On Friday, June 27, 2008 from 4:00 PM through 8:00 PM PDT at UCLA, scientists and other anti-aging luminaries will discuss “Aging: the Disease, the Cure, the Implications,” a Methuselah Foundation co-sponsored event. The ADCI event is open to the public and presents an opportunity for you to hear about the current state of radical life extension research. How close are we? What obstacles remain? What particular approaches are being taken?

While the event is free, registration is required. Simply click on the image above to register on the ADCI website. For $30.00, you can also attend a dinner that begins at 8:00 PM.

This free event is followed on Saturday, June 28 and Sunday, June 29 by a paid and technically focused Understanding Aging conference.

One of many new Cassini images received after yesterday’s successful Enceladus flyby. Image Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute - “W00043237.jpg“

Slow server speeds mark the arrival of new raw data on the Cassini-Huygens website taken during yesterday’s successful Enceladus flyby. In addition to the images, Cassini sampled the material in Enceladus’ water ice plumes erupting from the moon’s south pole. Images like the one above will be validated and calibrated while scientists pour over all the new data, hoping for insight into the process that leads to the geyser-like features.

Cassini took this image of Enceladus’ water ice plumes on November 27, 2005.  New pictures and other data from the most recent flyby on Wednesday, March 12, 2008 are expected on Thursday, March 13, 2008.  Image Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute - “Jet Blue“

NASA’s Cassini spacecraft has successfully completed the closest flyby of Saturn’s mysterious moon Enceladus yet. Coming as close as 52 kilometers (32.3 miles) from the surface of Enceladus, Cassini used its array of instruments to sample the water ice geysers that erupt from the moon’s south pole. The close, and somewhat risky, flyby maybe provide just the required data to begin understanding the source of these geysers. These data have started to arrive at the Earth and will be completely downloaded over the next several hours.

On Wednesday, March 12, 2008 around noon PST, Cassini flew away from Enceladus along the outer extent of the plume that surprised scientists just over two years ago. The surprise was due to the moon’s small size; small moons were generally thought to be inactive, as no internal forces would be present to drive any surface activities. Whatever is driving the spectacular activity on Enceladus remains a mystery.

Recently, two sources for the geysers have been proposed. The “dry” theory suggests that tidal forces along the “Tiger Stripes” fractures discovered at the moon’s south pole rub ice until it is heated sufficiently to escape. The “wet” theory suggest that these tidal forces instead heat a spot in the moon’s interior, resulting in enough heat to melt a lake or ocean of liquid water just below the surface. This pressurized water then escapes through the discovered fractures.

The latest flyby is intended to sample the geysers to determine which of these theories might be correct, or suggest alternative theories. An underground reservoir of liquid water and the forces required might create a potentially habitable location and an intriguing site to look for life. Cassini will look for the presence of sodium, among other elements and compounds, to support the “wet” theory.

Cassini is nearing the completion of its nominal four-year mission to explore Saturn, its rings, and its moons. The mission has been extended for two more years, allowing mission planners to take more risks. Scientists believe that the ice and other particles in the geyser are tiny enough to pose no harm to Cassini. If confirmed, this will allow scientists to fly Cassini closer yet in upcoming explorations of Enceladus. Raw data could start appearing on the Cassini website as early as 5:00 AM PST on Thursday and mission scientists hope to have a preliminary analysis of data completed by Thursday afternoon.

More Information

• Cassini-Huygens Website
  • Saturn’s Moons section
  • Enceladus Information
  • Press Release (NASA/JPL): “Cassini Spacecraft to Dive Into Water Plume of Saturn Moon“
  • Blog: Visiting Enceladus

Image Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington - “MESSENGER’s First Look at Mercury’s Previously Unseen Side“

A heavily cratered side of the planet Mercury never before seen has been revealed by the Mercury Surface, Space Environment, Geochemistry, and Ranging (MESSENGER) spacecraft. A single image was released by NASA this evening after the successful flyby of the innermost planet on Monday. Featuring rayed craters, a portion of one of the largest basins in the solar systems, and rings of dark material, the new image is one of over 2000 captured during the first flyby of Mercury in thirty-three years.

More data is expected to arrive on the Earth on Wednesday after MESSENGER’s scheduled contact over the Deep Space Network was postponed due to unexpected problems with other missions and a shift in priorities.  In addition to the global wide-angle image released this evening,  these data include approach and departure images that will be turned into movies and high resolution narrow-angle images taken from only 200 kilometers above Mercury’s surface during closest approach.

In 1975 Mariner 10 successfully completed its third and final flyby of Mercury after imaging less than 50 percent of the planet’s surface.  MESSENGER will complete this mapping task between yesterday’s flyby and two more flybys scheduled for October 06, 2008 and September 29, 2009.  Then, on March 18, 2011, MESSENGER will enter orbit around Mercury for a planned year-long science phase.

The data returned by MESSENGER are expected to answer several longstanding questions about Mercury.  MESSENGER will use its array of instruments protected by a sunshade to search for evidence of water ice trapped in deep and dark craters at the planet’s poles, a potentially counter intuitive finding given Mercury’s close proximity to the Sun.   Scientists will study the planet’s surface and composition as well as its inner structure.  Mercury has a dense core of iron thought to compose a more significant portion of the planet than the cores of the other inner planets do.  Why this should be the case is complicated by the presence of a magnetic field around Mercury.  Magnetic fields are thought to depend on molten cores, but models of Mercury indicate that due to its small size its core should have solidified by now.

More Information

• MESSENGER Website
  • Press Release and Image: “MESSENGER’s First Look at Mercury’s Previously Unseen Side“

[Commentary]

Mark McAllister started The 2.0 Project a couple years ago to bring attention to the plight of those who cannot secure the insurance or funding required for cryonics preservation services due to pre-existing conditions. I interviewed him for a Frontier Channel article about his efforts and he has since become a good friend.

On February 08, 2008 the next version of The 2.0 Project website is expected to launch, with an expanded mission. I have seen some of the early concept art for Mark’s new site and it is fantastic. The new placeholder hints at what is coming. I cannot wait to see the new site.

Mark recently posted a video on Marblejars, a fundraising site centered around video messages. Under the topic “Funding for Cryonics Suspension” Mark discusses Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) and his efforts to raise US$80,000 (or marbles in Marblejars parlance) for cryonics suspension services from Alcor Life Extension Foundation.

I have highlighted other fundraiser efforts recently. If you have the funds to support occasional donations to worthwhile causes with a transhumanist bent, Mark’s fundraising effort is one to seriously consider.

The sidebar list of upcoming events has been moved to a new website:  h+ Events

This new site is part of a collection of sites and services related to transhumanism under the h+ banner.   All future science and technology event listings will become part of h+ Events.