Space Chronicles: Facing the Ultimate Frontier (50 page)

Mars, 7, 8, 14, 40, 46, 55, 77, 115, 129, 168, 188, 195, 200, 209

cratering on, 52

Earth viewed from, 27

life on, 48, 259

methane on, 31, 78, 138

proposed mission to, 78–79, 81–83

rocks ejected from, 48–49

rovers on, 130–33, 134, 138, 163, 198

Soviet achievements and, 122

water on, 48, 134, 138, 201, 227

Mars Express Orbiter, 138

Mars Global Surveyor, 138

Marshall Space Flight Center, 67

Mars Society, 236

mass extinction, 51

McAuliffe, Christa, 243

McDonald’s, 238

McNair, Ron, 234

Mécanique Céleste
(Laplace), 117

Mercury (god), 108

Mercury (planet), 52, 115, 118

orbit of, 248

Mercury program, 7, 114

MESSENGER probe, 139

meteorites, 48

Tunguska River impact of, 50

see also
asteroids

methane, 30

on Mars, 31, 78, 138

on Titan, 138–39

Mexico, 50

microscope, 85–86

Microsoft, 136

microwaves, 41, 90, 91–92, 129, 141

microwave telescope, 91–92

Milky Way galaxy, 34, 41, 93, 97–101, 143, 147, 259

Andromeda galaxy and, 118–19

orbit of stars in, 118

radio emissions from center of, 90

Shapley-Curtis debate on, 98–101

Mir space station, 6, 165, 319

Mitchell, Edgar, 3

Mongols, 205–6

Moon, xiii–xiv, 4, 5, 6, 8, 11, 12, 13, 14, 21, 46, 47, 66, 69, 70, 71, 72, 86, 89, 97, 111–12, 119, 132, 149, 186, 195, 196, 200, 220, 245

cratering on, 50, 57

Earth viewed from, 27

40th anniversary of landing on, 144

proposed return mission to, 55–56, 76–77, 83

rocks ejected from, 48

Soviet achievements and, 122

see also
Apollo program, Apollo 11

motion, third law of, 153, 158

multiverse, 259

NanoSail-D, 167

NASA Flexibility Act of 2004, 330

National Academy of Public Administrations, 322

National Academy of Sciences, 11, 98, 325

National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958, xv, 4, 58, 66, 125, 252, 265–91, 328

access to information in, 273–74

aerospace vehicle in, 282–84

amended text of, 265–91

appropriations in, 284–85, 286

awards in, 278–79

civilian-military liaison in, 271

congressional reporting in, 271

excess land in, 272

insurance in, 281–84

international cooperation in, 271, 291

inventions in, 276–78

jurisdiction in, 290

launch vehicle contracts in, 285–86

lawsuits in, 279–80

misuse of name in, 285

National Advisory Committee in, 272–73

prize authority in, 286

property leases in, 289

property rights in, 276–77

purpose and objectives of, 265–67

recovery authority in, 290

security in, 274–75

transfer of functions in, 273

upper atmosphere research in, 290–91

National Aeronautics and Space Administration Authorization Act of 2000, 326–27

National Aeronautics and Space Agency (NASA), 59–60, 89, 114, 162, 166–68, 192, 199–200, 203, 219, 305, 306, 309

acquisition of space science data and, 314–15

additional activities of, 313–14

aero-space transportation technology integration plan of, 323–24

anchor tenancy contracts and, 308–9

Astronaut Pen of, 194

budget of, xiv, 10, 12, 15, 56, 75, 150, 169–70, 209–10, 212, 228, 237

carbon cycle research program of, 325–26

civil rights movement and, 66–67

creation of, 5–6, 66–67, 125, 267

decision making at, 146

deputy administrator of, 328

divisions of, 9

Earth science data sources and, 315–16

economic impact of, 237

expert input and, 146–47

Exploration Award of, 146–47

functions of, 265–72

future and, 252–53

Human Space Flight Innovative Technology program of, 324

international politics and, 5–7

Mars rovers and, 130–34

new Mars mission and, 77–78

new Moon mission and, 56, 77–78

number of employees of, 236

Obama on role of, 11–12

Obama’s vision of, 11–17

100th anniversary of flight initiative and, 326

payloads of, 313–14

political partisanship and, 4–5, 13–14

reorganization of, 329

scientific value of, 9–11

spending by, xv, 7–9, 25, 193–94, 331–32,
333–35

statutory provisions applicable to, 293–94

use of government facilities and, 309

vision statement of, 68

working capital fund of, 328

see also
specific centers, programs, and vehicles

National Air and Space Museum, 7–8, 23, 144

National Commission on Excellence in Education, 58

National Defense Education Act of 1958, 125

National Defense Scholarships, 125

National Geographic channel, 231

National Institute of Standards and Technology, 12, 306–7

National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research, 306

National Institutes of Health, 209

National Museum of Natural History, 98

National Research Council, 169, 322

National Science Foundation, 11–12, 23, 125, 219, 305

National Security Council, 124

National Space Grant College and Fellowship Act of 1987, 295–303

administrative services, 301

appropriations, 303

competitive awards, 303

contracts, 298–99

fellowship program in, 300–301

functions of, 297–98

grants in, 298–99

identity of needs in, 299

personnel services in, 301

purpose of, 295–96

regional consortium in, 300

reports to Congress in, 302–3

review panel in, 301

National Space Institute, 175

National Space Society, 146, 175, 236

National Space Symposium, 222

National Technical Information Service, 304

“Nation at Risk, A,” 58

Natural History,
xiii

NBC, 144, 178

Neptune, 27, 36, 46, 115, 119, 157

discovery of, 248

Netherlands, 7

neutrinos, 94

Newcomb, Simon, 216

New Horizons spacecraft, 168

New Scientist,
123

Newton, Isaac, 65, 113–17, 119, 153, 158, 192, 247, 257

New York, N.Y., 96, 124, 224, 238

New York Times,
55, 96, 110, 124, 216–17

NEXT ion propulsion system, 170

Nigeria, 23

nitrogen, 101, 239, 240, 258

Nixon, Richard M., 4–5, 225

Nobel, Alfred Bernhard, 88

Nobel Prize, 88–89, 94, 206

North Atlantic Drift current, 93

North Carolina, 109, 216

Northrop Grumman, 236

Norway, 7

NOVA
(TV series), 231

novae, 100

NRA, 236

nuclear power, 159, 168–69

numbers:

Arabic, 205

increasing powers of, 237–38

Obama, Barack, 11, 14–16, 76, 186–87, 252

space policy and, 77

Obama administration, 75

Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight, 311

Office of Human Spaceflight, 323–24

Office of Life and Microgravity Sciences and Applications, 323

Office of Management and Budget, 318

Office of Research and Technology Applications, 303–4, 305

Ohio, 4–5, 184–85

O’Neill, Gerard K., 8, 175

Onizuka, Ellison, 243

Opportunity (Mars exploration rover), 130–32, 138

orbits, 113–20

of Earth, 115

elongated, 115–16

free fall and, 119

many-body problem and, 117–18

of Mercury, 248

of Pluto, 115

sling-shot effect and, 119–20

of stars, 118

suborbital trajectories and, 114

three-body problem and, 116–17

of Venus, 115

Orellana, Francisco de, 197

organic chemistry, 36, 48

Origin of Species
(Darwin), 98

oxygen, 31, 35–36, 101, 158, 239, 240, 258

ozone, 51, 93

Pakistan, 49

Panama Canal, 87

panspermia, 48–49, 259

Parliament, British, 217

“Passport to the Universe” (Druyan and Soter), 256