Mar 5 1985
From The Space Library
The Soviet Geophysical Committee of the USSR's Academy of Sciences presented Dr. Alexander Dessler, director of Marshall Space Flight Center's (MSFC) Space Science Laboratory, a bronze medal for his contribution to fulfillment of international geophysical programs, MSFC announced. The committee awarded 1,000 medals, 100 to American scientists, commemorating the 100th anniversary of the first international geophysical program, the First International Polar Year, 1892-1983. Scientists receiving the award made important contributions to international geophysics in such areas as solid earth, oceans, atmospheres, solar-terrestrial relations, and the geophysical programs in Antarctica and space.
Since beginning his scientific career in 1956, Dessler specialized in research in low-temperature physics, atmospheric electricity, and space physics and authored more than 100 technical papers on these subjects. Dessler was a Fellow of the American Geophysical Union and the American Association for the Advancement of Science and served as an officer of the International Association of Geomagnetism and Aeronomy. (MSFC Release 85-11)
The 16th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, March 11-16 at Johnson Space Center (JSC), would highlight exploration programs planned by the U.S. and the USSR, including a discussion of major trends in space science and the possible role of the space station in planetary exploration, JSC announced. Speakers at the special session would include Dr. Geoffrey Briggs, director of the Solar System Exploration Division, NASA Headquarters; Dr. V. L. Barsukov, Vernadsky Institute of Sciences; Dr. Eugene Levey, chairman of the Planetary Sciences Department, University of Arizona; and Dr. Ronald Greely, a planetary scientist from Arizona State University.
Other sessions of major significance would be the Florensky Memorial Symposium on Venus, possibly including results from the Soviet Venusian probes, and the Shergotty Consortium, focusing on the debate concerning meteorites that may have originated from Mars's surface.
Planners had scheduled 27 regular session with 315 oral presentations taken from 497 abstracts published in the official conference proceedings. (JSC Release 85-11)
Missions NASA confirmed successful launch on January 24 from KSC of the Space Shuttle with a Department of Defense inertial upper stage deployed and an aggregation of red blood cells experiment for the University of Sydney completed. Spacecraft orbital parameters were classified. The mission had lasted three days, one hour, and 33 minutes, with landing at KSC.
Unusually cold weather, causing icing on the external tank, had delayed launch for one day. (NASA FOR M-989-51-C [post flight] Mar 5/85)
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