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December 31, 2006
December 29, 2006
Astrobiology News 29 December 2006
December 28, 2006
Astrobiology News 28 December 2006
December 27, 2006
Astrobiology News 27 December 2006
December 22, 2006
Astrobiology News 22 December 2006
ASGSB To Meet at NASA Ames Research Center
"Dear Colleagues: I am pleased to announce that the 23rd Annual Meeting of the ASGSB will be held October 25-28, 2007, at the NASA Research Park, adjoining the Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California. Responding to the clear mandate that the Governing Board received from the poll of attendees at the Business Meeting last November, the Board has taken advantage of a cost-effective opportunity to utilize the Conference Center at the NASA Research Park and provide a traditional meeting format.
Our goal for the 2007 meeting is to build on the outstanding quality and spirit of the 22nd Annual meeting in Arlington. There were over 180 attendees at the meeting, nearly matching the attendance of the previous meeting in Reno. The scientific symposia, oral and poster sessions, and the special workshops and town hall meetings were excellent. In the coming months, you will be hearing more about the symposia and events planned for the 2007 meeting -- mark your calendars and stay tuned.
The coming year will present unusual challenges as the new Congress takes office and wrestles with the budget and potentially changing priorities. Your involvement in the advocacy process will be needed as we strive to regain support for space biology. Thank you for your continued work and enthusiasm for space and gravitational biology and the ASGSB.
Enjoy the Holidays and best wishes for a great new year,
Ken
Kenneth A. Souza
Senior Scientist, SETI Institute
President, ASGSB
Kenneth.A.Souza@nasa.gov"
December 20, 2006
Astrobiology News 20 December 2006
December 19, 2006
Astrobiology News 19 December 2006
December 18, 2006
GeneSat-1 is Operational
Mission Status Report: NASA's Orbiting GeneSat-1 Radios Date to Team on Earth
"The GeneSat-1 ground control station at NASA Ames will receive data radioed from the micro-laboratory after it has completed its observations and tests of the bacteria inside. The biological test will last only 96 hours, but the GeneSat-1 team will evaluate the stability of the orbiting payload's systems for four months to a year. The Small Spacecraft Office at NASA's Ames teamed up with industry and local universities to develop the fully automated, miniature GeneSat spaceflight system that provides life support for small living things."
GeneSat Mission Dashboard, Santa Clara University
GeneSat1, Real Time Satellite Tracking, NORAD ID: 29655 Int'l Code: 2006-058C
Astrobiology News 18 December 2006
December 17, 2006
GeneSat In Orbit
NASA's GeneSat-1 Reaches Orbit on Air Force Rocket, NASA
"NASA's GeneSat-1 rode an Air Force rocket into Earth orbit on Dec. 16, 2006 at 4 a.m. PST (7 a.m. EST) from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility, Wallops Island, Va. The satellite's locator beacon has been detected, and data has been received as GeneSat-1 orbits Earth, according to scientists."
Astrobiology News 17 December 2006
December 16, 2006
GeneSat Set For Launch
New Launch Target Date Set for NASA's GeneSat-1 Satellite
Posted by RCC on 2006-12-15 at 09:16:58 EST
"The Air Force TacSat-2/Minotaur 1 launch is on schedule for Saturday, Dec. 16. The launch window is 7 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. The TACSAT-2 micro satellite’s software issues have been resolved and it has been cleared for launch. Updates on the status of the launch will begin at 2 a.m. The launch will be visible in the surrounding area. A good vantage point to view the launch is the beach parking area on Assateague Island. Gates to Assateague Island National Seashore open at 6 a.m."
December 15, 2006
International Journal of Astrobiology Vol. 5 Issue 03 Now Online
The special issue devoted to papers from the Astrobiology Society of Britain Conference 2006:
Astrobiology News 15 December 2006
International Polar Year Outreach
Live from the International Polar Year! Webinar with the Oden Expedition
"Join Teachers Ute Kaden and Allan Miller live from the Oden Icebreaker en route to Antarctica! The webinar interface, HorizonWimba, allows presentation of powerpoint slides over the Internet during a conference call, and includes other useful functions such as online chat and polling features. To take full advantage of the webinar you will need telephone and Internet access. If you do not have Internet access, however, you can simply join the conference call."
December 14, 2006
Astrobiology News 14 December 2006
December 13, 2006
Astrobiology News 13 December 2006
NASA Advisor on the Search for Life to Receive Medal of Freedom
Dr. Joshua Lederberg, a Nobel-winning microbiolgist whose advice helped create NASA's early biology programs, will receive the Medal of Freedom, the United States' highest civilian honor.
Dr. Lederberg became interested in exobiology -- the study of life beyond Earth -- in the 1950s, as interest in exploring space began to build in the United States and other countries. He was one of the first scientists to express concern that spacecraft from Earth might carry microbes that could contaminate the moon or other landing sites. He co-chaired the 1964 Summer Study, sponsored by NASA and the Space Studies Board of the National Academy of Science, which outlined the rationale for searching for life on Mars and started to make the search for life beyond Earth intellectually respectable.
He was consulted frequently by NASA during the development of the Viking mission, which carried experiments designed to determine whether life could exist on Mars.
"Joshua Lederberg was one of the guiding lights behind the Viking search for life on Mars and a very close friend and trusted adviser to Jerry Soffen, Viking project scientist" said Langley Research Center senior research scientist Dr. Joel S. Levine. "Lederberg.visited Langley often and was influential in promoting the importance of searching for life outside Earth -- even before that concept was fashionable."
Lederberg has remained active with NASA in the 21st century. In 2000, Baruch Blumberg, then the director of the NASA Astrobiology Institute and a Nobel Laureate himself, included Lederberg on his "Director's Science Council," which consisted of 10 members, most of which were Nobel Laureates with expertise ranging from physics to molecular biology.
For more information: http://www.nasa.gov/vision/universe/solarsystem/lederberg_freedom_medal.html [Source: NAI Newsletter]
AI Researchers Search for Meteorites in Antarctica
Follow along as scientists from NAI's University of Hawai'i Team go on expedition with the NSF/NASA-sponsored Antarctic Search for Meteorites (ANSMET) program. View photos, read about the team and their mission, and stay current with regular dispatches from the "Streets of McMurdo."
http://www.humanedgetech.com/expedition/ansmet2/
The ANSMET program enables researchers to collect meteorites in Antarctica first hand for scientific study. Over 75% of meteorites are recovered from Antarctica, and more than 15,000 samples have been supplied to over 400 scientists in 32 countries over the last 30 years. [Source: NAI Newsletter]
December 12, 2006
The NASA Astrobiology Institute Selects Four New NAI Fellows
The NAI is pleased to announce the selection of four NASA Postdoctoral Program Fellows for 2006. They are:
- Oleg Abramov, Advisor: Stephen Mojzsis, NAI University of Colorado, topic, Habitability of Early Earth: Thermal Modeling of the Lithosphere During the Late Heavy Bombardment.
- Jennifer Biddle, Advisor, Andreas Teske, NAI Marine Biological Laboratory (UNC Chapel Hill), topic, Molecular and Metabolic Characterization of Uncultivated Archael Groups of the subsurface
- Curtis Cooper, Advisor: Alex Pavlov, University of Arizona, topic, Three-Dimensional Modeling of Habitable Zones and the Paleoclimates of the Terrestrial Planets
- Matt Pasek, Advisor: Jonathon Lunine University of Arizona, topic, An investigation to the Relationship of Phosphorus and Sulfur Cosmochemistry to the Origin of Life
NAI Fellows have a wide spectrum of opportunities for further collaboration with NAI researchers, NASA missions, as well as with the external scientific community. In this role, NAI Fellows act as 'Ambassadors' amongst the NAI Teams, and between the NAI and the broader scientific community, - helping to further define and lead the discipline of astrobiology. Congratulations to all the new NAI Fellows, and their advisors, - we wish them an enjoyable and productive time with the NASA Astrobiology Institute. [Source: NAI Newsletter]
December 2006 Issue of Astrobiology (Journal) Online
Astrobiology December 2006 Issue - Portable Analyzer Is Powerful Tool for Detecting Biomarkers of Life on Mars, Astrobiology
The Mars Organic Analyzer (MOA) can detect a much broader spectrum of organic compounds than was previously possible, and these could serve as key biomarkers of extinct or existing life on Mars.
Astrobiology is the leading peer-reviewed journal in its field. To promote this developing field, the Journal has teamed up with The Astrobiology Web to highlight one outstanding paper per issue of Astrobiology. This paper is available free online at www.liebertpub.com/ast and to visitors of The Astrobiology Web.
Astrobiology News 12 December 2006
December 11, 2006
Astrobiology News 11 December 2006
Direct Observation of Magnetic Field on Tau Bootis
An international team of researchers including NAI Postdoctoral Fellow Evgenya Shkolnik of the University of Hawai'i Team publish their observation in this month's Royal Astronomical Society Letters of a magnetic field at the surface of star Tau Bootis, which is orbited by a giant planet every three days. The magnetic field's intensity is similar to that of the Sun, but the star and the planet are tidally locked, possibly producing the observed magnetic knots. [Source: NAI Newsletter]
December 8, 2006
Astrobiology News 8 December 2006
December 7, 2006
Astrobiology News 7 December 2006
December 5, 2006
Astrobiology News 5 December 2006
December 4, 2006
Astrobiology News 4 December 2006
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