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Show 8S Sunday, October 27, 1985 The Salt Lake Tribune, Science U.S. tries to get back into thick of the space race that period, the Soviets have dispatched eight, all to Venus. In discussing the American space - The United States EDITOR'S NOTE led the way In space exploration for two decades before Washington started cutting back NASA's funds In fhe late 1970s. The nation seemed ready to relinquish Its leadership In spoce to the Soviet Union and two emerging spoce powers, European Space Japan and the Agency. But then President Reagan discovered space, and became a fan. science program, Sagdeyev by Howard Benedict Associated Press Writer An inCAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. ternational armada of unmanned spaceships is streaking toward a rendezvous with Halleys comet over seven days next March. Two are Soviet, two are Japanese, one is Europe- - an. None is American. The United States, the world's leadnation, will be on the ing space-farin- g sidelines for the most examined, most studied and most photographed celestial event in history as the celebrated comet makes an appearance near the sun, something it does only once every 76 years. True, the United States will view the comet from afar with instruments aboard two space shuttle misg sions, on satellites, and on a spacecraft that is orbiting Venus. And American scientists are directing an International Halley Watch, which will help coordinate the flights and findings of the five spacecraft. But its not the same as having a ringside seat. America is not going to Halleys comet because the Carter administration cut funds for such a project in 1979 and the Reagan administration did the same two years later. That was a period of sinking budgets for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. And most of the funds NASA got went into shoring up the lagging space shuttle program. Science was the loser. And after two decades in which the United States led the way in probing the planets, the stars and distant galaxies, this nation seemed ready to relinquish that leadership to the Soviets and two emerging space powers, Japan and the European Space Agency. But then President Reagan discov- - Venus Mapper (VM) will use imaging radar to see through Venus cloud cover to map the planets surface. It will be launched from NASAs Space Shuttle in 1988. Earth-orbitin- seven-year-ol- d ered space, and became a fan. NASAs budgets improved, boosting space science, and in 1984 the president directed the agency to develop a permanent manned space station within a decade. Among its functions, the station will serve as an orbiting science laboratory. REAGAN SAID THE station would enable the United States to maintain its space leadership. But the Soviets also are developing a permanent manned station, and should have it in orbit several years before the American facility. And they are pursuing an aggressive space program, even though their technology trails that of the Americans. Soviet planetary exploration has been limited by technology to the close-iplanets Venus and Mars, while U.S. spacecraft have probed Venus, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter and Saturn. Voyager 2, which reconnoi-tere- d Jupiter in 1979 and Saturn in 1981, will rendezvous with Uranus next January and with Neptune in n GLEAHGB GAQPGTS LAKE OF SALT 1989, leaving faraway Pluto as the From these flights, scientists are assembling a vast mosaic about the only uncharted planet. The American advantage is the use solar system and its intricate workings. A basic goal is to learn more of miniature components, e upper-stagrockets, and nu- about planet Earth, fitting it into the clear generators to power the probes. cosmic puzzle that is the origin, the evolution and the structure of the uniSteered by tiny gas jets, these robot verse. high-power- spacecraft with names like Mariner, Pioneer, Viking, Voyager, Venera and Mars have traveled to exotic landscapes stranger than any myth or legend. At their destinations, some skimmed close, snapping pictures and gathering a few days of data before soaring toward another planet or into interstellar space. Some orbited their targets to examine them at length, and some descended to the surface to study mysteries there. HUMANS AS A RESULT have caught their first close views of the great storm systems and rings of Jupiter, the active volcanoes on its moon, Io; the parched and cratered wasteland of Mercury; ancient river bottoms, raging winds and a volcano almost 80,000 feet high on Mars; sulfuric acid clouds, lightning, an active volcano and hellish temperatures on Venus; the thousand rings and tantalizing moons of Saturn, and several stars that may be centers of solar systems like our own. salt-cover- Roald Sagdeyev, director of the Soviet Institute of Space Research, says the American and Soviet roles in planetary exploration, although not coordinated, are clearly defined by the relative technology of the two nations. With much better electronic miniaturization and spacecraft, he says, the United States is more suited to probe the distant planets, while the Soviets concentrate on those closer in. This approach is quite complimentary because both sides share their data, he said. Sagdeyev noted the Soviets postponed Mars exploration after Americas 1976 Viking landers "made an important contribution to Martian science. He added that everybody now must stop and think about what the next approach should be." The United States has not launched a planetary explorer since 1978. In long-live- d ex- pressed envy over a very sophisticated Hubble Space Telescope that is to be launched next year to peer deep into the universe. We are very jealous of this type of project I must confess, he said. It is a very giant step forward. The telescope's mirror, orbiting above Earths obscuring atmosphere, will be able to see objects 50 times fainter and resolve objects 10 times smaller than any optical telescope has been able to do so far. It is one of three major science spacecraft NASA plans to launch from space shuttles next year. The most exciting month will be May when shuttles Challenger and Atlantis will be poised on adjacent launch pads at Cape Canaveral, to be launched six days apart, on dates determined by celestial mechanics. Challenger is to lift off May 15 with craft Ulysses, a joint intended to be the first to go into solar orbit around the poles of the sun. Atlantis is to blast off May 21 with Galileo, which is to intercept the asteroid 29 Amphitrite in December 1986 and then fly on to orbit Jupiter in 1988, dropping an instrumented probe into that planets atmosphere. OTHER MAJOR NASA missions planned in the next few years are a Cosmic Background Explorer to search for the Big Bang origin of the universe, to be launched in 1987; a Venus Radar Mapper to provide a geological history of Venus, in 1988; a Gamma Ray Observatory to study stars and galaxies, also in 1988; a Mars Observer to determine the surface composition of Mars, in 1990; a Comet Rendezvous and Asteroid Flyby Satellite, with targets to be selected, in 1991, and a Titan Probe and Radar Mapper to chart the atmospheric chemistry and surface of the largest of Saturns moons, in 1993. The Soviets have announced they also are planning several deep space shots, including a 1988 flight of two Mars spacecraft to land on two Martian moons, Phobos and Demos, and vaporize surface material for analysis; a 1989 moon orbit-e- r to geochemically map the entire lunar surface, and the 1991 launch of two craft, one which is to intercept an asteroid and the other to drop a landing probe on Venus and then continue on to another asteroid. HS3 laser-equippe- d FREE One Room Fibre Coat with any fibre coat purchase. Satisfaction Guaranteed Expires 11 10 85 The Mountain Man Rendezvous Continued From SOFA,&rCHAIRSPECIAL,$29;95 Steam Cleaning Commercial Rotes Avail. Tromed Technician t OPEN SATURDAY Exterior House Satisfaction guaranteed Specializing in Odor Removal Washing Also Available (trailers, brick, siding, driveways) NO HIDDEN CHARGES 298-RUG- S 298-784- "XT' 7 - S-- 7 ny, then decided to go into the pee business instead. tee- Your teepees today are made with canvas instead of skins, and decorated with liquid acrylic paint instead of crushed berries," she said. "Some people say that's cheating, but if I made a teepee the old way it would take me a year. I got started making teepees by accident. Some guy came in the store once and asked me to make him an authentic Sioux dwelling. After that, I was hooked. I've lost count of how many I've sewn together, but I'm sure some of them are right here at this gathering Somebody once told me you could fit 506 Boy Scouts in a teepee. I believe it. These I days, camp out in a teepee in 20-fo- stead of a tent. Theyre much cooler, theyre roomy, and heck, they're fun to look at. Nothing attracts attention like a teepee. And when youve got a couple hundred of them next to each other, like at this Rendezvous, the crowds swarm like bees. They want to see a piece of the past. And if I can help preserve a piece of our history by making teepees, well, thats just great. |
