Through the efforts and support of Arkansas's senators and Congress members, Congress recently appropriated $1,500,000 for the Arkansas-Oklahoma Center for Space and Planetary Sciences.  These funds are part of the University of Arkansas's initiatives to support the space center - primarily to support its research efforts in the areas of asteriod surface processes and sample return and analysis facilities.  A major initiative here is the development of a proposal to NASA for a mission (Hera) to return samples from a near-earth asteroid; partnered by the Jet Proplusion Laboratory.

With the availablity of these funds, the space center can now move forward with the comprehensive series of programs originally described in the center's Five Year Plan and as approved by the space center faculty last year.  The following are a series of new initiatives made possible by these funds:

• Research studentships award program
• Collaborative research grants program
• Visiting faculty program
• Major equipment purchase fund
• Space Center travel program

The funds will allow us to strengthen our present laboratories for thermoluminescence and neutron activation analysis of extraterrestrial materials and to create new laboratories for analysis by ICPMS.  We are creating a major facility at the University of Arkansas for analysis of extraterrestrial samples that would include asteroid samples returned by the Hera mission.

The appropriation also includes funds for infrastructure support including preparing the new Space and Planetary Sciences building for occupation by the center.

Many people have worked to create and build up the center, and further its research and education programs, including the development of the Hera mission and new graduate programs in space and planetary sciences.  We would like to extend our appreciation here to our colleagues at Oklahoma State University for their ongoing efforts to support the space center and its programs at OSU.

Our special thanks must go to our senators and Congress members and to the many colleagues at the University of Arkansas who have helped give the space center such a strong presence on our campus:  The Chancellor, Provost, Vice Provost for Research, Van Scyoc and Associates, the Deans of Arts and Science and Engineering, and the participating departments, have all supported the center in their various ways and all are owed our thanks.  They have given us the opportunities, and we intend to make the most of them.

Cassini will reach Saturn on July 1, 2004, when it will begin a four-year prime mission in orbit around Saturn. It will release its piggybacked Huygens probe about six months later for descent through Titan's thick atmosphere. The probe could impact in what may be a liquid methane ocean.

The European Mars Express spacecraft has returned images of Kasei Vallis, one of the largest outflow channels on Mars.

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