From: ken.edgett@asu.edu (Ken Edgett)
Subject: NASA planetary missions featured!
Date: Sat, 21 Dec 1996 12:53:06 -0700 (MST)
Dear Mars Educators, The December 9, 1996, issue of the weekly trade magazine, AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY featured an outstanding series of well-illustrated, well-written articles about upcoming missions by NASA, Europe, Japan to the Solar System objects (Mars, Moon, asteroids, comets, Saturn, Pluto, etc.). I highly, highly recommend purchase of this issue of the magazine for a wonderful overview of the upcoming missions that are planned. Back issues cost US$5.00 plus shipping. The cover features an illustration of the Mars Surveyor '98 lander setting down near the South Polar Layered deposits. Articles include: "Planetary Flight Surge Faces Budget Realities," about all of the upcoming missions- with a cool illustration of Cassini entering orbit about Saturn in 2004. "Mars 98 to Seek Water Near Martian South Pole"-- includes another cool illustration of the lander on Mars. "Knowledge about Mars set to Expand Radically"-- about Mars Global Surveyor and Mars Pathfinder, with an excellent photo of Sojourner next to a person for scale. Includes the schedule of events for MGS and how they relate to seasons and dust storms on Mars. "Probe Seeks to Unmask Pluto"-- about Pluto Express, a much-desired mission to fill the gap in our Solar System exploration. "Mars will not Yield Its Secrets Easily"-- about future robotic missions, life on Mars, and sample returns (plus prospects for humans). "U.S., Japanese Moon Missions To Seek Water, Lunar Core"-- about upcoming Lunar Prospector and missions from Japan and Europe. "Comet, Asteroid Missions Seek Clues to Earth's Origins"-- missions coming up that are visiting comets and asteroids. "Cassini Mission to Saturn Caps Era of Grand Spacecraft"-- the last of the giant interplanetary missions, Cassini and the Huygens probe will examine Saturn and its moons, including a landing by Huygens on Titan (COOL!) in 2004. Launch is set for Oct. 97. "Huygens Planetary Probe Set for Titan Landing in 2004" -- COOL! Also this issue features news of Pathfinder's launch and the "water on the Moon" results from Clementine (these were breaking stories as the magazine went to press). I ordered a copy of the magazine by telephone using a credit card. They said it would arrive within 2-3 business days (quick!). To order, call (212) 512-2886 and tell them you want to purchase a copy of the December 9, 1996, issue of AVIATION WEEK. They are charging me $5.00 for the magazine (a bargain considering the number of great articles) plus a bit more than $1 for postage. Trust me, this is worth the cost if you want a good update on all the missions being planned. Ken Edgett Arizona Mars K-12 Education Program