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News briefs: July 3
Posted: Thu, Jul 4, 2002, 9:15 AM ET (1315 GMT)
- A task force studying scientific research priorities for the International Space Station will present its results to the NASA Advisory Council July 10, NASA said Wednesday. The Research Maximization and Prioritization Task Force (ReMaP) has spent the last several months looks for ways to maximize the scientific research on the station given the limited time available to a three-person crew. ReMaP's presentation was delayed for a month after NASA administrator Sean O'Keefe asked them to take more time to redo a list of priorities.
- Astronomers have detected high concentrations of a molecule normally associated with gas giant planets around a young star. In a paper published in Thursday's issue of the journal Nature, astronomers said they found high concentrations of H3+, a molecule of three hydrogen atoms with two electrons, in a disk surrounding the star HD 141569. This molecule is found in relative high concentrations in Jupiter and Saturn, leading astronomers to suggest that similar gas giant planets are forming in this star's disk.
- ESA released this week images of the Earth taken by PROBA, a small spacecraft launched last year. PROBA (Project for On Board Autonomy) contains advanced computing technology that permits onboard analysis of the images taken by the spacecraft before those images are transmitted to Earth.
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