NASA aeronautics delegation returns from China

The observations were made using the focusing X-ray telescope on the Earth-orbiting satellite, launched on 13 November 1978, which is managed by NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. The telescope operates in space because X-rays cannot penetrate far enough into the Earth’s atmosphere to be observed from the ground. Four different X-ray instruments, each performing a specialized function, can be positioned at the telescope’s focus, including the imaging proportional counter used for the Jupiter observations. Energetic electrons and ions produce X-rays when they are absorbed in the atmosphere of Jupiter, on the surfaces of the planet’s moons, or on the newlydiscovered rings around the planet. According to Metzger, X-rays may be produced in Jupiter’s atmosphere in the same way as they are produced in the Earth’s atmosphere, by energetic electrons that spiral into the atmosphere from the trapped radiation belts as a result of interactions between the trapped particles and the planet’s magnetic field. The energetic particles collide with atoms and molecules in the atmosphere, producing a broad band of radiation that includes visible auroras, ultraviolet light and X-rays. Observations of Jupiter’s auroras by the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft suggest that the X-rays, like the ultraviolet light, emanate from the planet’s polar regions. The X-ray observations are an indication of how much power it takes to maintain the intense radiation belts in Jupiter’s magnetosphere. The belts are contained by the action of Jupiter’s strong magnetic field, which also acts to shield the region around Jupiter from the influence of the solar wind. From the X-ray brightness observed, scientists calculate that nearly one quadrillion watts of power are dissipated by energetic electrons being absorbed in the Jupiter system. In order to maintain the radiation belts, an equal amount of power must be supplied from the planet’s rotational energy and from the force of the solar wind. It is also possible that X-rays are produced by energetic ions and electrons bombarding the surfaces of satellites orbiting within the Jovian radiation belt. Observation of these X-rays could be used to determine the composition of the surfaces of the satellites 10, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto. Besides Metzger, scientists involved in the search for Jovian X-rays were Dr. Joe Luthey and Dr. David Gilman of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory; Dr. Kevin Hurley of the Center for the Study of Space Radiation in Toulouse, France; Dr. Herbert Schnopper and Dr. Frederick Seward of the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory in Cambridge, Mass; and Dr. James Sullivan- of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge. 3.12.

NASA

AERONAUTICS

DELEGATION

RETURNS

FROM

CHINA”s’

An aeronautics delegation, headed by Dr. Alan Lovelace, NASA Deputy Administrator, returned this week after two weeks in China visiting Chinese “5BNASA

News Release No. 80-105.

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aeronautical research and development facilities. Invited to make the trip by the Chinese Aeronautical Establishment, the group met with Chinese colleagues and lectured on NASA aeronautical research and development activities. NASA has invited the Chinese Establishment to send a delegation to the United States for a similar visit in September 1980. The Chinese delegation is to visit NASA Headquarters, NASA research center specializing in aeronautics, and other aeronautical research and development facilities in the United States. Following that return visit, NASA and the Chinese delegation intend to explore possibilities for co-operation in aspects of aeronautical research and development that are of mutual interest. Members of the US delegation were: Dr. Lovelace; Dr. John F. M~rthy, Director, NASA Lewis Research Center, Cleveland; William S. Aiken Jr, Chief Engineer, Office of Aeronautics and Space Technology, NASA Headquarters; Dr. William F. Ballhaus, Director of Astronautics, NASA Ames Research Center, Mountain View, Calif; Roy V. Harris, Chief, High-Speed Aerodynamics Division, NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, Va; Richard A. Rudey, Chief, Aerotherm~~ami~ and Fuels Division, NASA Lewis Research Center; Dr. Leonard A. Harris, Manager, Materials and Structures, Research and Technology Division, Office of Aeronautics and Space Technology, NASA Headquarters; James L. Copeland, Head, Simulation and Application Section, NASA Langley Research Center; Dr. (Cal.) Norris Krone, Jr, Director, Air Vehicle Technology Office, Defense Advanced Research Project Agency; and Peter G. Smith, International Relations Specialist, International Affairs Division, NASA Headquarters.

3.13.

NASA

STARTS

SOLAR

FLARE

“HOTLINE”

SERVICE”6’

A “hotline” designed to inform the public of solar flares erupting on the Sun during this year’s peak cycle of activity has been inaugurated at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. The “Solar Max” hotline service is being provided jointly by NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration through the latter’s Space Environment Services Center in Boulder, Cal. Information on sunspots, solar tlares, geomagnetic storms and the impact of the Sun’s behaviour on radio transmissions will be provided in daily recorded messages from Goddard. The telephone number is 301/344-8129. The daily recordings will originate in the Solar Maximum Mission’s Experiment Operations Facility, under the direction of David Speich, NOAA forecaster in the facility. They will include reports on the locations of active regions on the Sun, as well as on experiments being conducted aboard NASA’s Solar (“‘NASA News Release No. 80-I 16.