The Battalion
JN ATION
Friday • October 10,
Study: Findings sharpen chance for life on Jupiter’s moo
04 th \
WASHINGTON (AP) —The discoveiy of organic com
pounds on two of Jupiter’s moons increases the possibil
ity all of the elements necessaiy for life are present on Eu-
ropa, another of the planet’s moons.
The finding, received from instruments on the Galileo
spacecraft orbiting Jupiter, suggests Europa may have all
three of the ingredients scientists consider essential for
life: an energy source, liquid water and organic molecules,
Thomas B. McCord, a planetary scientist at the Universi
ty of Hawaii, said.
“This doesn’t mean there is life on Europa,” McCord,
lead author of a study to be published Friday in the jour
nal Science, said. “The exciting thing now is the evidence
that Europa may have all three of the ingredients.”
Europa already is known to have water and internal
heat sources.
Dale Cruikshank, a research scientist at NASA’s
Ames Research Center, said the work of McCord and
his team should sharpen the research concentration
on Europa, which already “is the subject of very spe
cial interest.”
“This finding increases the plausibility for life on
Europa,” Cruikshank said. “It also supports the idea
‘This finding increases the plausibility for
life on Europa. It also supports the idea that
there were organic molecules streaming
throughout the solar system. ,,
DALE CRUIKSHANK
RESEARCH SCIENTIST, NASA’S AMES RESEARCH CENTER
that there were organic molecules streaming
throughout the solar system.”
The study of Jupiter’s moons is part of a growing
effort by astronomers and planetary experts to find
evidence of life within the solar system, particularly
on Mars.
A major goal of NASA’s Mars exploration, for example,
is to search for the fingerprints of life on die Red Planet.
Researchers have determined Mars once had vast pools
of water, and there is speculation this could have led to
the evolution of life. Some believe there already may be
evidence of life in frozen underground water.
NASA researchers also have found what some believe
may be the fossilized remains of microbes in an asteroid
that fell to Earth from Mars. The interpretation of that
finding, however, is controversial.
In the case of Jupiter’s moons, instruments on
Galileo detected the complex organic molecules on
the surfaces of the moons Collisto and Ganymede,
suggesting such organics also are present on Jupiter’s
other two large moons, Europa and Jo.
“What we have on Collisto and Ganymede are some
of the kinds of organic molecules that could be the basis
for life,” McCord said. “These are the basic ingredients.”
And if Collisto and Ganymede have these com
pounds, said McCord, then it is highly likely the com
pounds also exist on Europa.
Water and an energy source, McCord said, are ]
gles on the triangle of life.”
By finding organics present on two otherta*.,
moons, there is a strong suggestion the third angltp
triangle may be present on Europa, he said.
Life on Collisto, lo and Ganymede is consider
likely because of their dry climates. 1
No organic chemicals have been detectedonEi;fjy0 C
but researchers have speculated there may be aiif. , p ^
game soup below the moon’s ice cap, and this cot. . '
warm, liquid place for the evolution of life. |r nci '
None of the research so far has proven!;® ^
or has ever existed on any of Jupiter’s moons, McCo; 3 a v ‘ J m
phasized. nannati C
He compared the research progress to ®
cake is made. If Tn i'
“We’ve got the flour and sugar and thev- at ‘ 1 1
make the dough,” McCord said, “and there’sasuK^ 61
that the oven is on.” Hoyle sp
But assembling the ingredients doej s ?' on '® UI
mean the cake has been made, he said.
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MONTROSE, Colo. (AP) —
Search parties scoured the woods
and mountains Thursday for a
chartered plane that vanished while
carrying eight employees of the fed
eral Bureau of Reclamation and a
pilot to a meeting in Arizona.
Rescuers focused on a rugged,
snow-covered forest 23 miles south
of Montrose, where radar indicated
the single-engine Cessna may have
gone down shortly after takeoff in
clear weather Wednesday morning.
“The challenge is there’s a lot of
thick brush and pine trees and low
visibility,” Air Force Capt. Leslie
Pratt said.
The employees on board includ
ed William H. Duncan, who man
ages the Glen Canyon Power Plant
and Dam on the Colorado River in
Arizona; Jeff Waite, who manages
the power plant; Delphina Holli
man, Walt Kaltmaier and Catrina
Wall, computer specialists; and Jim
Bloomfield, electrical engineex*. All
worked at the Bureau of Reclama
tion’s Page, Ariz., office.
The two other bureau employees
aboard were A1 Inman, who man
ages the agency’s Montrose office,
and Jon Nees, a safety and occupa
tional health specialist, also of the
Montrose office.
The plane, owned by Scenic Air
lines Inc. of Arizona, had left Montrose
on a 90-minute flight to Page. The
plane never reached its desisted by tt
and a search began around n ,s titute tod
Dozens of volunteers cc® 1 © confi
the ground until dark. Ov ar ftnental
temperatures dropped n Ce awards
20s, and three inches ofsnt le state’s t
on the ground from a storrA mn,i ssion
er this week. . TxDOT he
The search resumed at daw ' n T92
Thursday as 10 planes foci ,a ^ zeci a C(
an area known as the Una Sreement \
gre Plateau, where elevatior^aP- anc) ^
as high as 10,000 feet. ' wecl two y (
Six other planes seA.
routes between Montrose Bp
Page. Those paths wouldhaiiHLuji^
en the aircraft over landsccf' l ' ll,l, ' >
eluding high mountains,pkwalter V '
and dense forest. Kiollege c
At agency offices throughoiBed as th
region, workers were tryinf l§0ffice of
main optimistic their colfcWident Dr.
would be found alive, spigan the pc
woman Susan lams said. VVendler i;
“This is a great shock to usttUniversit
we’re trying to keep ourspiritsifehelp of a
lams said. “We’re hopmgfoiapfjdty meml
tive outcome.”
The employees had arrive:
Montrose Tuesday foramee
and were scheduled to return
night, but bad weather delayeif. ^
flight until Wednesday. *©0 C*
The pilot, Robert Armstroii j
of Phoenix, had been flyinjlp^Cl 1
Scenic for 10 years, airlines* ^ p ec j Q r(
woman Irit Langness said. xj 8 y st.
Ihurch, 60C
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Texas universitifim
experience declin
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AUSTIN (/
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AUSTIN (AP) — Enrollment at
the state’s public universities con
tinued to decline this fall, with
blacks making up a slightly small
er percentage of all students.
At the same time, overall high
er education enrollment — at
public, private and professional
schools — increased by 12,514 stu
dents, 1.35 percent.
The Texas Higher Education Co
ordinating Board released the num
bers Thursday based on a count of
college and university students on
the 12th day of classes.
According to the board, the
state’s public universities reported
a total of 397,050 students, a de
crease of 243 from last year. The
figures continue a trend toward
lower enrollment from the high of
410,706 reached in the fall 1992.
Blacks account for nine percent
of university enrollment, or 35,827
students, down from 36,303 last fall,
when they represented 9.14 percent.
While the number of Hispanics in
public universities decreased to
73,574 from 74,510, they represent a
larger percentage of students — in
creasing from 18.52 to 18.8 this year.
Sen. Bill Ratliff, R-Mount Pleas
ant, chair of the Senate Finance
Committee, said the figures do not
show significant change.
“The significance is that there
has not been any big drop off in en
rollment of minorities because of
Hopwood,” Ratliff said, referring to
a federal court ruling banning the
use of race in scholarship and ad
missions decisions in Texas.
He said the report also shows
the number of whites in state pub
lic universities is decreasing. Ac
cording to the board, whites rep
resent 61.5 percent ofstude: iS f. week ' .
drop from 62.59 last year. Hlscondl
Ratliff said the decline toils
ce his de
the state’s changing demograpk
Gary Bledsoe, head oft!
tional Association for
vancement of Colored
Texas, said the numbers mi
put in context.
“When you see nation<l|$|
the trend is for there to I
crease in black enrollment,!
have to wonder why Texas isanfl
ferent,” Bledsoe said. “I think till
fects of Hopwood are being fell J
Bledsoe said many bit
dents are leaving Texas i
cause they cannot get admifj
but because they are receiving
ter financial offers. re
“‘The perceived hostilityo®
campuses has not helped e
probably exacerbated it,” he^ xas
Coordinating board offi^lampioi
said they remain concernedt elebrate
the continuing enrollmentdei"
at state institutions. ]
“We had anticipated thai^
would start to see an inflS
based on the demographics cly
state,” David Gardner, deputy 1 a y ; Texa
missioner for the coord!lixon COP
board, said. isrinin fc
The board still predicts be! ■ dm K
2000 and 2010 the state will^
additional 30,000 students ^
public institutions, Gardners
“We expected to see sorP
trickle type of increase this?* |tttp://b
hesaid. look up v
The overall increaseintht
her of students enrolling in8 Ja t |0na ‘ n
versity, whether private orpVire, A P’s
can mainly be attributed to t! |evvs serv
crease in community cot'-
Gardner said.