News Summaries for December 17

ACE Launches European Suborbital Spacecraft Challenge (Source: HobbySpace.com)
Undergraduate and graduate students studying in Europe can participate in developing innovative solutions for an ambitious suborbital spaceplane project developed by ACE (Astronaute Club Europeen). The Vehicule Suborbital Habite (VHS) Challenge is based on an air-launched reusable suborbital spacecraft. The VSH is a reusable air-launched vehicle with its main propulsion provided by a rocket engine. The flight envelope of the vehicle is Mach 3.5 and 62 miles altitude. There are no exotic materials or special thermal protection; the VSH is based on a conventional metallic construction. Students in a wide variety of studies, including finance, law, aerospace and mechanical engineering, management, communication, and design have been encouraged to put together teams and seek endorsement from their home institutions. The deadline for application is December 31, 2006. Click here for information.

St. Pete Times Interviews Michael Griffin (Source: St. Pete Times)
Michael Griffin is a blunt-speaking 57-year-old rocket scientist with six advanced degrees who earns $165,200 per year as NASA administrator. He believes these missions are not only possible but essential. He discussed them in an interview this month with St. Petersburg Times reporter Curtis Krueger, starting with NASA's newly announced plans to build a base on the moon in about 2024. Visit http://www.sptimes.com/2006/12/17/Opinion/Why_the_moon_And_why_.shtml to view the interview.

Fourth Spacewalk Required - Rewiring of Station Complete (Source: Florida Today)
Spacewalking astronauts finished rewiring the International Space Station on Saturday and then set their sights on an equally crucial job: fixing a balky solar array that stubbornly refused to fold up properly and will require a fourth spacewalk. The twin solar panels that are supposed to fold up like venetian blinds kept bunching up and would not retract. They'll have another chance on Monday. Astronaut Robert Curbeam will become the first shuttle astronaut to do four spacewalks in one mission.

Ben Bova: Could Signs of Water Flowing on Mars' Surface Be Signs of Life? (Source: Naples News)
Stunning news from Mars: It looks as if water has been flowing on the red planet’s surface. Liquid water. Not millions of years ago, but recently. How recently? Within the past couple of years. Planetary scientists have deduced that Mars had sizable lakes, perhaps even an ocean, eons ago. But this latest discovery shows that water flows, albeit briefly, on the surface of Mars now. Not a million years ago. Now. Liquid water.

On Earth, liquid water is an essential ingredient for life. Are there living organisms on Mars today? Of all the planets in our solar system, and the 200-some planets that have been discovered orbiting around other stars, Mars is the most Earthlike world we have seen. However, Mars is a bitterly cold, arid world. Its atmosphere is thinner than Earth’s high stratosphere, and is composed mostly of carbon dioxide: unbreathable for us. Click here to view the article.