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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 3, 1999)
I I □ R BOOTS $150. ELECTRIC GUITAR BY KRAMER $55. M USIcVo .COfM To LW PRICES ivory Freofrm 'd«y! Brand Name Guitars, Basses &. Drums Page 10 • Friday, December 3,1999 ATI ON ie Battalion Risky Mars mission to study climai MSC Black Awareness Committee Nubian Nominations PASADENA, Calif. (AP) — After two NASA missions to Mars over the past six years ended in sudden failure, the stakes are especially high today for the Mars Polar Lan der, and the list of things that can go wrong is long. “It’s about as do-or-die an event as they come,” flight operations manager Sam Thurman said. The Polar Lander is set to touch down this afternoon roughly 500 miles from the Red Planet’s south pole. Scientists hope to learn about Mars’ climate by studying layers of dust and possibly ice during the 90- day mission. Instruments will measure va por in the atmosphere, while a claw on the spacecraft will collect samples to be cooked and ana lyzed for water. But there are many mission-end ing scenarios: The spacecraft’s parachute or descent thrusters could fail. It could land on a rock that causes it to tip over. Or it could touch down into the quicksand-like permafrost in the never-explored south polar region. In September, NASA’s $125 mil lion Mars Climate Orbiter vanished as it approached the Red Planet. In vestigators blamed the loss on sci entists’ failure to realize that English- style units of measurement — feet and inches — had not been con verted to the metric system. And in 1993, the Mars Observer, a $1 billion NASA spacecraft, disap peared just before going into orbit around the Red Planet. It is believed to have exploded as its fuel lines were being pressurized. “The tension on the team is up by several factors because of what hap pened,” Richard Cook, spacecraft operations manager at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, said. In the weeks since the Mars Cli mate Orbiter’s failure, controllers for the $165 million Polar Lander mis sion have reworked and reviewed plans to deal with the myriad of things that could go wrong at the end of the 157-million-mile voyage. They have put together hundreds of contingency plans for nearly every possible glitch. “When we’re working on contin- | gency plans, we’re thinking gory de- i tails about everything that can go | wrong,” Thurman said. Probes to study martian surface Guidance system initialization Turn to entry attitude NASA's Mars Polar Lander is designed to analyze the tel planet s south polar region. The lander is equipped wfo2 that will acquire soil samples which will be dumpedn ^ where water and carbon dioxide will be baked a*, | Here »s a look at the mission: The Microprobes Two basketbaU-Kized microprotoas will bo releasod by the spacecraft before entry The microprobes Siam mto me pienet’t surface n\ *00 mph. After impact the probe will drill into Mta surface to study thu soil with a primary goal oi finding water ice. The small scienos station will also measure soil temperaiuro and monitor local marltan weather A look at the probe IT' Surt.c. ' Sun Motor Drill motor l Temperature j jj sensors fm f ass ]. mm <: Review Categories World trade protests become peaceful raffi Submit Nominations SEATTLE (AP) — Billed as a “festival of re sistance,” World Trade Organization (WTO) protests for the first time seemed more like a par ty than a pitched battle with police yesterday. http://bac.tamu.edu Deadline: Wednesday, Dec. 22nd “These people are stand ing up for a good cause” JL ‘Celebration of Achievement’ Texas Business Leaders & Nubian Awards Reception — Sylvia McDaniel Market spokesperson Thursday. Feb. I Oth 3pm J. Wayne Stark Galleries After a Pike Place Market rally, at least 1,000 people marched to the King County Jail at the south end of downtown to express support for those arrested this week. Motorcycle police escorted protesters to the site, which is blocks away from the WTO meet ings. A huge puppet on wheels, with a gag across his mouth, also led the throng. “We’re here because there are over 100 non violent protesters [inside] who were arrested for exercising their right to free speech,” one man said on a bullhorn. Most of those arrested are being held else where. “The guards are telling them they have no support.” “Free the Seattle 500,” read one sign. “Let them go! ” chanted the crowd. People in side the jail waved to the cheering protesters. Police were acting differently, David Roman, 26, an organizer with the umbrella group Direct Action Network, said. Where Wednesday some were “out of control,” they were cooperative yesterday, he said. The rally at the market was one of the first peaceful demonstrations since Tliesday’s van dalism downtown and police response Wednes day with tear gas and rubber bullets. “These people are standing up for a good cause,” market spokesperson Sylvia McDaniel of the 2,000 or so who gathered peacefully in noon sunshine said. Activists were wary of renewed police efforts to distinguish between vandals and criminals and those engaged in peaceful protest and civil disobedience. he streets of Seattle are crowd- this week, but not with ; t|iongs of holi- y shoppers, gry protest ’s and police officers have c ogged the dow Photo images ho and startling: pi c ouds of tear go demonstrators a ■cles. It has bet ling time since 1 pined news abo lid anarchists. [ But perhaps r an the activity e object of all Thousands of lome to fight fre mpting and dela Spublicized meeti Trade Organizati Iternational bo< Ishes rules aboc I What? Never “It’s never too late to say you’resoitv.’MtO? Neither h, Lofton, 25, of Portland, Ore., said, wafelntil this week. 1 about 300 other demonstrators asthemone, the proles crowd dispersed into smaller groups, lave done much But then she added of police: “Manyolfl They have arr should be punished. An apology isliorld’s attentior enough.” lonsider the pot< For activists concerned about WTO: tpf free trade, to override national laws protectingthetl The demonstr ronment and workers, this week’s irolodgepodge of e was supposed to be a historic showdov f labor and humar tween civil society and the forces ofcorpuB- have denounc globalization. hoppling trade ba Instead, the battle has been betweecfiense of importa testers and police, with concerns abouttp Unfortunately rights, labor and the environment takingili gnedia has hurrie seat to allegations of police brutality. More than 570 people have beenae since Tuesday, when tens of thousands? testers took over the city’s core smashed entire blocks of storefront spray-painted buildings and slashedpoto tires causing an estimated $2 million in pit ty damage. dissenting voices able, or worse. | On Tuesday, fc waves were fillec Micr< Round Cut Pear Shape Carat Color Clarity Price Carat Color Clarity Price 1.77 G SI3 $5750 00 .92 K VS2 $2550°" 1.08 I VS2 $3750"° .79 K SI1 $1850"° 1.03' H 11 $1995 00 .89 F SI2 $3100°° .76 G SI2 $2700"" .70 H SI2 $1850"° Oval .57 I SI2 $1175°° .52 E VS2 $1250"° .50 G VS1 $1450"" Carat Color Clarity Price .33 H VVS2 $790°° .66 K VVS2 $1439°" .31 H VVS2 $790°° .54 H SI2 $1050 l, ° .26 G SI1 $275°" .32 H SI1 $ 550°° Marquise Cut Carat Color Clarity Price Princess Cut 1.21 K SI2 $3950°" .94 K SI1 $3150°" Carat Color Clarity Price 70 G SI1 $2650°" .73 F SI1/VS2 $2875°° 49 F SI1 $1736°° .72 E VS2 $3700 00 EGL Cert .27 G SI2 $275°° All Tag Heuer Watches except Ag Tag 20% OFF. 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If the monopol Tftiult, the situatior TOYSTom ,:[t s not mere marl 11:30 2:054:45W-B , . 1035ioo3«#ionopoly illegal, world is note® er a monopoly aff But it is Micros the bonecou'tjjgdy that reason, percent share of tl IF YOU ordered a ii l Aggieland and will (td on campus next fall to it up, you can W mailed. To have your 1 book for the school year mate by 015 Reed fid Building or tele 845-2613 (credit only) between 8:3 and 4:30 p.m, M through Friday artf a $6.50 mailing and 1 dling fee. Cash, Check Visa, Matt- Discover and American M accepted. perating system i ense its operating anufacturers uni ows with every F This is only oni nti-trust case. It isn’t just detr rs; it hurts const If you buy a PC omputer retailer, license for Micro :ame time. This “I en, but included ind that you mig ense for Window pgrade your hard It doesn’t matte o erase the hard i lon-Microsoft ope inux. 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