| Sharing Space |
| The Paragould Meteorite |
With the closure of the public exhibits of the University of Arkansas’ Museum, the owners of the Paragould meteorite asked for its return to Chicago. We are renegotiating the loan of Paragould to the Arkansas-Oklahoma Center for Space and Planetary Sciences.
The Paragould meteorite has both scientific and cultural value and it is the third largest meteorite to fall in North America. It fell in Paragould, Arkansas, in 1930 and was sold to Chicago’s Field Museum of Natural History a few years later. In 1988, Derek Sears, center director negotiated with the Field Museum and arranged for the Paragould meteorite to be displayed at the University of Arkansas. It became one of the most popular exhibits at the University Museum, being enjoyed by thousands of visitors and also enjoyed and studied by a great many students and researchers.
Paragould is a stony meteorite weighing approximately 800 pounds and it is a magnificent specimen of a rock from space. Simply stated, the Paragould meteorite is as old as the Earth. It has a composition and texture unlike any terrestrial rock and it has locked within it secrets about the formation of the solar system and events that have occurred in its four and a half billion year history. It is a resource that scientists use in their efforts to understand the cosmos. It also has a powerful ability to influence our students, whether they are the fourth graders studying earth science in elementary school or graduate students working towards doctorates. It is a piece of space that can literally be touched.
| Rocks from Space |
| New Public Display at the University of Arkansas |
| Center Research |
| Research Collaborations |
The Dosimetry Laboratory at OSU under the direction of Dr. Stephen McKeever is currently involved in dosimetry experiments for MESSAGE (Microbiological Experiment in the Space Station About Gene Expression), in close collaboration with Filip Vanhavere and
Olivier Goossens from the Belgium Nuclear Research Center (SCKoCEN). The MESSAGE experiments are intended to study different aspects of bacterial activity using many different microbial and molecular methods. Aluminum oxide (Al2O3:C) dosimeters from the OSU group were launched on board the Soyuz TMA-3 on October 18 and returned on October 28, 2003, the date on which the third most powerful X-ray flare on record was detected by the ESA/NASA SOHO spacecraft when the image below was recorded.
The dosimeters should be arriving soon at OSU for analysis using the pulsed optically stimulated luminescence techique. The objectives are to provide data on the absorbed dose for the investigators of the MESSAGE experiment and to test the performance of Al2O3:C in a space radiation environment. The experiments at OSU are being conducted by Dr. Eduardo G. Yukihara.
| Center Education |
| Research Experience for Undergraduates |
The space center’s 2003 REU program was a recent feature article in the annual journal of the College of Arts and Sciences at Oklahoma State University. “Preparing the Next Generation” featured the work of students Josh Sakon (William and Mary College), Ben Stanley (Oberlin College), Dustin Trail (University of Colorado), and Bret Yount (Arkansas State University) and their OSU mentors Rob Burnap (Microbiology and Molecular Genetics), Richard Marston (Geology), Elizabeth Catlos (Geology), and Stephen Mckeever (Physics). The OSU students worked on projects ranging from life and geological processes on the surface of Mars to the compostion of Earth’s early crust to radiation dosimetry for astronauts.
| Space Research |
| UArk Biological Engineering |
Three senior biological engineering students from the University of Arkansas recently collaborated with NASA researchers at Kennedy Space Center to design and build a low pressure growth chamber. The team consisted of Willie Dillahunty, James Geurtz, Clay McDaniel, and faculty advisors Dr. Costello and Dr. Osborne of the Biological Engineering department. A $6000 grant from the Arkansas Space Grant Consortium funded the project. The chamber will allow researchers to study the effects of low pressures on plants. Once these effects are understood, providing food for long term missions to Mars will allow for longer missions that are cost
effective. The chamber is a 16 inch diameter cylinder with ¾ inch thick walls made out of acrylic. It was designed to withstand and control a 10 kPa internal pressure and incorporates a heating/cooling system, nutrient delivery system for hydroponics, lighting system, and a control system for automation.
| Space Happenings |
| Space Missions |
An exciting few weeks in the history of space:
Dec 26, 2003
Mars Express arrives at Mars and lands Beagle 2 on its surface
Jan. 2, 2004
Stardust encounters comet Wild 2
Jan. 3, 2004
Mars landing: Spirit arrives at Mars
Jan. 24, 2004
Mars landing: Opportunity arrives at Mars
| Seminars and Public Lectures |
| Fall 2003 |
Seminars take place via video conference (UArk: Chemistry Bldg., Rm. 226; OSU: Life Sciences East, Rm 216)
Alternative venues have asterisks beside them.
Wed., Sep 24, 3:30 pm
Dr. Derek Sears, University of Arkansas
“Water on Mars”
Mon., Sep 29, 7:00 pm
Dr. Bruce Hapke, University of Pittsburgh
“Dark Moon”
The Barringer Lecture Series
*Giffels Auditorium
Wed., Oct 22, 3:30 pm
Dr. Regina Kalchgruber
Oklahoma State University
“Luminescence dating on Mars: Why martian sediments should use sun cream!”
Wed., Nov 5, 3:30 pm
Dr. Albert Grauer, University of Arkansas, Little Rock
“Physical Characterization of Near-Earth Objects”
Wed., Nov 19, 3:30 pm
Dr. Richard Marston, Oklahoma State University
“Rock Glaciers on Mars”
Wed., Dec 3, 3:30 pm
Dr. Larry Roe, University of Arkansas
“The Hera Sample Collector”