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April 2004


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Index to our previous shows

  • April 30, 2004 - Laurie R. King
  • April 19, 2004 - Christopher J. Faranetta
  • Shows from March, 2004
  • Shows from February, 2004
  • Shows from January, 2004
  • Shows from December, 2003
  • Shows from November, 2003
  • Shows from October, 2003
  • Shows from September, 2003
  • Shows from August, 2003
  • Shows from July, 2003
  • Shows from June, 2003
  • Shows from May, 2003
  • Shows from February, 2003
  • Shows from January, 2003
  • Shows from December, 2002
  • Shows from November, 2002
  • Shows from October, 2002
  • Shows from September, 2002
  • Shows from August, 2002
  • Shows from July, 2002
  • Shows from June, 2002
  • Shows from May, 2002
  • Shows from April, 2002
  • Shows from March, 2002
  • Shows from February, 2002
  • Shows from January, 2002
  • Shows from December 2001
  • Shows from November, 2001
  • Shows from October, 2001
  • Shows from September, 2001
  • Shows from August, 2001
  • Shows from July, 2001
  • Shows from June, 2001
  • Shows from May, 2001
  • Shows from April, 2001
  • Shows from March, 2001
  • Shows from February, 2001
  • Shows from January, 2001
  • Shows from November - December, 2000
  • Shows from September - October, 2000
  • Shows from July - August, 2000



  • Laurie R. King     Listen to this show

    On Friday - April 30th, 2004 - our guest was author Laurie R. King, chatting with us about her newest book The Game.
    Suzanne and I have been fans of Laurie R. King from the time of her first novel featuring Sherlock Holmes and Mary Russell, The Beekeeper's Apprentice. Though I must admit, when I first heard about that book I was more than a little apprehensive.

    Being quite the fan of the world's first consulting detective I wasn't sure if I would accept the premise of his taking a young woman on as an apprentice. That idea came dangerously close to violating what we had come to know about the character of Sherlock Holmes.

    But my fears proved to be unfounded. Laurie worked within the constraints of the Holmes canon and told a marvelous story that fit in perfectly with everything we had previously learned about Holmes from the writings of Arthur Conan Doyle. Her story was a wonderful and believable extension of the Holmes canon. I heartily commend it to anyone with an interest in Sherlock Holmes. It is quite good.

        Laurie R King at her Hour 25 interview. Picture Copyright © 2004 by Suzanne E. Gibson.  All Rights Reserved.

    Laurie has gone on to write a number of books featuring Sherlock Holmes and Mary Russell, as well as continuing to write more Kate Martinelli books and various stand-alone projects. All of her books are characterized by well drawn characters who change as a result of their experiences in the books along with interesting and well thought out plots.

    Her newest book, The Game, is no exception to that pattern. In this book Laurie has Holmes and Russell traveling to India to investigate the disappearance of the British spy Kimball O'Hara. {Yes, this spy is the namesake for the Rudyard Kipling book Kim.} While in India they are drawn into intrigues that are as deadly as any faced in our world today. Most highly recommended.

    Cover for The Beekeeper's Apprentice.    Cover for The Game.
    Above are presented the covers for Laurie's first Mary Russell book The Beekeeper's Apprentice and her most recent book in this series The Game. These books, along with the rest of the books in this series, are a wonderful addition to the Sherlock Holmes canon and should not be missed. They are all highly recommended.



    Dateline: Mars


    NASA is releasing all of the images from the two Mars Exploration Rovers almost as soon as they arrive at JPL. The raw images for the Spirit rover can be found at this Web Page and raw images for Opportunity can be found here. The images that have been released to the press, along with animations and other images, can be found here. You can find larger versions of the images shown below at that last NASA Web Site.

    Opportunity

    The traverse route for the Opportunity rover. Image credit NASA/JPL and Ohio State University. Image Credit: NASA/JPL and Ohio State University
    Shown above is the route that Opportunity has traversed across Meridani Planum as well as the route that it will be following as it heads for Endurance Crater.

    Fram. Image credit NASA/JPL.
    Image Credit: NASA/JPL
    This small depression is Fram Crater, which is identified on the traverse map above.

    Rover tracks - true color.  Image credit NASA/JPL.
    Image Credit: NASA/JPL
    This true color image shows an 11 cm deep trench in the Martian surface that was made by the wheels of Opportunity.

    The scientists who are using Opportunity to study Mars are greatly interested in learning how various erosion processes have altered the properties of the rocks on the Martian surface. They are addressing this question by scraping away those surface layers and studying the rocks that are thereby exposed. Sometimes they do this by using the Rock Abrasion Tool (the 'RAT') and at other times they have the rover move back and forth in one spot thus digging a trench in the soil. {Anyone who has driven off-road or in snow is familiar with this process. Though in those cases you are generally not trying to dig a trench, it just happens.}

    Studies of this and other images have shown that there are significant differences between the composition of the materials on the Martian surface and those just a short distance below. This could indicate the action of various post-deposition processes that either add or remove various minerals. It might also mean that the surface materials were laid down at various times by different processes. Only time and more study will answer these and other questions.

    But whatever the reason, the scientists have observed that there are significant differences between the amounts of the mineral hematite - a mineral associated with the past presence of water - found in deposits on the surface and in deposits just a small distance below the surface.

    Endurance Crater on the horizon. Image credit NASA/JPL.
    Image Credit: NASA/JPL
    Here we see the rim of Endurance Crater sitting off on the horizon as Opportunity rolls across the sands of Mars.

    Approaching Endurance. Image credit NASA/JPL.
    Image Credit: NASA/JPL
    Here is closer view of Endurance Crater taken a few days later. Notice the expanse of light colored rocks near the rim of the crater in the upper center of the picture. Those same rocks appear in the image below, only much closer.

    Almost there. Image credit NASA/JPL.
    Image Credit: NASA/JPL
    Almost there. Sometime in the next few days Opportunity will reach the rim of Endurance Crater and take a peek inside. I wonder what it will find there?




    Late Breaking News - May 3, 2004

    Opportunity has reached the rim of Endurance Crater! The pictures below are the first images released from this event. I am sure that color pictures will soon follow. You can follow this link to view the original images in a much larger format. Take some time to go to that JPL Web page and download the large format images, they will take your breath away.

    At Endurance crater. Image credit NASA/JPL.
    Image Credit: NASA/JPL
    Here's our first look into Endurance Crater. Notice the exposed rock layering on the rim and the drifts of dust and sand on the crater floor. Don't you wish you were standing there, seeing this view in person?

    At Endurance crater - detail.  Image credit NASA/JPL.
    Image Credit: NASA/JPL
    Here's a detail taken from the above image showing you those drifts on the crater floor.

    At Endurance crater - 3D anaglyph. Image credit NASA/JPL.
    Image Credit: NASA/JPL
    Now it's time to get out your red-blue glasses so you can view this 3D anaglyph image of Endurance crater.

    At Endurance crater - 3D anaglyph detail.  Image credit NASA/JPL.
    Image Credit: NASA/JPL
    And here's another 3D anaglyph image showing more details from the above picture. I wonder if all those little dots in the foreground are blueberries or are they something new? Only time and analysis will tell.




    Spirit

    The traverse route for Spirit.   Image credit NASA/JPL.
    Image Credit: NASA/JPL
    The image above shows the traverse route that Spirit has followed across the floor of Gusev Crater as well as the route it will follow as it heads for the Columbia Hills region of Mars.

    The base map used for this picture was created from images taken by orbiting spacecraft. The colors are based on spectroscopic and thermal data and are related to the composition of the rocks as well as the relative amounts of dust and rocks in the various areas. {This is another of those 'false-color' images that we talked about on the last show.} Images like this are used to identify the most interesting areas to be examined by the rover as well as delineating the safest traverse routes.

    Columbia Hills.   Image credit NASA/JPL.
    Image Credit: NASA/JPL
    Off in the distance the Columbia Hills beckon.

    A 360 degree pan of the area around Spirit.   Image credit NASA/JPL.
    Image Credit: NASA/JPL
    This image is a 360 degree pan of the area around Spirit. Be sure to go to the JPL Mars Rover Web Site Image Gallery where you can find larger versions of this and the other images from the Mrs Exploration Rovers.

    A detail from the pan image.  Image credit NASA/JPL.
    Image Credit: NASA/JPL
    Here is an enlarged portion of the above image showing Spirit's shadow cast across the Martian surface.

    Another detail from the pan image.  Image credit NASA/JPL.
    Image Credit: NASA/JPL
    Here's another enlargement from the 360 degree pan image showing drifts of sand and dust on the Martian surface.

    This image, like many of the other rover images, was stitched together from a number of smaller image strips. This explains the black scallops across the top of the image as well as those straight lines where the brightness of the image changes abruptly.




    Listen to this show

    webcasting
    • Click here to listen to the entire show. {1:21:45}
      Or
    • Click here for the show's intro music.{0:41}
    • Click here for the show's opening. {14:39}
    • Click here for our interview with Laurie R. King. {54:48}
    • Click here for the show's closing.{1:36}

    • You can also listen to interviews we did with Laurie on March 10, 2001 and November 17, 2002.
    • Click here to listen to our Current Show.
    • Click here for links to all of our previous Shows that you can listen to on the Hour 25 Web Site.
    If you enjoyed this show and would like to know when other interviews are uploaded to the Hour 25 web site, then send an email to me at wwjames@earthlink.net and I will add your name to the free Hour 25 Newsletter mailing list. That way you'll get a brief notice in your email every time a new show gets uploaded to the web.





    Links for more information relating to this week's show

    Laurie R. King
  • You can learn more about Laurie R. King by visiting her Official web site or her publisher's web site at Random House for her earlier book Justice Hall.
  • If you haven't already read Rudyard Kipling's book Kim, then you should go here to read a copy of it on-line.
  • You can learn more about Laurie R. King and her books by visiting any of the various web sites dedicated to her works. You might start your explorations with Laurie R. King and the Phenomenon of Mary Russell, and to find out what other people have been saying about Laurie's books you can go to the Ex Libris Reviews Web Site.

    Space Related Organizations
    If you are interested in learning more about current space activities there are many local and national organizations you might want to know about. Joining these organizations and taking part in their activities is a good way to stay abreast of things going on in space as well as a way to show your support for those activities. Listed below are some of those organizations.
  • The Organization for the Advancement of Space Industrialization and Settlement has long been place for persons living in the Los Angeles area to gather and discuss the promise of space. Be sure to check out their web site for information about their meetings and other activities.
  • The National Space Society has a long history of being an advocate for a vigorous space program and provides much information to its members through therir magazine and web site.
  • The Space Frontier Foundation is a strong advocate for a non-governmental space program and serves as a focal point for much activity in that arena. Their annual conference in Los Angeles during the Fall is a great way to find out what is happening in the non-government space arena.
  • The Space Access Society is focused on reducing the cost of going into space by promoting non-governmental launch vehicle programs. Their annual conference in the spring is a major source of information on non-traditional launch vehicle activities.
  • The Planetary Society is focused on the exploration and has a wealth of information for its members and others.

    Space News - Mars
  • For more information about the Mars Exploration Rovers be sure to check out the MER Web Site at JPL or this Mars Rover site at Cornell University.
  • To learn more about the Mars Express mission you can go to this ESA Mars Express Web Site, this Mars Express Web Page from JPL, this NSSDC Mars Express Web Page, or this Web Page from Mars News.Com.
  • For more information about the Exploration of Mars be sure to go to the JPL Mars Exploration Site, the Center for Mars Exploration at NASA Ames, or the Mars Missions Web Site at the Planetary Society.
  • Information about the data returned by previous Mars missions can be found at this Mars Web Page at the NSSDC.
  • Information about the Phoenix Mission to Mars can be found at this Press Release from the University of Arizona. You can view a 3D picture of the Mars Phoenix spacecraft here.
  • For more Mars news be sure to check out the Mars News.Com Web Site.
  • Percival Lowell did much to shape our ideas about Mars in the early years of the 20th Century. You can learn more about his work by reading this on-line copy of his 1895 book Mars.

    For On-Going Updates on Space News
  • Links relating to the loss of Space Shuttle Columbia can be found here.
  • The Reusable Launch & Space Vehicle News Web Site Web Page that is part of the Hobby Space Web Site is a really good place to watch for news about, well... Reusable Launch Vehicles and related subjects. I check it out just about every day and often find news there that doesn't show up anywhere else. Give it a look. {And while you're there be sure to check out some of the site's other pages. Wow! Is there a lot of information there.}
  • The Space Today Web Site is a great place to find space news from all over the 'net.
  • The Spaceflight Now Web Site carries real time information about current space missions and presents a lot of space and astronomy news. This is the place I go to when I want up to the minute information about current space missions. Do I need to say more?
  • The NASA Watch Web Site is another great place for getting information about current space missions. Check there also for news about other 'goings on' within NASA. Highly recommended.

    ISS News
  • The Florida Today Web Site has a very interesting report about the causes of the ISS budget problems and their impact on the space program. It makes very interesting reading.
  • Click here to view the press kits for various ISS missions.
  • Check out the NASA International Space Station Web Page or the Boeing Web Page to learn more about this project.
  • A great source of news about Russian space activities, including their work on the ISS, can be found at the Russian Space Web.
  • Do you wonder where the Space Station is right now? You can use your browser to view real time maps showing the location of the ISS by going to this link at the NASA Space Link Web Site or here at the Johnson Spacecraft Center. Please note that your browser must support Java to make use of this satellite tracking software.
  • You can find out when the ISS - or many other spacecraft - can be seen from your location by going to this NASA Web Page. Please note; your browser must support Java for this application to work.

  • Click here for information about the audio files used for Hour 25 and for information about configuring your browser and downloading audio players.

    Please note Web Pages from external sites will open in a separate browser window and that Hour 25 Productions are not responsible for the content of any external Web Sites.

  • Return to the Index for this month's shows


    Christopher J. Faranetta     Listen to this show

    On Monday - April 19th, 2004 - our guest was Christopher Faranetta, Vice President of "Special Projects" at Space Adventures.

    For many years travel into space was a dream that no one could fulfill. For the last forty years it was a dream restricted to just government employees. But in the last few years space travel has become something available to anyone who could afford to buy a ticket. One of the companies that is behind this change is Space Adventures.

    Last year I was giving a talk at a space conference in San Jose and while there I met Chris and quickly realized that he would have some interesting stories that I would want to share with all of you.

        Christopher Faranetta at his Hour 25 interview. Picture Copyright © 2003 by Suzanne E. Gibson.  All Rights Reserved.




    Dateline: Mars


    NASA is releasing all of the images from the two Mars Exploration Rovers almost as soon as they arrive at JPL. The raw images for the Spirit rover can be found at this Web Page and raw images for Opportunity can be found here. The images that have been released to the press, along with animations and other images, can be found here.

    Opportunity

    False color image showing the composition of the soil. Image credit NASA/JPL. Image Credit: NASA/JPL
    The above image shows Eagle Crater where the Opportunity rover landed. You can see the tracks made by the rover and the places where it tried to drive out of the crater, only to slide backwards because the regolith was too soft to allow the rover to gain enough traction to continue moving forward. For a time the engineers were worried that the Opportunity would be unable to get out of Eagle Crater.

    A false color image showing the blueberries. Image credit NASA/JPL.
    Image Credit: NASA/JPL
    However, the rover was able to successfully leave the crater when the JPL engineers had it drive diagonally across the rim of the crater. The image above shows Eagle Crater and the rover's tracks leading out of it. Opportunity is now free to roam across the sandy expanse of Meridani Planum.

    A rock after it has been drilled.  Image credit NASA/JPL.
    Image Credit: NASA/JPL
    This image shows the area where Opportunity will be driving. Having made an interplanetary 'hole-in-one' by landing in Eagle Crater, the rover will be now headed off toward Endurance Crater. Along the way it will be sampling the rocks it finds as well as making investigating the various geologic terrains it passes over. Only time will tell if the Opportunity will reach Endurance Crater before the cold of the Martian nights and the gradual accumulation of dust on its solar panels brings the mission to an end.

    An eclipse of the sun by Phobos. Image credit NASA/JPL.
    Image Credit: NASA/JPL
    When Opportunity was landing on Mars it bounced off the rock shown above. {This is the largest rock in the area where Opportunity landed. Anyone care to guess what the odds were for that(!) happening?}

    Scientists are excited by this rock because data taken by the rover has shown it to be similar to meteorites found on Earth that are thought to have come from Mars.

    An eclipse of the sun by Phobos. Image credit NASA/JPL.
    Image Credit: NASA/JPL
    Here is a panorama of Meridiani Planum showing a shallow depression in the Martian surface called Anatolia.

    Spirit

    The road behind.   Image credit NASA/JPL.
    Image Credit: NASA/JPL
    No, the surface of Mars it not covered by blue-green rocks. The image above, which shows the hills to the east of Spirit's current position, is a false color image.

    Scientists create pictures like this by photographing the Martian surface through filters that are keyed to the light reflecting characteristics of various minerals and then turn them into pictures where the colors correspond to the mineral content of the the various rocks. The images are then processed in the computer to enhance the colors to bring out subtle variations in mineralogy.

    The fact that this creates striking and colorful pictures is just a pleasant side-effect of the process.

    Bonneville crater.   Image credit NASA/JPL.
    Image Credit: NASA/JPL
    The above image is a true color representation of the Martian surface and shows you what you would see if you were standing on Mars. The large scalloped rock in the center of the frame is called "Mazatzal Rock".

    The local area.   Image credit NASA/JPL.
    Image Credit: NASA/JPL
    This black and white image shows the area where the previous color picture was taken.

    Bonneville crater - color - closeup.  Image credit NASA/JPL.
    Image Credit: NASA/JPL
    The picture above shows the route that Spirit has been following in its traverse across the floor of Gusev Crater as well as the path that it will be following in the coming months as it heads for the Columbia Hills.




    Listen to this show

    webcasting
    • Click here to listen to the entire show. {1:24:16}
      Or
    • Click here for the show's intro music.{0:41}
    • Click here for the show's opening. {29:58}
    • Click here for our interview with Christopher Faranetta. {52:48}
    • Click here for the show's closing.{1:29}

    • Click here to listen to our Current Show.
    • Click here for an index of all Shows on our site.
    Click here if you have a problem hearing the show and you're using Internet Explorer.

    If you enjoyed this show and would like to know when other interviews are uploaded to the Hour 25 web site, then send an email to me at wwjames@earthlink.net and I will add your name to the free Hour 25 Newsletter mailing list. That way you'll get a brief notice in your email every time a new show gets uploaded to the web.





    Links for more information relating to this week's show

    Space Adventures and Space Tourism
  • You can find out more about Space Adventures at their Web Site.
  • Space Adventures is planning to offer suborbital trips in just a few years using the XCOR Xeres and/or the Cosmopolis XXI. These links will tell you more about those plans.
  • Additional information about XCOR can be found at their Web Site and information about their suborbital rocket can be found here. {A model of that rocket for use in the X-Plane flight simulator can be found here.}
  • Additional information about the Cosmopolis XXI can be found here and a model of the Cosmopolis for use in the X-Plane flight simulator can be found here.

    Space News
  • MirCorp is another company that has been actively involved with space tourism and has many exciting ventures planned. Their Web Site can give you more information about their plans.
  • Burt Rutan, and his company Scaled Composites, have been making great progress in their attempt to develop a vehicle that can carry three people on a suborbital journey into space and win the X-Prize. Be sure to check out their Web Site to find the latest results from their flight test program.
  • Information about the X-Prize can be found at their Web Site.
  • Additional information about the prospects for suborbital space travel can be found at the Web Site for the Suborbital Institute.

    Space News - Mars
  • For more information about the Mars Exploration Rovers be sure to check out the MER Web Site at JPL or this Mars Rover site at Cornell University.
  • To learn more about the Mars Express mission you can go to this ESA Mars Express Web Site, this Mars Express Web Page from JPL, this NSSDC Mars Express Web Page, or this Web Page from Mars News.Com.
  • For more information about the Exploration of Mars be sure to go to the JPL Mars Exploration Site, the Center for Mars Exploration at NASA Ames, or the Mars Missions Web Site at the Planetary Society.
  • Information about the data returned by previous Mars missions can be found at this Mars Web Page at the NSSDC.
  • Information about the Phoenix Mission to Mars can be found at this Press Release from the University of Arizona. You can view a 3D picture of the Mars Phoenix spacecraft here.
  • For more Mars news be sure to check out the Mars News.Com Web Site.
  • Percival Lowell did much to shape our ideas about Mars in the early years of the 20th Century. You can learn more about his work by reading this on-line copy of his 1895 book Mars.

    For On-Going Updates on Space News
  • Links relating to the loss of Space Shuttle Columbia can be found here.
  • The Reusable Launch & Space Vehicle News Web Site Web Page that is part of the Hobby Space Web Site is a really good place to watch for news about, well... Reusable Launch Vehicles and related subjects. I check it out just about every day and often find news there that doesn't show up anywhere else. Give it a look. {And while you're there be sure to check out some of the site's other pages. Wow! Is there a lot of information there.}
  • The Space Today Web Site is a great place to find space news from all over the 'net.
  • The Spaceflight Now Web Site carries real time information about current space missions and presents a lot of space and astronomy news. This is the place I go to when I want up to the minute information about current space missions. Do I need to say more?
  • The NASA Watch Web Site is another great place for getting information about current space missions. Check there also for news about other 'goings on' within NASA. Highly recommended.

    ISS News
  • The Florida Today Web Site has a very interesting report about the causes of the ISS budget problems and their impact on the space program. It makes very interesting reading.
  • Click here to view the press kits for various ISS missions.
  • Check out the NASA International Space Station Web Page or the Boeing Web Page to learn more about this project.
  • A great source of news about Russian space activities, including their work on the ISS, can be found at the Russian Space Web.
  • Do you wonder where the Space Station is right now? You can use your browser to view real time maps showing the location of the ISS by going to this link at the NASA Space Link Web Site or here at the Johnson Spacecraft Center. Please note that your browser must support Java to make use of this satellite tracking software.
  • You can find out when the ISS - or many other spacecraft - can be seen from your location by going to this NASA Web Page. Please note; your browser must support Java for this application to work.

  • Click here for information about the audio files used for Hour 25 and for information about configuring your browser and downloading audio players.

    Please note Web Pages from external sites will open in a separate browser window and that Hour 25 Productions are not responsible for the content of any external Web Sites.

  • Return to the Index for this month's shows



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