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President’s Message June, 2008
I am submitting the President’s message a little early this month since I leave tomorrow for the International Space Development Conference (ISDC) 2008 in Washington, D.C. and will not be back until June 2 (after our normal deadline for the newsletter occurs).
Last night’s landing of the Mars Phoenix mission was really exciting. There was lots of positive news coverage for a change. There were special programs on CNN and the Science Channel in additional to the extensive NASA coverage. Although it was not live coverage, National Geographic Channel also had a program in the Naked Science series about the Mars Phoenix mission. So far (as of the NASA press conference at 1 PM today), everything on the mission is close to perfect. The vehicle is flat on the surface, communications are working well, and the small difference in the landing position doesn’t seem to be a problem. I hope the mission continues to be a success and we are able to learn a treasure trove of information about the water near the North Pole of Mars.
On the human mission front, the STS-124 mission is scheduled for launch on May 31 a little after 5 PM. This mission brings the main Japanese Kibo laboratory module for installation on the International Space Station (ISS). This module is larger than the United States Destiny laboratory module. The Japanese chose to leave their module the size originally planned for the Space Station Freedom design while the U.S. decided to scale their modules back to a smaller size. As a result, the Japanese will have the largest laboratory area on the ISS. I hope the launch and mission go well.
At the June meeting, we will be discussing the Mars Phoenix mission, the ongoing STS-124 mission, and all the news from the ISDC. I hope you are able to attend.
Ad Astra, Carol Johnson 5/26/08