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Aviation History
1973
1973 - 0105.PDF
FLIGHT International, 11 January 1973 71 The moment of final splash-down, so accurate that the recovery helicopter was able to position itself directly over the descending spacecraft command module from lunar orbit was expected to pin point below-surface metallic deposits and any water ice that might exist. The discovery of water would be impor tant for the future development of permanent lunar bases. Human origins and destiny are bound up very closely with all that Apollo has achieved. When we have all the data from Moon samples and the network of Aslep science stations which the astronauts left behind to work un attended we should understand more than we do today about the formation of solar systems from gas and dust nebulae. We may be closer to answering other fundamental questions. If life has sprung from such "unlikely" con ditions in one tiny fragment of the Galaxy, why not elsewhere? Is the Galaxy itself teeming with life? Although no living thing has been found on the Moon other than a dozen lively astronauts, scientists believe they have found extremely small amounts of amino acids and possibly other related organic compounds in soil samples. If this is so it could be a most important discovery. Science is already fitting together other parts of the jigsaw. Everywhere we look in space we find the same basic elements—hydrogen, helium, nitrogen, oxygen and carbon. Apart from helium these are the basis of all living things we know. Only recently have radio-astronomers at Parkes, Australia located organic compounds in the constellation of Sagittarius, near the centre of the Galaxy, and in the Orion nebula. They are detectable by radio-telescopes because their molecules emit radiation at a particular frequency as a result of their rotation. Formaldehyde, discovered in 1969, contains the carbon atom—the building block of life. Now the Australians claim to have found the more complex molecules of thio-formaldehyde, acetyaldehyde and methylamine. Methylamine and formic acid, an earlier discovery, contain the same proportions of elements as glycine. Glycine, in turn, is an amino acid, and groups of amino acid form protein, a compound round which revolve most forms of life we know. If chemicals of this type become fixed in planets which form by accretion of gas and dust as natural satellites of stars, life could be widely distributed in the Universe. We have come a long way from Apollo Moon rocks and the "beautiful blue planet," but the quest is related. Man has emerged in the Galaxy from contracting clouds of gas and dust, through the birth of a sun and planets, one of which gave rise to biological evolution. Where once were drifting clouds of primal matter are now mind and personality, poetry, music and mathematics. These are profound matters which link space exploration directly to the deepest mysteries of human existence. NEWEST NIMBUS OPERATIONS Nasa officials report that all six instruments are now switched on and operating satisfactorily aboard Nimbus-5, the latest in the series of Nimbus applications technology satellites. The 1,6951b, 772kg satellite, which was launched last month from Vandenburg by a Delta into a 686-mile, 1,103km near-polar orbit, is the first to.be equipped with a microwave spectrometer, permitting temperature measure ment, through cloud. This is one of two meteorological experiments, the remainder being devoted to Earth resources and oceanography. The satellite, which is expected to operate for at least a year, is the second last in the seven-shot series begun in 1964. The series includes one loss, Nimbus B which suffered a launch failure. The final spacecraft will be launched in 1974. INDIAN LAUNCHER PLANS DELAYED India is still planning to develop its own launch vehicle but this will not be ready for at least another five years, according to reports of recent statements made by Prof S. Dhawan, chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisa tion (Isro). The first firing of a domestically developed launcher had originally be scheduled for 1974 when it was to place a 30kg Indian-built spacecraft in orbit. Prof Dhawan said that the extended schedule is largely due to delays in the supply of materials and components by industry, particularly those for setting up the launch and tracking facilities at the Sriharikota range. Isro engineers had now been seconded to manufacturers to improve development progress. Meanwhile India is still planning to go ahead with the 250kg scientific satellite intended for launch in 1974 by the Soviet Union under an agreement signed last spring. The experiments and some equipment for this spacecraft will also be built in India but structural materials and some subsystems will be imported. Prof Dhawan considers that this project will additionally provide invaluable tracking and data collecting experience for Isro. ASTRONAUT PROMOTION Astronaut Thomas P. Stafford (42) has been promoted to Brig Gen, the third astronaut to achieve US flag rank. He is also the youngest officer of flag rank in any of the US services. Stafford flew in Gemini 6 and commanded Gemini 9 and Apollo 10. He is to remain in his Nasa post as deputy director of flight crew operations at Houston Manned Spacecraft Centre. ')m Correction The European space expenditure referred to in these columns last week should be read in sterling and not dollars. The figure is, in fact, less than 20 per cent of Nasa's current average expenditure, and not 40 per cent as stated.
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