FRIDAY, MAY 21, 2004
Will NASA seize the Opportunity? Revna.. Jenkyns
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Mars rover, Opportunity, hesi-
discovered on the surface ofM ars, 't'1e
and more than 20 meters En,· durance could provide insight i nto the environmental history of the area, but there are risks. F,arlier analysis of bedrock at Ea gle Crater, having one-tenth the depth 'afEndurance, yidded evidence that salty water had once covered the area. However, determining the longevity of the water body requires examination of older rocks in deeper areas. At Endurance, an exposure of outcrop reveals a stack oflayers five to 10 meters tall. Claire Samson, an associate professor of applied geophysics at Carleton University, describes the geological importance of this site. First of all, the crater depth is crucial, as we know very little about the properties of the Martian crust.' Erosion on Mars is minimal (since
The Endurance crater as seen by the Mars rover Opportunity. there is no rain), meaning the crater looks almost as it did immediately after its formation. Next, evidence of water could also occur in the format of rainwater gullies down the crater sides. At the crater bottom, the presence ofsedimentary rocks would indicate the duration of the lake. But according to Melissa Battler, a Geosciences graduate of UW, "in geology it is almost always necessary to be very close to a rock in order to notice all its intricate features and determine the environments in which they were deposited." Thus, these questions can only be answered if NASA sends Opportunity into Endurance.
NASA is currently assessing the risks. \V'ith a slope in front of Opportunity of 18 to 20 degrees, getting into the crater is not the problem - it's getting out. That depends on the rover's capabilities to overcome soil properties and slope. If the slope is unstable or crumbling, Opportunity might slip. The maneuverability of Opportunity is a factor as well, because remnant boulders from the impact may litter the rim. Another concern Samson addressed is that the robot might get trapped in a shadow zone and lose communications. No samples from Mars have ever been returned to Earth, even though
there are approximately 30 meteorite samples that have likely originated from debris due to an asteroid impact on Mars. 'fhis speculation is based on testing which classifies samples into categories.lVficroscopic gas bubbles in the mineral grains of one set match gas composition of the Martian atmosphere. Further confirmation of their origin could be gained using rocks in Endurance, by comparing very rare minerals produced by the shock waves of an impact. Already developed technologies could vastly improve future geological studies on Mal'S. Before working at Carleton, Samson was the
Lead Engineering for Ncptec's LaserCamernSystcm (LCS), which is a 3D imagery system with high resolution for distances up to 15 metres. From a geology perspective, 3D images give more accurate density profiles than 2D photographs and eliminate the necessity of a scale reference next to the sample. The technology .was successfully demonstrated in space on board th.e shuttle Discovery during mission STS-l 05 to the International Space Station in August 2001. It is one of two technologies that will scan tiles of the space shuttle for tiny cracks to prevent another Columbia disaster.
the ones that have to be trained to use the machine, The new prosthesis is softer andmore flexible dum conventional de-
strains. Older anti-malaria drugs, such as chloroquine, are quickly losing their effectiveness, Also contributing to
g:r~ater ran.ge of trlOY-'elD.cnt. It is also considerably cheaper tl1an older models. Chau has recently received a Canada Research Chair award of$500,OOO for his work in paediatric rehabilitation engineering.
The drug is derived from sweet womlwood, but the drug-extraction process cannot be patented. l'his means it is not lucrative for companit~S to produce the drug. A combination of L~is low production and new high demand leads the World Health Organization to believe there will be a shortage by 2005.
Attack of the 17-year Cicadas
Kristina Jarvis and Erin L Gilmer
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IMPRINT STAFF
Canada near the top of the list of asthma-stricken countries \VTith all the talk of our super health care system, you may be surprised to learn that the asthma rate in Canada ranks as one of the highest in the world. A report released this week by the Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) states that 14 per cent of Canadians suffer from asthma, compared with 10.9 per cent in the U.S., 6.8 per cent in France and 2.2 per cent in Russia. The highest asthma rates are found in Scotland,] ersey, Guernsey and \V'ales.
The report and others have shown .that the highest asthma rates are found in developed countries like ours. Though this pattern may be due to better data collecting :-:ystems,
limbs. Now imagine trying to learn the various mechanical nuances of an expensive and heavy prosthesis, only to achieve very limited motion. children ;"I!ho ai'e """"'''''
phenomenon at play. According to Gina chair, Dr. Paul O'Byrne, whatever is going on that is causing these high asthma rates happens in the fIrst few months, or year, oflife. He believes that the most likely explanation is the increasingly sanitized living conditions in developed countries. When children aren't exposed to enough bugs early in life, the immune system tends to overreact later on, producing allergic reactions and asthma.· The good news coming from this report is that, although Canadians rank among the most likely to contract asthma, our death rate from asthma is the lowest in the world, at 1.6 per cent.
use ane'lver, more sophisticated prosthetic device, one that learns· how to interpret them. The new device, developed by Tom Chau, co-ordinator of intelligent systems research at the Bloorview.MacMillan Children's Centte, is able to recognize muscle sounds and interpret them to produce appropriate movements. All muscles make low rumbling sounds and this has been known for years, but this is the filst time that a device has been able to cut out the noise in the environment wen enough to allow something like this new prosthesis to work. Chau has designed the dev'ice in such a way that a tiny computer chip gets trained to interpret the muscle sounds and perform movements like opening or dosing the pros· thetic hand, Currently, humans are
Letting machines do the learning Imagine being without one of your
UW prof recognized The Geological Association of Capada awarded the first W.W. Hl\tchison Medal· to UW Prof. Shoufa Lin at a lunch in St. Catharines. The W.W. Hutchison Medal was once known as tlle GAC Past Presidents Medal and has been awarded annually to an individual who has made advances in Canadian earth science research. The GAC stated that, "[Lin] is a dedicated, creative and highly effective teacher at the University ofWater!oo." Lin's research has focused on the structural and tectonic evolution of orogenic (mountain) belts and structural control and modification of mineral deposits in severallocadons in Canada and China.
"New· Malaria drug gains support
The Cicadas are coming out in force this year.
Countries around the world al'e gathering a nC\v dmg for the fight against malaria. "New" is a relative term, because this drug was first isolated by the Chinese in 1965. However, the drug "artemisinin" had not enjoyed widespread use. Some of this new interest in the drug is being caused by the fact that the parasite that causes malaria has developed .reslstant strains to other treatments, much like the now-infamous antibiotic-resistant bacteria
the new suppOrt fo .. the
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Bugs, Bugs Everywhere A swarm of cicadas is rising up in the eastern U.S., but they aren't waking up to t..~e same ·world they left behind in 1987. Cicadas, who have tlle longest known adult-·v)-adult cycle, come up every 13 or 17 years depending on the "brood" or group. They come up to the surface and enter the ttees, where the males lure the females ,vith a drumming they perform on their stomachs. After mating, the males die and the females lay their eggs, after which they die as well. The larvae, after hatching, then go underground and feed off tree roots until their appointed time comes to do the salne. Cicadas haYe a problem w1th their . cycle uf devdopment: urbanization has taken out: tJ'ees that were around when the last brood went under in 1987. This, says Cole Gilbert, an entomologist from Cornell University, New York, is a major problem. "'Ine eastern US corridor is so· deveioped thar. cicada habitats have been destroyed, They need gigantic numbers to swamp their predators and survive." egilmer@imprint.uwaterioo.ca kjarvis@imprint.uw8terloo.ca