New and Noteworthy

New Materials Online

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 16:44:54 GMT

The LPI has scanned and made available more documents.

Holiday

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 16:44:34 GMT

The Library will be closed July 4 for the holiday.

Collection Growing

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 16:44:17 GMT

The library collection now has over 58,800 items. Recent additons to the collection include many Apollo-era documents.

Mars Odyssey Radio Science

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 16:43:56 GMT

PDS has announced release 72 of the 2001 Mars Odyssey Radio Science Raw Data Set - V1.0

This release contains raw and partially processed radio science data and ancillary files from the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission, written to archival volumes (ODRS_0130). The majority of ancillary files needed to process these ODFs are also included in this release.

Apollo Surface Panoramas

Wed, 25 Jun 2008 16:51:37 GMT

Apollo Surface Panoramas is a digital library of photographic panoramas that the Apollo astronauts took while exploring the Moon’s surface. These images provide a spectacular boots-on-the-ground view of the lunar landscape. The panoramas are stitched together from individual 70mm Hasselblad frames, each of which is also accessible through this new atlas. Lunar surface features captured in the panoramas can be studied using zoom and pan tools. An annotated version of each panorama is also available to assist users with the identification of major geographic features around each Apollo landing site.

The LPI Clementine Mapping Project

Wed, 25 Jun 2008 16:51:16 GMT

The LPI Clementine Mapping Project is an on-line tool for users wanting to generate maps of the lunar surface and its composition using data from the Clementine mission. The Clementine mission (1994) was a technology demonstration mission that produced nearly 1 million ultraviolet to visible wavelength (UVVIS) images, over 600,000 high-resolution CCD images, over 300,000 near-infrared images, and additional topographic details of the lunar surface. This tool seamlessly combines the data so that users can generate their own image mosaics, chemical maps, and topographic maps of any region on the lunar surface.

Book Auction

Wed, 25 Jun 2008 16:50:26 GMT

It is time for our second summer silent book auction. Books, asteroid globes, software and a game up for auction will be on display on the big table near the library copier. The materials are new and served as display copies in the LPSC Combined Publishers Exhibit in March. Each item will have a bid sheet nearby. To bid, write your name, phone number, and your bid in whole dollar increments. The auction starts on Thursday June 26 and closes on Wednesday, July 2 at 4 pm. Winners will be announced by email soon after, and a list of winners will be posted in the library.

A few rules:

Library staff will not set aside books or bid on books for you.
Winnings must be picked up within a week after the auction closes. Items not claimed will be put into future auctions.
Shipping is not available.
The book auction is open to all - permanent staff, visitors, summer interns, everyone.

We plan to have more silent auctions this summer. The upcoming dates are:

July 10 - 16
July 24 - 30

Mars Express Data

Wed, 25 Jun 2008 16:50:05 GMT

The first releases of MARSIS data have been added to the PDS archive.

The MARSIS Subsurface Sounding Radar/Altimeter primary objective is to map the distribution of water and ice in the upper portions of the Martian crust. The instrument analyzes reflections of radio waves in the upper 2-3 km of Martian crust to reveal the subsurface structure. The MARSIS Principal Investigator is Prof. Giovanni Picardi, Universita di Roma 'La Sapienza', Rome, Italy. The primary source for MARSIS data is the ESA Planetary Science Archive.
Through a cooperative agreement between ESA and NASA, the PDS Geosciences Node is hosting a copy of the MARSIS data archive.
MARSIS Experiment Data Record (raw data)
MARSIS Subsurface Reduced Data
MARSIS Active Ionospheric Sounder data

New Book Online

Wed, 25 Jun 2008 16:49:46 GMT

Now online at the LPI, The Soviet reach for the moon: the L-1 and L-3 manned lunar programs and the story of the N-1 "Moon Rocket" The book chapters are: The Initial Reconnaissance of the Moon -- Laying the Foundation for MannedLunar Missions -- Developing the Technology for Lunar Exploration -- A New Stage for Robotic Lunar Exploration -- Preparing for the L-1 Circumlunar Missions -- The Pivotal Year Of 1968 -- Focusing on the L-3 Lunar Landing Program -- The N-1 Flight Tests Begin -- Defining the Advanced N-1/L-3 M Program -- The Final Days of the N-I Program.

Lunar and Planetary Information Bulletin

Wed, 18 Jun 2008 15:29:51 GMT

Issue 114 of the Lunar and Planetary Information Bulletin is now available. Features in Issue 114 include:

LPI Celebrates 40 Years
Featuring a nostalgic look at the 40-year history of the Lunar and Planetary Institute
News From Space
Phoenix Spacecraft Lands at Martian Arctic Site, NASA Satellite Finds Interior of Mars is Colder, Wandering Poles Leave Giant Scars on Europa’s Icy Surface, Send Your Name to the Moon with New Lunar Mission, NASA Extends Cassini’s Grand Tour of Saturn, Stardust Stars on Earth as it Does in the Heavens, Cassini Spacecraft Finds Ocean May Exist Beneath Titan’s Crust, Saturn’s Moon Rhea Also May Have Rings, Ancient Groundwater Flows on Mars, Saturn Images Showcased in New York City
Spotlight on Education
Events and programs that provide opportunities for planetary scientists to become involved in education and public outreach and to engage science educators and the community
New and Noteworthy
New products of interest to the community
Meeting Calendar
Upcoming scientific conferences and workshops

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LPI Celebrates 40 Years

Wed, 18 Jun 2008 15:29:21 GMT

As well as being the lead article in the latest Lunar and Planetary Information Bulletin, there is a timeline to illustrate the people and events that have shaped the Institute over the past four decades.

Biographical Memoirs of the National Academy of Sciences

Wed, 18 Jun 2008 15:28:59 GMT

The Biographical Memoirs of the National Academy of Sciences are now freely available.

Published since 1877, Biographical Memoirs are brief biographies of deceased National Academy of Sciences members, written by those who knew them or their work. These biographies provide a personal and scholarly view of the lives and work of America's most distinguished scientists and a biographical history of science in the United States.

Space Ambassadors

Wed, 18 Jun 2008 15:28:39 GMT

Want to spread the word about the value of space sciences? Then the Space Ambassadors program might be worth investigation.

Do you have a passion for space? Would you like to share your enthusiasm with others?
The National Space Society is teaming up with Virgin Galactic to launch a new program to identify Space Ambassadors around the world.
As part of their duties, Space Ambassadors will communicate the value of space research and exploration to their local communities, and one special Space Ambassador will be selected to fly on a Virgin Galactic space flight!
Space Ambassadors can be anyone -- you just have to have a passion for space and the ability to effectively communicate that excitement to others. Teachers and artists are particularly encouraged to apply.

Family Space Days

Thu, 12 Jun 2008 16:40:20 GMT

Please join the Lunar and Planetary Institute for Family Space Day on June 21 from 10 am to 1 pm. The topic this month is "What Makes a Planet a Planet?" Topics include Mercury, Pluto and Missions. Children between 5-8 years and their families are invited to explore space science together. Children must be accompanied by an adult at all times.

RSS Tools

Thu, 12 Jun 2008 16:40:01 GMT

If you are using RSS to keep-up with journal publications and have a personal website a couple of RSS tools look useful. Google has the Dynamic Feed Control Wizard "Put feeds on Your Web Page Embed a Dynamic Feed Control on your web page and let your users see customized views of the feeds. Customize how the dynamic feed control should be displayed, and this wizard will write the code for you." Feed.informer provides a tool for "automatically updating news and feed content for your web site." Both allow you to enter the URLs and then select how it will look. The code is written and you just cut-and-paste. Both tools are free to use.

Omeka

Thu, 12 Jun 2008 16:39:20 GMT

Omeka is now providing a weekly screencast to illustrate how to use this collection publication tool. They currently have two of these video tutorials: Installing Omeka and Adding Items.

Omeka is a web platform for publishing collections and exhibitions online. Designed for cultural institutions, enthusiasts, and educators, Omeka is easy to install and modify and facilitates community-building around collections and exhibits. Omeka is free and open source.