. … Cassini sailed through its previous results showing that West Antarc- 2009 Best of What’s Nov. 21 flyby of Saturn’s moon Enceladus and tica is losing about 132 gigatonnes of ice New Grand Award started transmitting uncalibrated temperature per year. … Researchers at JPL, Caltech data and images of the rippling terrain, which and other institutions suggested that the from Popular Science will help scientists create the most-detailed- eccentricity of Saturn’s orbit around the magazine and a 2009 yet mosaic image of the southern part of the sun might be responsible for the unusually Breakthrough Award moon’s Saturn-facing hemisphere and a ther- uneven distribution of lakes over Titan’s mal map of one of the “tiger stripe” features, polar regions. As revealed by synthetic from Popular with the highest resolution to date. “These first aperture radar imaging data from Cassini, Mechanics. raw images are spectacular, and paint an even liquid methane and ethane lakes in Titan’s more fascinating picture of Enceladus,” said northern high latitudes cover 20 times Project Scientist Bob Pappalardo. ... Mission more area than lakes in the southern high managers assessed options for future opera- latitudes. The Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer Venus is from our sun. The team used the launched on its journey to scan the whole Keck Interferometer to combine infrared sky in infrared light to uncover the coolest light gathered by both of the observatory’s stars, dark asteroids and the most luminous twin 10-meter (98-foot) telescopes, which December galaxies. … Researchers received new data provides the effective resolution of a single from Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter after its 85-meter telescope—several times larger six science instruments resumed observa- than any now planned. … NASA selected tions Dec. 16. Observations had been sus- three proposals as candidates for the pended since a computer reset Aug. 26. agency’s next solar system mission, two … Cassini’s visual and infrared mapping of which would be managed by JPL if se- spectrometer captured the first flash of sun- lected for development. The Surface and light reflected off a lake on Saturn’s moon Atmosphere Geochemical Explorer mission Titan, confirming the presence of liquid on to Venus would release an instrumented the part of the moon dotted with many large, probe to descend through the planet’s lake-shaped basins. But Titan’s northern atmosphere to obtain meteorological and hemisphere, which has more lakes than the other data before landing on the planet’s southern hemisphere, has been veiled in surface. MoonRise: Lunar South Pole– winter darkness. … For the first time, as- Aitken Basin Sample Return Mission would tronomers using the W.M. Keck Observatory place a lander near the moon’s south pole measured the properties of a young solar and return about two pounds of lunar ma- system at distances closer to the star than terials for study. Final project selection is slated for mid-2011.

Habitat for Humanity: building homes, Allen (continued from page 1) leaf clusters, and the National Intelligence By Mark Whalen helping families Distinguished Service Medal. In addition, Allen was awarded the George W. Goddard JPLers sought to pitch in for local communities Award from the Society of Photo-Optical time to help build a house in Inglewood. A friend from Instrumentation Engineers/International the Aerospace Corp. was going, so Deems, who had been Society for Optical Engineering, the Rotary searching for a way to do more volunteering, decided to National Space Trophy, and the Goddard come along and also put out a call through an e-mail list of Memorial Trophy. new JPLers. “It was rewarding to me to not only help build a house but also to get more people involved,” said Deems, who has also organized volunteer efforts at a local food bank. Victor Luo of the Planning Software Systems Group, who joined Deems in Inglewood, had never before done any- thing related to house building, but that didn’t matter. “It’s quite simple,” he said. “If we can build spaceships here, Photo courtesy of Victor Luo building a house isn’t that hard.” Standing, from second left, JPLers Caroline Chouinard, Elizabeth Deems, Alexander Menzies and Victor Luo join colleagues from the Aerospace Corp. in building a home for Habitat for Humanity. “By the end of the day, we had dug a huge ditch and laid down all the pipes for the plumbing and electricity lines,” Around the holidays, many citizens choose to bestow gifts in a dif- he said. “We felt we had really accomplished something. It ferent way, having nothing to do with shopping malls and everything was cool. It was a good break from work and I got to help to do with the spirit of giving. JPLers, traditionally generous, can out the community.” now participate in helping a local family achieve their version of the Founded in 1990, the San Gabriel Valley chapter of Habi- American dream. tat for Humanity has built 39 houses, with 15 more under In January, the Laboratory will begin collaboration with Habitat construction. The local organization says that homes built for Humanity, a nonprofit organization that builds and rehabilitates by volunteers are typically about 1,200 square feet, with Two awards were named in his honor: houses with the help of volunteer labor and partner families. The three bedrooms, one and a half bathrooms and two-car The Lew Allen Award for Excellence given at homes are then sold to families without profit and are financed by garages. Homes cost families an average of $150,000, with JPL and the General Lew Allen, Jr. Award affordable, no-interest loans. monthly payments to not exceed 30 percent of the family’s presented by the Air Force. The JPL award, The San Gabriel Valley office of Habitat for Humanity is working gross monthly income. The homeowners’ 1 percent down established in 1990, is given in recognition with JPL to develop a network of volunteers to perform support payments and monthly mortgage payments go into a revolv- of significant accomplishments, leadership work at a local home construction site on Saturdays or RDO Fridays. ing “Fund for Humanity” that is used to build more houses. in scientific research or technological in- No construction experience is necessary; for those who don’t mind Each homeowner family invests at least 500 “sweat equity” novation, in the early years of an individual’s getting down and dirty, instruction on the use of tools and a safety hours into the building of their house and the houses of professional career. The Air Force award, orientation are provided. However, not all volunteers will swing a others. presented annually, recognizes sustained job hammer, fire up a power drill or engage in other physical activities The volunteer effort will be coordinated through JPL’s performance, job knowledge, proven leader- typically associated with homebuilding. Volunteers are also needed Diversity and Inclusion Committee. For more informa- ship, direct sortie involvement and military to staff the San Gabriel Valley organization’s ReStores in Pasadena tion, visit http://hr.jpl.nasa.gov/diversity or contact Susan qualities. and Azusa, which sell discounted home improvement materials. Merrill, ext. 4-9209, or via e-mail. For more on Habitat Funeral and memorial services were Elizabeth Deems of the Exploration Systems Concepts Group for Humanity’s San Gabriel Valley office, see http://www. pending. organized a small group of JPL volunteers early last year to donate sgvhabitat.org. S D A D E I F I S S A L C T I M B U S D N A D A E R ATJPL’ online s 8 Pasadena, CA 91109. CA Pasadena, Drive, Grove Oak 4800 Laboratory,Propulsion Jet the of Education and Communications of Office the by published is Universe Un i v e r s e [email protected] David Hinkle David Audrey Steffan Audrey JPL Photo Lab Photo JPL Photography Production Design Whalen Mark Editor B N http://jplspace news E-mail

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P examples of applications in NASA and NASA in applications of examples and tools methods, and excavation, of protection,principles planetary analysis, handling, sample as well as extraterrestrialdrilling and water) under and terrestrial(ground,ice Planets.” Other and Earth on Sampling and tion ExtremeEnvironments:Penetra- in “Drilling titled book new a of coauthor and coeditor the is Council, Scientists JPL’sof chair and ResearchSenior TechnologiesAdvanced Group(355N) about/honors/union/fleming. visit information, moreFor 1947. to from1925 Union Geophysical American the of secretary general was measurements.Fleming standardsand magnetic of tablishment es- the to contributions important his recognitionof in 1960 in established awards.ence-community sci- and NASA numerousother with along 2001) and (1985 Medals Service Exceptional NASA earned twice has he AstrophysicsSection, and Physics Space the of manager former A 1972. relatedsciences. and physics space electricity,aeronomy,atmospheric geomagnetism, in leadership technical researchoriginal and for annually bestowed honor an Union, Geophysical American fromthe Medal Fleming A. John Tsurutanireceivedthe has JPL spacecraft. He retired2004. He in spacecraft. JPL many on instruments flight of ment 4. Sept. engineer,died design tired mechanical Bar-Cohenpublishes book Tsurutaniearns honors Rocco Barbieri, Rocco Friedlander,Fred Blackhall Gordon Herbert Daniels, James one greatgrandchild. one grandchildrenand children,six four Office. Operations Support Mission and Division Systems mation Infor the in assistant staff senior as served and 880) (Office ArroyoCenter JPL’sfor administrator operations was tenureBarbieri his During 1990. to Nov.istrator,4. died and retired1998. and in 5. Sept. died Section, Accounting the ProgramOffice. Space Defense the in chargemonitor dis- internal the for manager ment experi- as served He retired2000. in 22. May died tion, Sec- Implementation Instrument Space Blackhall’sdevelop- involved work Friedlander joined the Lab in 1962 in Lab the joined Friedlander Daniels joined the Lab in 1984 and 1984 in Lab the joined Daniels The book, Bar-Cohen’sbook, The covers sixth, Yosephthe of Bar-Cohen,supervisor was Fleming awardhonoring The since JPL with Tsurutanibeen has researchBruce senior scientist JPL He is survived by his wife, Virginia,wife, his by survived is He from1962 JPL at worked Barbieri

assings http://www.agu.org/ 81, retired81, fromthe 80, a retireda admin- 80, 72, retired72, from , a rea - , - - commercial and other applications. other commercialand medical, exploration, planetary for mechanisms and concepts innovative responsiblefor been has which gov), (http://ndeaa.jpl.nasa. Lab atuators Actu- Advance and Evaluation tructive Nondes- the established year,he That 1991. in JPL researchjoined scientist, Bar-Cohensaid. extremeconditions,” at performed is it when particularly challenge, cant signifi- a is missions futureNASA in planets other at sampling in-situ that protection. planetary and instruments robotics,analytical drilling, on NASA and fromJPL reviewersareexperts and coauthors chapters’ the of Several moon. the on drill to geologist first the Schmitt, astronautHarrison 17 Apollo agencies. space other selected for funding throughNASA’sfunding for selected Lab proposals funded proposals Lab Richard McKinney Richard Methodist Church in TempleChurchin City.Methodist Patrick. and Michael children,RichardCharles, Jr., Donna, his by survived is He 2001. to 1975 Nov.engineer,8. died electrical the 1960s and 1970s, died Dec. 1. Dec. died 1970s, and 1960s the JPL’sfor manager of missions Mariner Brad Houser,Brad Stevens, Jeanne Spiritual Living in La Crescenta.La in Living Spiritual for Center the at wereheld Services threegreatgrandchildren.childrenand grand- five Jeff, son Michele, daughter by survived is She Section. velopment De- Applications fromthe 2000 tiredin secretary,Nov.tive 24. died Bar-Cohen, a physicist and senior and physicist Bar-Cohen,a recognizedincreasinglybeing is “It forewordcoauthoredby The was Five JPL proposalswererecentlyJPL Five Services were held at First United First at wereheld Services fromLab the at worked McKinney Stevens joined JPL in 1971 and reand - 1971 in JPL joined Stevens Jeanne Stevens Yoseph Bar-Cohen 81, retired81, business 75, a retireda execu- 75, , 75, a retireda 75, , Apple Valley.Apple Churchin Community at 20 Jan. for areplanned Welling. services Memorial Barbara and Jelleff Kathleen Luza, VoyagerVikingand projects. Mariner,Venus-Mercury,the for sors sen- celestial and software,operations software,groundcontrolanalysis and guidance on providingsupport 2001, 28. Dec. died 343, Section in staff technical of combined children and grandchildren.childrenand combined Dorothy’stheir threechildren;and Margaretand Bourke; Raymont Marilyn Malcolm, Dorothy;childrenMilton, Surveyor.for instruments on later and 3 Ranger on camera the for telescope the of design mechanical/optical the responsiblefor was He 1973. until Division Systems Mechanical the in time full worked later and 1963 in employee summer 2. Dec. engineer,died ter Carla. ter daugh- and Ruth, wife, his by survived is He retired1986. He in Section. TransportationSystems the of ager man- assistant as served also he JPL Jack Rhoads, Jack Dunk, Allan range of frequencies.of range wide a over interferometry imaging and high-resolutionspectroscopyments, measurepolarization - temperatureand microwavebackgroundcosmic for unprecedentedcapability with arrays massive enable will technology mental funda- this of Development mance. perfor low-noise frequencyand high improveddramatically with devices indium-phosphide of generation new a on based polarimeters and amplifiers ultra-low-noise develop proposalto a Polarimeters,” and Amplifiers genic - Cryo “Ultra-low-noise for investigator investigator.principal is Echternach frequencies.Pierresubmillimeter and far-infraredat detection single-photon enable frompair-breakingto radiation arising excitations quasi-particle of presencethe to Cooper-Pairdevices superconductingsingle of ceptibility extremesus- the exploit proposesto BreakingPhotodetectors” Pair for out Read- Based Box Pair Cooper Single A rates. collisional moredirectlymeasurestate-to-state will pump/probemeasurementsthat furthering as well hydrogenas para for measurementscollisional of extension proposesstudy process.The formation planet- star-and controllingthe in part critical the radiation and collisions of coupling the making formation, star during coolant primary the often is Water.”for Rates Collision WaterState State-to- “Measurementsof for tor Program.Analysis Researchand Physics Astronomyand He is survived by daughters Karendaughters by survived is He to from1965 JPL at worked Rhoads He is survived by his second wife, second his by survived is He faculty a as Lab the joined Dunk Houser joined the Lab in 1965. At 1965. in Lab the joined Houser Charles Lawrence is principal Lawrenceis Charles Detector: Capacitor Quantum “The investiga- principal Drouinis Brian 88, a retireda mechanical 88, 76, a retireda member 76, - L R investigator. principal Velusamythe Thangasamy is community.science the to available it making and methodology uniform ing apply- by outflows wind wide-angle the and shocks bow jets, collimated the characterize protostarsand observed Spitzer-200 morethan of sample a assemble proposesto Sample” Spitzer LargePicturefroma Big The Outflows: Wide-Angleand “ProtostellarJets Program.Analysis AstrophysicsData throughNASA’sfunding for lected investigator.principal is Zmuidzinas astrophysics.Jonas millimeter/submillimeter/far-infrared of field the advance to goal ultimate an with performance improvingdetector for ideas new of number explorea will proposedwork The spectrum. electromagneticacrossthe physics astrotransform - to potential the have which detectors, inductance kinetic microwavedevelop to JPL and Caltech at effort NASA-funded the of tinuation Astrophysics”representscon- a investigator. principal is Serabyn coronagraph.Gene phase-mask vortex the is which of one case, ideal the to closest as identified been coronagraphs.have Twotypes mask phase as such angles, working inner small very at operating of pable ca- techniques develop and identify to need critical the and reflectedlight in terrestrialplanets and Jovian solar matureextra- imaging of challenges addressthe proposesto Detection” et CoronagraphicTechniquesExoplan- for to cry on. Weon. areforever grateful. cry to shoulder a or assistance offer to failed never family JPL the burdensome,but particularly been have months few past father.These her father-in-law and my of recentloss the during support ing unwaver their for JPL at colleagues and friends our to gratitude heartfelt time. difficult this during shown kindness and support plants, the appreciateI and family mother.My and brothermy both of recentpassing the wordsat and thoughts their for leagues Section 3813. Section 1174; Harris Kathryn 5114; Section years, 38 315F; Section years, December: in retiredemployees JPL following The Morrison, My wife and I wish to expressour to wish I and wife My col- JPL my of all thank to like I’d A JPL proposal was recentlyse- proposalwas JPL A Far-Infraredfor MKIDs “Advanced VortexMask of Phase “Development etters Debra Sgrignoli, Debra etirees 31 years, Section 3242; Section years, 31 Karl Strauss, Section 345 Section Strauss, Karl John Stagner,40 John , 25 years, Section years, 25 , Deanna Rowe, Deanna Andrew 23 years, 23 Al Barlaan Al -