Friday, January 24, 2003

1. NASA: TWICE ABANDONED, IS NUCLEAR ROCKET DEVELOPMENT ON AGAIN?
Efforts to develop a nuclear rocket engine were abandoned in 1972 to make funds available for the space shuttle. That was the first bad choice. The idea was secretly revived in the eighties as project Timberwind, based on the use of a uranium carbide particle bed reactor to heat hydrogen as a high specific impulse propellant. It was intended to provide a pop-up launcher for a Star Wars missile defense. That wasn’t a great plan either, and Timberwind died when SDI died (WN 5 Apr 91). Now, as project Prometheus, its development is being linked to possible human exploration of Mars. It is even rumored that President Bush will announce plans for human exploration of Mars in his January 28 State of the Union Address to Congress. That’s yet another bad idea. The exploration of Mars should be carried out by robots, but that’s no reason not to develop a nuclear rocket. It would greatly speed up robotic exploration of the solar system.

2. BIOSPHERE-2: COULD A HUMAN COLONY ON MARS BE SELF-SUSTAINING?
When eight "biospherians," dressed in Star-Trek uniforms, marched into their gleaming 3-acre terrarium in 1991 and closed the air lock, it was hailed as a bold experiment. They vowed to remain for two years, recycling water, air and waste and growing their own food. It didn’t take that long to get an answer. Within weeks, the crystal-clear "ocean" turned to slime. Biospherians were soon gasping for air; then the crops failed. Texas oil billionaire Edward Bass, who had bankrolled Biosphere-2, turned to Columbia University to find a legitimate science use. But the original research question was already answered: Far larger and more elaborate than anything that could be transported to Mars, Biosphere-2 could not sustain eight humans. Columbia is pulling out, but Biosphere-2 could still be useful. Anyone who proposes a space colony could be sent there to live for two years.

3. PRIVACY: SENATE BLOCKS "TOTAL INFORMATION AWARENESS" FUNDING.
By a voice vote, the Senate yesterday voted to ban funding for the "Total Information Awareness" program until the Pentagon provides an analysis of its impact on civil liberties (WN 20 Dec 02). The program would involve electronic surveillance of personal data of all Americans. The senators were also concerned that the program would be under John Poindexter, who was national security advisor to President Reagan. Poindexter was convicted of lying to Congress in the Iran-Contra scandal. On appeal, his conviction was set aside only on the grounds that his immunized congressional testimony had been used against him. The TIA ban is not yet law. Introduced by Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR), it was added to a spending package which must still go to House/Senate negotiators to resolve differences.



Bob Park can be reached via email at whatsnew@bobpark.org
THE UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND
Opinions are the author's and are not necessarily shared by the University, but they should be.