Space Forum / Space Science / November 2003

Kathleen Burton                              Nov. 7, 2003
NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif.
Phone: 650/604-1731 or 604-9000
E-mail: kburton@mail.arc.nasa.gov

-> The perturbation by Jupiter at aphelion decreases  
-> orbital velocity and therefore increases the  
-> eccentricity so the asteroid eventually intersects the  
-> Solar equatorial region.

I'd like to calculate the gravity at different latitudes on the
surface of a large, rapidly rotating oblate spheroid (like Mesklin,
the setting for Hal Clement's novel "Mission of Gravity" and the home
of the et's in "Starlight"), given that I know the polar and

Looking for a (GIS) database of lunar features.
Locations of craters, mares, highland areas, rilles,
rays etc.
Mainly any freely available on the net.

Now that Saturn is returning to the evening sky I have created a Saturn
Seeing Tutorial that illustrates it's visual resolution seen through a
range of telescope apertures. Gives you and idea what to expect especially
if you are newbie trying out or buying a scope.

I read on a website a few weeks ago that Mars Express would capture images
of Beagle 2 as it is relaesed into space?  I cant remember which site it was
though, it might have been space.com.
Does anyone know if this is true?

What happened to all the ground based views of Mars during opposition?  We
saw hundreds of spectacular images from amateurs.  But what about views from
the worlds biggest telescopes such as Keck and the VLT?  We seem to see very
few planetary images from ground based obseratories.

If Mars were provided with a breathable atmosphere by some means in the
future, how long would it take to be lost to space?

Carnegie Mellon University Press Release
Carnegie Mellon Inducts Four Robots Into Newly Established Robot Hall of Fame(TM)
November 10, 2003
PITTSBURGH -- Carnegie Mellon University will induct four famous robots into

1) Was the International Space Station/Space Station Freedom meant to
orbit at 300-400km originally (c1990), or was it slated for higher
altitudes?
2) How much would drag be reduced (percentage wise) if the station

New Horizons Mission News
November 21, 2003
http://pluto.jhuapl.edu
New Horizons Team Plans Jupiter Encounter

-> I would think it useful or interesting to be able to image the
-> Sun from more than one angle (specifically from just Earth)
-> to track sunspots on the other side of the Sun facing away
-> from us.  

I would think it useful or interesting to be able to image the
Sun from more than one angle (specifically from just Earth)
to track sunspots on the other side of the Sun facing away
from us.  

-> Do we have telescopes that can zoom in close enough to see footprints left
-> on the moon? That should settle it once and for all..
Not yet, but no doubt this will happen someday. By then, the
fake-freaks will be screaming that humans never went to Mars.

Hi...
I'm doing a research project for school on the apollo missions and I have
been having trouble finding information on what was used to shield the
apollo vehicles when they passed through the van allen belts. I've found