Space News for June 23, 1999

Surveyor Landing Spot to Be Selected

A group of planetary geologists are meeting at a conference in Buffalo to determine suitable landing locations for the Mars Surveyor 2001 Lander, which will test technologies designed to support human life.

explorezone.com

Hubble’s Damage Worsening

The Hubble Space Telescope is on its last legs, with only three functioning gyros (down from six), which it requires to change its direction. Although it can still operate with only three, NASA believes there’s a 50% chance any one of the remaining gyros will fail this year. A shuttle repair mission is planned for later this year.

SpaceDaily

Leonids May Put on a Show

Experts believe that this year’s Leonid meteor shower may be one of the most spectacular. Scheduled to reach their peak around November 17th, the Leonids are caused when the Earth passes through the tail of comet Tempel-Tuttle. It’s may be possible that the shower will reach a full-fledged storm, with thousands of meteors visible per hour.

Space Science News