Jet JANUARY Propulsion 2007 Laboratory volume 37

number 1

Adventure ahead By Mark Whalen this year Lab gears up for Dawn, Phoenix launches in summer

Earlier this month JPL celebrated the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit’s third anni- versary of exploration at the red planet, and on Jan. 24 its twin, Opportunity, also hits the same milestone. As the rovers continue on with their discoveries, the Lab moves on with more challenges, including an unprecedented journey to two different asteroids as well Dawn as the next Mars lander. It will be a hot summer with the launches of Dawn and Phoenix. The Dawn mission will venture out to the asteroid belt with a spacecraft that will make history in several ways. Set to launch June 20, Dawn will explore Ce- res and Vesta, two of the largest asteroids that lie in the vast expanse of space between Mars and Jupiter. This will not only be the first time that a spacecraft will orbit a main-belt asteroid, but Dawn will be the first to ever orbit two targets after leaving Earth. Also significant is the fact that Dawn will utilize the electric ion propulsion system that proved successful in JPL’s Deep Space 1 technology demonstration mission. “It’s cool to take this technology and use it to undertake what a few years ago would be considered science fiction,” noted Dr. Marc Rayman, the mission’s sys- tems engineer. “It would not have been possible to conduct the Dawn mission without the success of Deep Space 1. The whole point of testing ion propulsion was to do ambitious and important missions like Dawn.” “We showed with Deep Space 1 that the ion propulsion system is quite robust,” Phoenix added Dawn Project Manager Keyur Patel. “I feel very comfortable using it.” Dawn will take eight years from launch to completion of data return. Boosted management. Two of the science instruments are provided by partners from by a gravity assist from Mars in March 2009, the spacecraft will arrive at Vesta in Germany and Italy. September 2011, where it will orbit and explore until April 2012, then continue The mission’s principal investigator is Dr. Chris Russell of UCLA. to Ceres for a February 2015 encounter. The mission is scheduled to end in July Phoenix, the first project in NASA’s Mars Scout program of openly competed of that year with Dawn remaining in orbit around Ceres. missions, will launch from Kennedy Space Center Aug. 3. After a cruise of about The allure of Ceres and Vesta lies in their distinct characteristics. Ceres shows nine months, it will land in May 2008 in Mars’ frigid northern hemisphere. a primitive surface with evidence of water content, indicating that this body is Findings from JPL’s Mars Odyssey orbiter have shown that the area above representative of the icy moons of the outer planets, while Vesta appears dry and 65 degrees north latitude contains an icy surface layer of about 20 inches, and evolved, with surface features that include a huge crater at the south pole, as Phoenix will explore the possibilities of how it got that way by digging into the well as lava flows. Through their investigations of the contrasts of these different frozen soil. Science objectives include studying the ice layers, ice and soil tex- worlds, scientists hope to gain a better understanding of the mysteries of plan- tures, and chemical composition. The mission also hopes to answer questions etary formation. about martian climate cycles and whether they might produce conditions where JPL built Dawn’s ion propulsion system and other components of the space- near-surface water might stay melted. craft. Flight systems integration has been done by industrial partner Orbital Sci- The spacecraft is undergoing a battery of tests and is scheduled to ship to ences Corp., which provided the spacecraft. Thermal vacuum testing is underway Kennedy Space Center May 15. at the Naval Research Laboratory, where further tests will be completed before “We’re in really good shape,” noted Project Manager Barry Goldstein. Dawn ships to Florida in April for its Kennedy Space Center launch. Peter Smith of the University of Arizona is the principal investigator. The uni- JPL is responsible for project management, systems engineering, mission versity also provided two of the spacecraft’s six instruments: the surface stereo design, navigation, mission operations, mission assurance and science payload Continued on page 2 2

One of Dawn's two hot summer Continued from page 1 solar array wings niverse

U undergoes deploy- imager, which will provide high-resolution images ment testing in of the landing site and positioning information for October. Each solar the lander’s robotic arm; and the thermal evolved gas analyzer, which will heat soil samples dug up array wing is 27 feet from the surface to measure water vapor, carbon long and is on a yoke dioxide and volatile organic compounds. that extends about The gas analyzer is based on an instrument 37 inches from the originally flown on Mars Polar Lander in 1999. spacecraft. And in other ways, Phoenix, like its namesake mythological bird, has risen from the ashes of its predecessors.

Of the other instruments, JPL built the robotic arm, which is based on designs from previous missions—it will be longer than a similar arm A technician JPL created for Mars Polar Lander or a modified checks on the version for the 2001 Mars Surveyor lander. The microscopy, electrochemistry and conductivity xenon feed sys- analyzer—which will measure chemical properties tem on the Dawn and analyze the soil’s minerals and thermal and spacecraft core electrical properties—was built by JPL for 2001 Mars Surveyor. The Mars descent imager, which structure. will guide Phoenix to its landing site, was built by Malin Space Science Systems for 2001 Mars Surveyor.

In addition, a meteorological suite provided by the Canadian Space Agency will monitor various changes in the martian atmosphere.

“The team has been working really hard,” said Goldstein. “This has been a great partnership between JPL, the University of Arizona and Lock- The scoop heed Martin, our primary industrial partner. It’s been a challenge at times, but it’s a good cross- design on fertilization of skills and experiences. We’re look- Phoenix's robotic ing forward to the launch campaign.” arm is tested Also of note for this year will be JPL’s annual by the JPL open house, scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, robotics team. May 19 and 20. Throughout the year, the Labora- tory will observe a number of anniversaries of significant events in its history. Among them are the 35th anniversary of the launch of the Jupiter flyby mission Pioneer 10 (March); the 40th anni- versary of the launch of Mariner 5, which flew by Venus (June); the 10th anniversary of Mars Path- finder’s landing (July); and the 30th anniversary of the launches of Voyager 2 (August) and Voyager 1 (September). 3 niverse U Working out export compliance

John Casani, in the Office of the Director, is leading the effort and discusses the initiative’s progress.

Photo by Tony Greicius Tony by Photo

ITAR! There’s an acronym that strikes fear and technology. The first set of regulations, called as seen by the affected communities at JPL. International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), The method I chose was to engage a broad fury into the hearts of many a JPLer. Many of the is administered by the Department of State. The segment of the community in a series of one- Lab’s researchers and project managers have been second set of regulations, known as Export Ad- to two-hour interview sessions, mainly from ministration Regulations (EAR), is administered by late September through early November. Olga complaining for some time now that the regula- the Department of Commerce. King, the manager of the Office of Export tions as currently implemented are interfering with Compliance, and I, assisted by Tom Soder- Export, in the context of the regulations, means strom of the Office of the Chief Information efficiently carrying out the fundamental mission of providing hardware, technical data or technical Officer, interviewed two or three people the Laboratory. In response, JPL Director Charles assistance to a non-U.S. entity. A non-U.S. entity at a time. We asked them to tell us about can be a foreign company or university, or a for- problems or issues they had experienced, Elachi called for a review of the impact of export eign person. Even if the information is provided to illustrate the problems with supporting compliance regulations on how JPL performs work, in the United States, an export is deemed to have anecdotes, to make recommendations on occurred. At JPL, we don’t export much hardware, how things could be improved and to suggest with the objective of finding and implementing so most of our exports deal with engineering and metrics we might use to gauge our progress better ways to carry out its mission, while main- technology information about our work. as we move forward. taining full compliance with the law. The objective of these laws and regulations is to Altogether we interviewed folks representing limit access to, and use of, certain technology about seven projects in different phases of data and related services to purposes that serve development, several groups of individual sci- So, what’s the problem? the foreign policy interests of the United States. ence and technology contributors (including the chief scientist), members of the Senior The essence of the problem is that JPL has both a JPL is firmly committed to compliance. The ex- Research Scientists Council and a number mandate to collaborate with international partners port control regulations, like all federal regula- of support organizations. At the end of each and the legal obligation to comply with export tions, carry the force of law and apply to all U.S. interview we invited interviewees to go online regulations when sharing information with foreign entities, including individuals, companies and and edit or expand on our posted interview nationals. These two requirements frequently oper- universities. summaries. We wanted to assure ourselves ate at cross-purposes, impeding the development and the interviewees that we had properly and execution of high-quality, low-cost space sci- Before the mid ’90s, spacecraft and all related interpreted what they had told us. ence missions. technologies were treated under the law as com- mercial technology. At about that time, Congress We had planned to finish the information The manner in which the regulations are inter- determined that spacecraft technology, because gathering in early November and spend the preted and implemented can create impediments of its significance to military applications, should rest of November and December synthesizing to effective international collaboration, to the be added to the U.S. Munitions List, thereby put- the go-forward plans. Actually the interview career progression of some of our scientists and ting it under the jurisdiction of the State Depart- process went on into late November, but technologists and very importantly to our ability to ment rather than the Commerce Department. we’ve managed, at least, a first-order syn- attract world-class talent. That seemingly simple change has had a profound thesis of our response plans. Implementation effect on the way JPL must conduct business started in early January and will continue What are these regulations about, and what regarding foreign nationals and foreign partners. throughout the year. are JPL’s responsibilities in implementing them? You were tasked with this initiative in Can you describe some of the issues There are two separate sets of regulations imple- September. What did you do first? you identified in the course of this menting export legislation. One has to do with the I felt the most important thing to do at the start process? export of munitions and other military equipment, was to try to understand the problems and issues Altogether we identified more than a dozen the other has to do with export of commercial Continued on page 4 4 problems and issues. Some reflect the export help of the Office of the Chief Information Officer, technology and continuous communication with compliance “facts of life,” which we might not be we will be rolling out an automated online review employees. able to solve to everyone’s satisfaction. Some are system that will improve the efficiency and cycle a result of misunderstandings that can be resolved time even more.

niverse Will there be a huge restructuring of how though better communication and training. How- U export compliance will be done at JPL? ever, many can be addressed through new and These are all legitimate issues of concern. How- revised practices that will affect both the Office ever, some problems can result from the exten- Not exactly—the organizational structure will be of Export Compliance and the user community, sions of practices that served us well in the past the same. The Office of Export Compliance (OEC) and through improved procedures and information to the current environment. For example, one will continue to work with the program offices, technology tools that we will be introducing over employee who was planning on giving a lecture to flight projects and directorates to determine the the next several months. an elementary school class was understandably need to review material for export compliance, and annoyed (to put it mildly) because his presentation to assign export technical representatives to facili- Those who are interested can go online to see the would now be subject to export compliance. For tate document review. They will continue to assist complete list of problems, anecdotes, recommen- many years the rule has been that all educational in obtaining any required export licenses. However, dations and suggested metrics. See http://wikidev. outreach products—independent of complexity with the introduction of trained line managers to jpl.nasa.gov/index.php/ITAR. of content—were subject to the full clearance do the first-order compliance review, OEC will process, which now includes export compliance no longer have to function as the primary in-line One of the more vexing issues has to do with review. We are now in the process of changing the reviewers of every document. They will still do fundamental research. Fundamental research is way outreach products are handled, so that all in-line reviews, but only at the request of the line exempted from the ITAR, provided certain condi- such products will from now on be cleared by the reviewers or Document Review Services, allowing tions exist. Those conditions exist at Caltech Office of Communications and Education, rather the OEC to focus on auditing the process, which and most universities, but not at JPL. Thus, the than having to go through the full clearance review will ensure that the line reviewer training has research results of a Caltech researcher generally process. This will shift more of the review burden been adequate and that the reviewers are properly are exempted from the regulations, while similar to that office, but will further reduce the cycle implementing the training. research conducted by a researcher at JPL is time for documents requiring the full clearance not. The reason has to do with restrictions in the process. Document Review Services will continue to provide prime contract that apply to all work performed the traditional review services, but they too will at JPL. now rely on the trained line managers for the first On March 21 we will brief interested level of export compliance review. Document Re- Another problem has to do with what JPL techni- view Services will only forward documents to the cal content can be included in our proposals for JPLers in von Kármán Auditorium on Office of Export Compliance for compliance review competed work. It was reported to us that so on an exceptional basis. much of the technical content from one of our the specifics of the plans for 2007. proposals had to be removed that the proposal My hope is to get feedback through However, there will be many changes to how we evaluation team ruled our proposal not technically communicate and how we do business, including competitive. We don’t yet see a clear path forward an interactive Q & A session. I’m an improved set of tools. We’ve planned a number for this problem, but it will likely involve a negoti- of actions as we move forward. There will be a looking forward to a good turnout. ated agreement with the proposal sponsors, since new training program with new courses and new a major component of the problem has to do with delivery methods; a new set of rules to ensure foreign national participation on the proposal alignment with the Office of Export Compliance; evaluation teams. Who at JPL ensures that we are following a communications program to build trust and the rules? understanding and promote a culture of shared Yet another problem has to do with the docu- responsibility; and the development of guidelines ment clearance review process. JPL is obligated The Office of Export Compliance supports JPL’s to promote uniformity and consistency, both in to review every document intended for unlimited mission of exploring space in collaboration with authoring and reviewing documents, and in inter- external release to ensure that it does not contain international partners by facilitating the exchange pretation and application of the rules. export-controlled information. Export compliance of scientific and technical information to the ex- review is now an integral part of the standard tent allowed under the laws and regulations of the On March 21 we will brief interested JPLers in von Document Review Services review process. Docu- U.S. government. That office, in consultation with Kármán Auditorium on the specifics of the plans ments that must be reviewed include conference the Office of the General Counsel and other inter- for 2007. My hope is to get feedback through an papers, papers for journal publication, technical ested organizations, is responsible for developing interactive Q & A session. I’m looking forward to a data, reports and other material related to JPL the processes and procedures required to imple- good turnout. work as well as outreach products, educational ment a system of export compliance. The Office of materials and visitor handouts. Since we release Export Compliance also conducts audits as needed 4,000 to 5,000 documents a year, this has re- to ensure compliance, but export compliance is a Will the new training affect all employees? sulted in an enormous backlog of papers requir- shared responsibility. All of us need to do our part Yes, but in different ways. We received a lot of ing clearance review. Up until last summer all of to ensure that the rules are followed. Most people feedback about training, much of it recommending the documents had to be routed to the Office of follow the rules if they know about them, and un- that the training should be geared to job function, Export Compliance for compliance review. With derstand the need and purpose. One of our major rather than by a one-size-fits-all-approach. only a handful of reviewers, the backlog was up to findings had to do with just that. Many people just more than 350 papers, with a lag time of months. don’t know about or understand the rules. That There will be new training modules, including an To better distribute the workload among knowl- will be a major thrust behind our new program of introductory compliance course for all employ- edgeable reviewers and speed up the reviews, communication. ees, which is a modification to the current online Chief Scientist Dan McCleese recommended that course. We will continue the ITAR-EAR review we train line managers, group supervisors and Where do things stand now? course I spoke of earlier for line and program above, to review for export compliance. We’ve set managers. There is also an orientation module for up a special training course to do this. So far, we I think we’ve made good progress. We have a project managers and staff; an export technical li- have trained more than 180, and expect to train strong collection of problems, recommendations aison course for technical members of a project or an additional 40 by the end of April. The backlog and metrics, and we have achieved early buy-in task having an export license; several short online in the Office of Export Compliance now fluctuates from many of the stakeholders. We are develop- modules specialized for cognizant engineers, ship- between 25 and 60, and the cycle time for the ing both short- and long-term solutions involving ping and receiving staff, and foreign national hosts; majority of documents is down to just a matter of training, better planning, better use of information subject matter expert courses for Office of Export weeks rather than months. In addition, with the 5 Compliance staff; and an annual JPL Executive and slimmed down from what we have now. Also, on restrictions are and has adjusted their travel Council seminar. Step-1 proposal teams will be required to draft plans accordingly. No more showing up at the their technical assistance agreements before dis- terminal 20 or 30 minutes before departure time In addition, each 3X and 5X organization that banding, and project managers and key staff will and no more carrying Swiss Army knives or more authors documents intended for unlimited external be required to take in-office training at the time of than a few ounces of liquid. niverse U release must have at least one technical manager project formation. trained to review documents for export compli- Likewise, our export compliance tools and pro- ance. Training will typically be required for group cedures—just like the airline inspectors and Are you confident that the Laboratory supervisors and section managers. equipment—will get better, and the user commu- can successfully address all of the export nity—just like the traveling public—will learn to compliance issues? plan a bit differently, but there’s no going back to Besides the training, will there be other Yes, to a degree. One way to look at it is to com- the pre-9/11 security rules. policies and practices put in place to help pare the situation to airline security. Prior to Sept. people get the job done? 11, 2001, travelers could show up shortly before So, yes, I’m confident that we will successfully Yes. Throughout the project life cycle, at least one departure time and carry just about anything on address all of the issues, but things will be differ- dedicated export technical liaison will be required an airplane. After 9/11, things changed quickly and ent—and there’ll be no going back to the pre-ITAR in each project office that requires a technical as- dramatically with new carry-on restrictions and days here either. sistance agreement or any other export license. In other security procedures. Travelers were angry at addition, one export technical liaison will be re- the inconvenience, the need to arrive at the airport We need to recognize what’s behind this: the quired for each program office and programmatic a lot earlier and the restrictions about what they foreign policy interests of the country. Export directorate that has a project or program with an could carry on. But more recently, the inspectors compliance requires informed planning. It does export license. and their inspection procedures and equipment take more time and cost more money, but let’s have gotten a lot better, and the traveling public recognize it—this is now part of the price of do- In addition, final export control management plans now understands the rules, knows what the carry- ing business. The problems can be mitigated if we will be required at end of Phase A, rather than at plan for them. end of Phase B; however, these will be streamlined

Trees Jason Castro (left) and making a Joe Lewis of Phoenix Construction begin the comeback tree replanting effort in November. Looking on By Mark Whalen is Mark Gutheinz, man- ager of the Facilities Although a number of trees were lost Engineering and Con- due to the start of construction of JPL’s struction Section. new Flight Projects Center, many more are now on their way. The first in a three-phase project to restore the trees—indeed, to far surpass

Dutch Slager/JPL Photolab Slager/JPL Dutch the number of trees removed—has been completed. Mark Gutheinz, manager of the Facilities About 35 trees have Engineering and Construction Section, not- been planted in ed that about 35 trees have been planted the Lab’s southern in the southern sector of the Laboratory. section in the first By the end of 2007, he said, most of the phase of replanting. northern end will have new trees planted. The final phase of replanting will take place as part of the building’s construc- tion. Groundbreaking is scheduled for May 7. About 90 trees will be planted near the structure. At least 175 new trees—18 different types—are to be planted on Lab, about five times as many trees as were removed. 6 Lab gets go-ahead to develop Mars life-detection instrument

By Mark Whalen Sample carousel carries: niverse sub-critical water – moi pixels/cells U extraction – scwe extraction cells JPL will develop a life-detection instrument that – mod targets sub-critical water could be flown to Mars in the next decade, one of extraction two proposals selected for technology development studies by NASA this month. Known as the Urey Mars Organic and Oxidant Detector, the instrument would investigate organics and oxidant materials on Mars using three comple-

mentary detection systems. The instrument, to be mod built and managed at JPL, may lead to NASA con- tributions to the European Space Agency’s ExoMars µCE mission, scheduled for launch in 2013, or other mod moi deck unit Mars missions. JPL team members involved in the instrument’s development are Allen Farrington, proposal and Left: The Urey Mars Organic and Above: A concept drawing of project manager; Frank Grunthaner, co-investigator; Oxidant Detector is named for the late the Urey Mars Organic and Tim Munson, system engineer; Yong Chong, electron- UC San Diego scholar Harold Urey, Oxidant Detector. ics; Xenia Amashukeli, sub-critical water extraction; Peter Willis, microfluidics; and Victor White, sensor whose pioneering work on isotopes deposition and microfluidic fabrication. earned him the Nobel Prize in Chem- The principal investigator is Dr. Jeffrey Bada of istry in 1934 and later led him to UC San Diego. Other co-investigators and science team members include Diana Blaney, Max Cole- theories of planetary evolution. man and Albert Yen of JPL; Richard Mathies, UC Berkeley; Aaron Zent, NASA Ames Research Center; Richard Quinn, SETI Institute, Ames; and Pascale Ehrenfreund, Leiden University, the Netherlands. if we find them, we can discriminate the various Field tests of the instrument have been con- The instrument’s goal is to search for organic organic compounds that are there,” he said. ducted in Chile’s Atacama Desert. The area is compounds on Mars’ surface and subsurface. Urey’s Urey is designed to carry out two complementary among the best sites on Earth for studying organic investigation of the martian environment will involve experiments. The instrument uses a sub-criti- survival and degradation, due to its dry and oxidiz- searching for organic compounds indicative of life cal water extractor, Mars organic detector and a ing environment, the presence of sulfate mineral and prebiotic history at a sensitivity many orders of micro-capillary electrophoresis analyzer to inves- deposits and low levels of indigenous living organ- magnitude greater than the Viking lander or other tigate the target organic compounds in samples. isms and detectable organic compounds. in-situ organic detection systems. The instrument Samples will be analyzed to detect the presence A second proposal, the Mars Organic Molecule will perform the first in-situ search for key classes of organic compounds—and to determine their Analyzer, was selected along with Urey for tech- of organic molecules using state of the art analytical composition. nology development studies that could also lead to methods that provide part-per-trillion sensitivity. A chemometric sensor array, the Mars Oxidant participation in ExoMars. This instrument would It will determine whether these molecules are abi- Instrument, will measure the reaction rates of films investigate organic molecular signatures and the otic or biotic in origin and will evaluate the survival that have different sensitivities to particular types environment in which they exist using a mass potential of organic compounds in the environ- of oxidants expected to be present in the Mars sur- spectrometer and gas chromatograph. The prin- ment using state of the art chemo-resistor oxidant face environment. By controlling the temperature of cipal investigator is Dr. Luann Becker, UC Santa sensors. these films and their exposure to dust, ultraviolet Barbara. The two technology development studies Grunthaner said the instrument will have the light and water vapor, Urey will evaluate organic are funded for a total of $1.5 million. capability to investigate as far as two meters below degradation pathways that may take place at NASA also announced that it will fund a U.S. the surface, a key factor in the search for whether sampled localities on Mars. These data will provide scientist, Alian Wang of Washington University, St. there ever were biological compounds on the planet, important insights into the observed organic mat- Louis, to participate as a member of the ExoMars whether there is biology there today or whether con- ter inventory and the potential for survival of vari- science team. ditions exist to develop it in the future. “We’re going ous classes of organic compounds under martian to look to see if there are any organics at all; then environmental conditions.

Panel NASA has formed an internal review board to look more in-depth into why JPL’s Mars Global Surveyor went silent in November 2006 and recommend any processes or procedures that could will study increase safety for other spacecraft. Mars Global Surveyor launched in 1996 on a mission designed to study Mars from orbit for two Global years. It accomplished many important discoveries during nine years in orbit. On Nov. 2, the space- craft transmitted information that one of its arrays was not pivoting as commanded. Loss of signal Surveyor from the orbiter began on the following orbit. events Mars Global Surveyor has operated longer at Mars than any other spacecraft in history and for more than four times as long as the prime mission originally planned. 7 niverse

QuikScat U shows rough seas, atmospheric conditions at time of two Java Sea disasters

A ferry carrying more than 600 passengers sank in the Java Sea between the island of Java and Borneo just before midnight on Dec. 29, 2006, dur- ing high winds and rough seas. On Jan. 1, 2007, a plane carrying more than 100 people crashed on its flight over the Java Sea; high winds and turbulent weather are being investigated as possible causes. The origin of surges of deadly winds in this usually relatively calm region is poorly monitored and understood. However, ocean winds data from JPL’s QuikScat satellite show potential for helping alleviate such deficiencies. Data obtained from QuikScat on Dec. 30 and Jan. 1 shed new insights into the atmospheric conditions at the time of these incidents. QuikScat data are available in near real time to operational weather forecasting agencies around the world. The data from Dec. 30 and Jan. 1 observed that the strong winds in the Java Sea originated from the surge of a strong winter monsoon from the Asian continent. The monsoon winds blew south across the South China Sea and deflected eastward after they crossed the equator due to the rotation of In this image from Jan. 1, the different colors denote different wind speeds. Earth. The winds strengthened as they were channeled through the land mass- White arrows are wind vectors showing both direction and speed. es of Indonesia. The winds in the Java Sea remained strong through Jan. 1. See a color version of the image at http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/ Associated with the eastward winds, twin cyclones (a counter-clockwise catalog/PIA09110. circulation in the Northern Hemisphere and a clockwise circulation in the The large-scale, broad and simultaneous observations by QuikScat make Southern Hemisphere) were also observed by QuikScat; the stronger one was it possible to put the local weather into the context of the large-scale circu- south of the equator (summer hemisphere) between Java and Australia, and lation, and confirm one of the assumptions that links the cold surge of the a weaker one was north of the equator (winter hemisphere) west of Borneo. Asian monsoon with tropical cyclones in the western Pacific.

Scientists report Titan liquid lakes By Carolina Martinez

Scientists report definitive evidence of the pres- • The varying states of how full the lakes are “icebergs” are unlikely because most materials ence of lakes filled with liquid methane on Sat- suggest that lakes in this region of Titan might be would not float in liquid hydrocarbons. urn’s moon Titan in a cover story in the journal temporary on some unknown timescale. Other observations: Nature earlier this month. • Approximately 15 of the dark patches seem • Based on the lake characteristics, Cassini sci- filled and show no clear evidence of erosion. These entists think they are observing liquid-filled lakes Radar imaging data from a July 22, 2006, flyby dark patches resemble terrestrial lakes confined on Titan today. Another possibility is that these provide convincing evidence for large bodies of within impact basins (Clearwater Lakes in Canada, depressions and channels formed in the past and liquid on Titan today. A new false-color radar view for example) or within volcanic calderas (Crater have now been filled by a low-density deposit that gives a taste of what Cassini saw. Some highlights Lake, Oregon, for example). The nest-like nature of is darker than any observed elsewhere on Titan. of the article follow below. these lakes and their limited range of sizes make However, the absence of wind-blown features Lake characteristics: it unlikely that they originated from an impact. in this area makes the low-density hypothesis • Radar-dark patches are interpreted as lakes A volcanic origin for the depressions is possible, unlikely. based on their very low radar reflectivity and given their appearance. • These northern hemisphere lakes are the morphological similarities to lakes, including • Some lakes have steep margins and very dis- strongest evidence yet that Titan’s surface and associated channels and location in topographic tinct edges, suggesting a topographic rim. These atmosphere have an active hydrological cycle, depressions. lakes are consistent with seepage or groundwater though with a condensable liquid other than wa- • Radar-dark surfaces are smooth and most drainage lakes. ter. In this cycle, lakes are filled through methane likely liquid, rock, ice or organics. More than 75 • Other lakes have diffuse, more scalloped edges, rainfall or intersect with a subsurface layer satu- radar-dark patches or lakes were seen, ranging with a gradual decrease in radar brightness to- rated with liquid methane. from 3 kilometers (1.8 miles) to more than 70 wards the center of the lake. These lakes are more • As Titan’s seasons progress over the 29-year kilometers (43 miles) across. likely to be associated with channels, and may be cycle of Saturn’s orbit around the sun, lakes in the • Some lakes appear partly dry, while others either drainage lakes or groundwater drainage winter hemisphere should expand by steady meth- seem liquid-filled. Some of the partly filled lakes lakes. ane rain, while summer hemisphere lakes shrink may never have filled fully, or may have partly • Yet other lakes have curvy channel-like exten- or dry up entirely. evaporated at some point in the past. The dry sions, similar in appearance to terrestrial flooded To read more about the radar imaging data from lakes have margins or rims and a radar bright- river valleys (Lake Powell, for example). the July 2006 flyby, visit http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/ ness similar to the rest of the surrounding terrain, • Bright patches near the lake edges could be news/news.cfm?release=2006-097. making them appear devoid of liquid. small islands peeking through the surface. Floating 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 T JPL’ P J AT 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 Universe [email protected] s o http://dailyplanet E N I L N JPL Photo Lab Photo JPL Photography DavidHinkle Production AudreySteffan Design Whalen Mark Editor

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P B N Section, and in 1952 became chief became 1952 in and Section, WindTunnelHigh-Speed the of chief spacecraft. planetary Voyagertour” the “grand ultimately and Mars, to Vikingmissions and Mariner the to landers and orbiters lunar early programfromthe space the rolein significant a played later Sergeantrockets.He and Corporal the on technology missile ballistic and testing tunnel wind hypersonic and supersonic involved JPL reerat 6. Jan. died ment, develop researchadvanced and directorfor laboratory assistant Frank Goddard, 91, Goddard, Frank Goddard joined JPL in 1949 as 1949 in JPL Goddardjoined ca Warhis Cold era the During

assings rie ews f John Mather John s retired - - is available with more than 100 exhibitors. 100 morethan with available is opportunities business potential discuss to counseling One-on-one opportunities. subcontracting and tracting con potential representativesdiscuss government to city and state federal, corporate, approximately250 topics. other and initiatives ness busi programs,small major on information featuring workshops “how-to” several includes It industries. tech high- in businesses veteran-owned and women-owned minority,small, for opportunities marketing and ing Airport. International Angeles Los near Hotel Radisson the at 7 and March6 on Business Small for High-techconference coming up universe. acrossthe years light of millions stretchhundredsof that galaxies of clusters giant the for seeds arethe and Bang, Big the after instants only universe, early the in field tational gravi the arerelatedto spots These groundradiation. microwaveback cosmic the in spots cold and hot primordialthe mapped had they that announced team BackgroundExplorerCosmic the 1992, In formed. was universe the after instants few first fromthe radiation of pattern the BackgroundExplorerstudied Cosmic The Bang. Big the understanding on work collaborative their for California of University the of GeorgeSmoot gov Planet, Daily on webcast be will event The Kármán. von in a.m. 11 at 24, day,Jan. Wedneson staff addressyear,JPL will last Prize bel No receiveda Goddardwho fromNASA Explorerteam NobelPrize winner to speak Attendees will have the opportunity to meet with meet to opportunity the have will Attendees subcontract on focus conferencewill two-day The High-Techannual Conference19th the host will JPL with physics in Prize Nobel sharedthe Mather BackgroundCosmic the of head Mather,the John

. 1983 to 2000. He is survived by survived is He 2000. to 1983 Nov.19. died 352, fromSection engineer granddaughter.one and grandsons five Jill; and Jenni Lori, Maureen;daughters wife, his by survived is He retired2005. in Nov.10. died 385, Section in tiredmicrowaveengineer 91106. CA Pasadena, Ave.,Catalina N. 65 Lam, Melanie Society,attention Planetary The to made be name his in donations Brown.Adam step-grandson and Kianersi; Daiva stepdaughter great-grandsonNathan; Caitlin; and Emily grandchildrenErica, Stephen; son Boyers; Helen sister Goddardretired1977. in Lab’sactivities. planning long-range the responsiblefor was he 1962, April until held he which position, this In JPL. for planning for tor direcassistant appointed was he when 1961, to relationsfrom1959 NASA directorfor assistant as and PropellantsDepartment and namic Aerodythe of chief as served later He AerodynamicsDivision. the of Norton worked at JPL fromJPL at worked Norton Norton Robert wereheld. services No and 1966 in JPL Hardyjoined Hardy,“Jack” John Goddard’srequeststhat family Irene;wife, his by survived is He , 67, a retireda 67, , http://dailyplanet.jpl.nasa. 66, a rea 66, ------L and Noah. and Ashley grandchildrenKatie, and John; and Kristen Carrie, Diana, childrenGary,Hope; wife, his - memories of our extended family’sextended our of memories back brings anthurium well—the as meaning added had us to sent plant ERC The system. guidance Centaur the on working Dynamics General at engineer an as also but me, throughjust not was JPL to nection Greenstein.Jerry’slaw, Jerry con father-in-my of recentpassing the at condolences and thoughts their for friends JPL our of all thank beautiful. was It plant. the for JPL thank Weto much. want so you Thank co-workers. and friends frommy donations and support the describe wordsto enough arenot Thereperson. young a of death the Weprepared22. arenever Oct. for Montrose,on in 210, Rt. on cident ac automobile an in killed was - No memorial service was held. was service memorial No My family and I would like to like would I and family My Peck, granddaughter, Mallory My etters Barbara Vaughn(grandmother) Barbara Compensation, Rewards and Recognition, visit Recognition, Rewardsand Compensation, offeredby services programsand the about information For years: 25 years: 30 years: 35 years: 40 years: 45 years: 50 6. Dec. on honor their ceremonyin and luncheon a attend to wereinvited and service of moreyears or 25 recipientscelebrated JPL lowing Serviceawards bestowed 4-8689. ext. Colbert, Jasmine For the period of August through December 2006, the fol the 2006, throughDecember August of period the For or 4-7531, ext. Norton, Amber contact moreinformation, For Amanda Peck (sister) Peck Amanda Marie Case, Min-Kun Chung, Alice Cobbin, Alice Chung, Min-Kun Case, Marie Paulette Blaes, Aster,Brent Robert Bell, Bryan Goldstein, Bruce Cohen, Eri Ajello, Joseph Arthur Kocsis, Robert Klose, J. Germann, Donald Barath. Frank Cynthia Williams. Cynthia WallaceWebster,Tai,son, Chris Thiessen, David YolandaRochblatt, David VenaSwan Pontiac, Okuno, James Ngo, Henry Moran, Karen Kwok, Andrew Hsieh, Cheng-Hsien Cresta, Norberto Wannier,Peter Zurek.RichardWu, Sien-Chong Toy,Neil Stowers, Kennis Sacks, Allen Ryken, Raney,James Judith McCaig, Constance Ling, James Lai, John Davidson, John Cali-Kaviani, Stocky,Thomas. John Sandi III, Sander,Stanley Slade O’Connell, Martin Gerald McKinney,John Mettler,EdwardJones, Jeremy Yarnell,Neil Zoltan. AndrewPage, Dennis Neal, Jerry Long, Hartwell Lane, Lonne William Breckenridge. William Kelli Peck (mother) Peck Kelli - - R Donald Lehr Donald retired January: in employees JPL following The Section 316. Section Elson Anne 5124. tion year. difficult very this over ment encourage and offeredsupport who you to thanks heartfelt My receivedfromyou. I that pathy sym expressionsof cardsand appreciatefather.the I my of passing the after home my to aregreatlyappreciated.plant cardsand prayers, thoughts, father.Yourmy of passing kind the at condolences of sions expresyour for JPL at friends one’skindness. and warmth Wegreatlyappreciateevery summer.last Hawaii to vacation Thank you for the plant sent plant the for you Thank our thank I and family My etirees http://hr/esr , 24 years, 24 , , 35 years, Sec years, 35 , Jeanne Makihara Jeanne

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