August 1976
From The Space Library
The U.S. Air Force files for Project Blue Book, a 20-yr investigation of unidentified flying objects, had drawn many visitors since they were opened to the public at the National Archives in Washington, D.C., on 14 July, according to Science magazine. The USAF investigation had been closed in 1969 after the government decided that none of the 12 618 cases in the file indicated the existence of extraterrestrial vehicles. Only 701 of the total number remained unexplained. Biggest year for sightings was 1952, with 1501 reported; only 146 were reported for 1969, last year of the project, and only 1 of the objects sighted that year remained unidentified. The national preoccupation with UFOs "currently seems to be at a low ebb," said Science, adding that the most promising investigations might be in the behavioral or subjective aspects of UFO sightings. (Science, 20 Aug 76, 662)
"Enticing hints but no firm answers" to the question of life on Mars were the product of an increasing volume of scientific data from the Viking 1 lander; "practically faultless operation" for more than 5 wk had produced enough information to keep the Viking scientists busy, especially the data from the 3 bioexperiments and a related molecular analysis of Martian soil. Results were "certainly not what would be expected" if earth-type organisms were present, but they were not explainable in terms of "simple" nonbiological chemistry, said Nature magazine.
The labeled-release (LR) instrument added a small amount of water containing nutrients "labeled" with carbon 14 to its Mars sample, and incubated it at 15°C, warmer than the surface temperature of Mars. "Totally unexpected" was a massive and rapid release of radioactivity into the gas phase-presumably carbon monoxide or dioxide-and the radioactive count reached 4500 in 10 hr, leveling off at about 8500 in 48 hr. A second dose of radioactive nutrient produced an initial burst followed by a drop in radioactivity, and the graph "almost" flattened out for the remaining 4 days of the experiment; however, scientists were surprised to discover a possible trend to very slowly accelerating release of radioactivity. "Unfortunately," said Nature, "the experiment (was) stopped for performance of a control test..." A repetition of this experiment later would extend incubation over wk or mo rather than days; "results certainly do not look like anything one would expect" from an earth sample in the same situation. Most popular explanation for the initial burst of activity was oxidation of the labeled nutrients.
The gas-exchange (GE) experiment used gas chromatography to monitor a Mars sample wetted with a "soup" of nutrients to detect any changes in the instrument's content of gas. First dampening of the sample produced "a remarkable burst of oxygen" that leveled off after several hr but remained stable for days. The experiment would continue "for some time," to see if further changes occurred. Viking scientists were trying to duplicate results of the LR and GE experiments in earth laboratories using simple catalysts and oxidizing agents.
The pyrolytic-release (PR) experiment, most technologically complex, proved "least equivocal when it comes to interpretation" of the results, Nature reported. A Mars sample incubated' in a "Martian atmosphere," with added water vapor and irradiation from a xenon lamp to simulate solar radiation, was heated to 625°C to drive off and account for unreacted carbon monoxide and dioxide and to pyrolyze any organic compounds trapped as vapor. The vapor trap, heated to 700°C, would release and oxidize any remaining organic compounds. A sterile sample should provide a peak ratio of about 500 to 1; the results from the Mars sample were about 75 to 1, "several times more active" than nonsterilized soil from the dry valleys of Antarctica. Results from the control experiment with heat-sterilized soil would be "crucial" because a high peak ratio would indicate that biological, rather than chemical, processes were going on in the soil that could fix atmospheric carbon monoxide or dioxide in the presence of light. If life were present on Mars, science would expect a high peak ratio from a surface sample strongly illuminated in atmosphere of about 90% carbon dioxide. Unfortunately, the initial run of the organic-chemistry analysis was spoiled by a failure of the surface-sampling arm to deliver a full load to the gas-chromatograph mass spectrometer. A further analysis would be performed on a full load obtained subsequently. Lack of detectable organic compounds in this sample would further complicate interpretation of the 3 biology experiments. (Av Wk, 30 Aug 76, 22; Nature, 26 Aug 76, 734)
The 1976 summer Olympic games at Montreal 17 July-1 Aug. were the most widely telecast event in history, INTELSAT announced, having been viewed by more than 1 billion persons according to press estimates. Record use of the global system for satellite coverage included more than 930 transmissions during the games, more than 70 telecasts on some days. During peak periods satellites transmitted as many as 5 programs simultaneously across the Atlantic Ocean. The global television coverage used 2 INTELSATs over the Atlantic, 1 over the Pacific, and 1 over the Indian Ocean; the 4 satellites sent 2585 half-channel hours of Olympic and related transmissions, more than twice the number of hours of the 1972 Olympics at Munich. Teleglobe Canada, the Canadian communications authority that arranged for the global services, used earth stations at Lake Cowichan, B.C., and Mill Village, N.S., as well as a transportable station at Montreal; other transmissions went through ComSatCorp's Andover, Me., ground station. (INTELSAT Release 76-24-I)
The Nad. Science Foundation announced that federal funding for research and development would increase in FY 1977, ahead of expected inflation. The long-term trend of the R&D portion of the budget had been downward, with a steady decline from 1967 to 1971; a slight rise in 1972 preceded another decline to a 1975 low that represented the smallest federal support for R&D for the 10-yr period. The estimated increase for FY 1977 would restore "real performance" to a level close to that of 1972, although about 20% below that of 1967. Estimated shares of the FY 1977 total would be 11% for basic research, 23% for applied research, and 66% for development. (The NSF noted that most major NASA projects had been categorized as development, as they primarily generated outer-space transport technology. Substantial parts of these programs were classified in former years as basic or applied research. The shift in NASA categories resulted in lower shares of federal R&D funding for basic and applied research, and a larger share for development.) About 60% of development funds would be accounted for by DOD, which with NASA and ERDA would account for more than 90%. NASA's $99-million increase put its share of the total 1977 R&D budget at about 15%; DOD accounted for an estimated 48% of the federal R&D total in 1977, and ERDA would account for 14%. HEW would account for about 11%, NSF 3%, and USDA about 2%. The next 4 agencies in size of R&D support-DOT, Dept. of Interior, EPA, and Dept. of Commerce-all showed decreases in their federal R&D funding from the 1976 level. (NSF, Science Resources Studies, 10 Aug 76, 1)
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