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Thursday, Sept. 17, 1998

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Lab receives NASA funding to test critical instrument components for possible use on future Europa mission

Laboratory scientists recently received a $120,000 grant from NASA to use Laboratory space instrument design and manufacturing expertise and test critical components of an instrument that may lead to a final product for use on a future mission to the Jupiter moon Europa.

Concurrently, three Lab researchers are part of a 17-member international team working on a feasibility study for NASA to determine the technical requirements for an instrument to study the moon's icy surface. The preliminary report is due Nov. 1.

Called the Ice Penetrating Radar, the instrument would use a three-antenna array that sends millions of radar signals at different frequencies to map out the thickness of Europa's ice surface and detect, if present, a subsurface Europan ocean. The IPR also would characterize Europa's ice surface.

A liquid ocean is the most important ingredient in the development and sustenance of life; detecting and characterizing Europa's oceans, if present, are an integral part of scientists' search for evidence of life in the solar system.

"If we can confirm the existence of a water ocean on Europa, it would be the only ocean known to exist in our solar system outside of Earth's," said Brad Edwards of Space and Remote Sensing Sciences (NIS-2). Edwards also is part of the 17-member Instrument Definition Team, which includes researchers from around the world.

Because ice is transparent to a large range of radar signals, the IPR will be able to record waves reflected off the top layer of ice and the ice-water interface, ultimately converting them into three-dimensional images.

"We think the ice crust surface could be as deep as 100 kilometers, but data we received from the Galileo spacecraft indicate that the ice could be as thin as hundreds of meters," explained Edwards. Photos transmitted by the Galileo spacecraft in 1994 presented the first evidence of the possible existence of liquid water on Europa.

"If a water ocean does exist on Europa, the IPR can map thin areas of the ice surface for future lander missions to Europa to sample the water for signs of life," said Edwards.

Edwards said the Instrument Definition Team currently is studying many things, including how to distinguish the different radar reflection signals returned by rocks, cracks in the ice, salty and nonsalty ice, and other conditions on the moon's surface. Another obstacle is making sure the IPR survives Jupiter's intense radiation that surrounds Europa, he added.

"The radiation around Europa measures about 25 megarads per month. That's enough radiation to fry a desktop computer in about five minutes," he said.

Still another important consideration is determining just how much power the IPR will need in order to transmit and receive its radar signals and the kinds of antennas that need to be used, said Xuan-Min Shao of Space and Atmospheric Sciences (NIS-1) and fellow IDT member. Shao said he hopes to begin testing the IPR prototype's antennas within the next couple of months. The testing will take place at the Laboratory.

Shao said the instrument's weight is another major factor in designing and building the prototype. "We think the Ice Penetrating Radar should weigh no more than eight kilograms," he said, or about 17 pounds.

The final draft design for the IPR is scheduled to be submitted to NASA sometime in March 1999, said Edwards. At that time, NASA will put out an announcement for opportunities for the Europa mission, scheduled for launch sometime in 2004. It would take anywhere from five to seven years for the instruments to reach Europa, after which time measurements would be taken for about a month.

The IPR is one of a suite of instruments -- called a strawman's payload -- that NASA currently is considering sending to Europa, the other instruments being an optical camera, transponder and laser altimeter. The IPR is the primary instrument; the laser altimeter would be used to measure the tidal bulge of Europa's surface caused by Jupiter's tremendous gravitational pull on the moon. "The laser altimeter will measure the moon's tides. If they're small, then we'll know that there's little or no water underneath the surface," said Edwards.

Shao said although it is conceivable that NASA may choose an instrument suite that does not include the IPR for the Europa mission, because the IPR is one of only a few instruments that can both measure Europa's ice surface depth and characterize its structure, there is a good chance that it will remain part of the suite that ultimately makes the 400-million-mile trek.

--Ternel N. Martinez

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HR Division creates new group to meet Lab's mission

As the Laboratory's mission has changed since the end of the Cold War, so has the services required from human resources professionals.

In order to meet the Lab's new mission and partner more efficiently with Laboratory organizations, the Human Resources (HR) Division formed a team called Distributed Services (HR-7), which recently became a group.

The Lab's approximately 24 human resources generalists and 13 human resources assistants now belong to HR-7, according to its new group leader, Karen Walterscheid, who previously worked in Employee Relations (HR-2).

Human resources generalists advise Laboratory management and nonmanagement employees on human resources-related issues at all levels, including employee relations, performance management, staffing, compensation and benefits and matters related to affirmative action and equal employment opportunity.

Human resources generalists, however, have largely been perceived as administrative, or "transactional," said Walterscheid. "We're trying to move more toward the consultative role, that of a strategic partner who assists the organization in achieving it's mission," she said.

"We assist with our human resources expertise," Walterscheid continued. "We have a key role here in everything we do at the Laboratory."

Walterscheid said discussion about creating the new group started last year. In March 1997, HR's External Advisory Committee recommended that the role of HR generalists become stronger. The advisory committee said generalists should "develop a higher level of skills, be at a higher reporting level in the organization and serve as the key link between the technical line organizations and senior HR management."

In a written proposal last December to HR Director Mike Lucero to form HR-7, the committee noted that HR had to become a strategic partner with other Laboratory organizations to help the Lab meet its mission and goals.

The proposal noted that the office needed a separate group with its own group leader who can advocate for generalists. "In the formative stage of the Generalist Program, it made sense for the function to be in Staffing," according to the proposal, which Mary Cassidy of HR-5 wrote. "At this point, the team has gone well beyond just providing transactional/operation support to the Laboratory and certainly the scope is much broader than the staffing function."

The group was officially created last spring, Walterscheid said, noting that HR generalists previously were part of Staffing (HR-5). Generalists are assigned to organizations around the Lab; some generalists are responsible for multiple organizations. Management or nonmanagement employees who have questions about human resources-related issues can contact the HR generalist assigned to their organization. A list of HR generalists and assistants, the organizations they are assigned to, their telephone and fax numbers and e-mail addresses can be found at http://www.hr.lanl.gov/scripts/generalist/default.asp online.

John Herrera, HR-5's group leader, said the spinoff of HR generalists into their own group was a long-term goal when generalist positions were created in HR in 1992. "It's the direction we've been wanting to go with our services all along, and that is to get the services more closely aligned with customers," said Herrera. It was our goal to develop the program and get it to the point where we can become strategic partners with our customers. "The group also has gotten to the point where it needed the appropriate recognition."

The HR-7 group office is located on the far north side of the second floor of the Otowi Building next to conference room P280 and the HR Division Office.

The HR-7 group telephone number is 7-9898. Its fax number is 5-9290.

--Steve Sandoval

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Meeting set for employees interested in tutoring

The Community Involvement and Outreach (CIO) Office is conducting a meeting at 10:30 a.m. Sept. 25 for Laboratory employees interested in serving as volunteer tutors for Native American students.

The meeting is in the Pecos Room on the second floor of the Civilian and Industrial Technologies (CIT) Building on Trinity Drive. Light refreshments will be served.

The Lab has operated a tutoring program with nearby pueblos for several years, said Barbara Grimes of CIO, coordinator of the Lab's American Indian Educational Outreach program.

Grimes said Laboratory employees and subcontract personnel are needed to tutor students in grades one through 12. The students are from San Ildefonso, Santa Clara, San Juan, Tesuque and Taos pueblos.

Grimes is conducting the meeting to present information to prospective tutors about student tutoring needs, grade levels of students, the location for tutoring sessions and other details. Interested volunteers can sign-up for tutoring sessions after the meeting.

For more information, or to participate in the tutoring program, contact Grimes at 5-5121 or write to bgrimes@lanl.gov by electronic mail.

--Steve Sandoval

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Lab/UC participates in Santa Fe Fiestas

PHOTO Chuck Pacheco, right, of the Community Involvement and Outreach (CIO) Office talks to visitors at the Laboratory/University of California information booth at last weekend's Santa Fe Fiestas on the downtown plaza. The information booth also will be set up on Sunday at the Los Alamos Chamberfest downtown and at the Lab's Hispanic Heritage Month community tent event Sept. 25 at Ashley Pond. The information booth is part of the Lab's community outreach effort to inform the public about Lab programs and activities. Photo by Mike Kolb, Community Involvement and Outreach (CIO) Office.

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On today's bulletin board

  • Family Strengths Network courses
  • Research Library staff not available Tuesday morning
  • Nominations sought for Fellows Prize for outstanding research in science and engineering
  • McBride accounces new service technician
  • This week on LABNET
  • Stress proofing class at the Wellness Center
  • Video Conferencing "hands on" demo through Sept. 18
  • Lessons learned through implementation of an environmental management system
  • Deadlines and procedures to cost items purchased in FY98
  • Wellness Center to be closed from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily -- YMCA offers special memberships through Sept. 20
  • Travel Advance Justification for Foreign Visitors
  • Driver's are responsible to properly secure and flag loads
  • RevCom Comment Resolution Notice for New Hire Relocation Travel Policy
  • Genealogy class begins in September
  • News from the Laboratory Retiree Group
  • The ninth annual Los Alamos Artists Studio Tour

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