News on some other icy residents of the Sol system

[LARRY KLAES]

Science/Astronomy:

* Controversial Proposal Would Boost Solar System's Planet Tally to 12

http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/planet_denitions_030227.html

In the same week that the planetary community learned a mission to Pluto has been approved, a hot debate has re-ignited over whether the small world deserves planetary status at all.

* Key Bits of Stardust Found in Earth's Atmosphere
http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/silicates_stardust_030227.html

The calcium in your bones and the iron in your blood were once stardust, astronomers like to remind us, but it has been processed many times over. That's a problem for researchers trying to investigate stars and the history of our own solar system, because they would like to find the original stuff in a pristine state, from well before it started coursing through your veins or helping you to walk upright.

* Race Against Time: Long Road to Pluto and Why We're Going
http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/pluto_wait_030227.html

Alan Stern is 45 years old. He was 32 when serious planning began for a mission to Pluto, which he just learned has been quietly and formally approved. He'll be 57 when the spacecraft he and others have been promoting finally gets there.

* Closing in on Near Earth Objects
http://www.space.com/searchforlife/seti_neo_030227.html

While many astrobiologists follow the water, some are following the dirt. SETI Institute astronomer Peter Jenniskens is hot on the trail of an elusive comet whose last visit was in 1976, and whose lingering debris may help scientists warn us about the imminent return of a mysterious class of Near Earth Objects (NEOs).

* Strings Attached: New Study Puts Limits on Physics of Extra Dimensions
http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/string_systems_030226.html

Just ahead of a bandwagon of theoreticians suggesting the discovery of extra dimensions might be just around the corner, a streetwise inquiry into the potential effects of these additional "spaces" has come up as empty as a gas tank during an oil embargo.

* Pluto Mission a Go! Initial Funding Secured
http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/pluto_horizons_030225.html

After an arduous political battle, initial funding for a NASA mission to Pluto and the Kuiper Belt of frozen objects at the outskirts of our solar system received formal approval when President Bush quietly signed an omnibus bill last week, SPACE.com has learned.

* Pioneer 10 Spacecraft Falls Silent
http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/missions/pioneer_10_030225.html

Pioneer 10, the first spacecraft to venture out of the solar system, has fallen silent after traveling billions of miles from Earth on a mission that has lasted nearly 31 years, NASA said Tuesday.

* Explosive Regulations Threaten to Kill Model Rocketry
http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/rocketry_security_020325.html

A provision deep within the regulations of the new Homeland Security Act is threatening to shut down the popular hobby of model rocketry because the propellant used to make the rocket's solid-fueled motors is now classified as explosive material.

------------------------------------

Recent Headlines:

* Hubble & Chandra Combine for Gorgeous Galaxy Photo
http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/hubble_chandra_030225.html

* The Impact Debate Part 3: Nagging Little Problems
http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/impact_debate_part3_030225.html

* Immediate Search Planned for More Moons of Pluto
http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/pluto_moons_030224.html