Astronautical and Aeronautical Events of 1962 - NASA's History Office

280 ASTRONAUTICAL AND AERONAUTICAL EVENTS OF 19 62
December 29: Planet Venus may rotate clockwise on its axis at a rate
of about once in 250 earth days, Richard H. Goldstein of NASA
Goldstone Tracking Station announced. Conclusions were based
on MARINER 11 “fly-by” of planet Venus Dec. 14 and of radar
experiments conducted by Goldstein at NASA Goldstone Oct.
1-Dec. 17.
NASA announced 4,000-lb. micrometeorite satellite would be launched
with Saturn test vehicles SA4 and SA-9. Satellite, to unfold
in space exposing surface area of 2,000 sq. ft., would be “bonus”
experiment with chief missions of flight to be launch vehicle
development test and atmospheric re-entry test of Apollo boiler-
plate spacecraft.
Dr. Freeman H. Quimby, Chief of Exobiology Programs in NASA
Office of Space Sciences, announed US. plans to land life-detect-
ing devices on Mars in 1966. “Perhaps Mars is sterile. But
we’re working on the postulate there may be some forms of life,”
Dr. Quimby told the American Association for the Advancement
of Science meeting in Philadelphia.
Addressing American Association for the Advancement of Science,
Dr. Loren K. Eiseley, anthropology prof. at Univ. of Pennsyl-
vania, said that space defense efforts ar0 “consuming an enor-
mous amount of our wealth and energy. . . . Let a few genera-
tions go by, and so much of society’s wealth and employment
will be wrapped up in this sort of thing that you will get-as we
are beginning to get now-a vested interest in war. . . . [The
space/defense effort is] a kind of gigantic tumor. When these
emerge, you not alone run the danger of weakening society, but
also encounter the fact that these tumors grow and become
monstrous; to reduce them to normal size becomes difficult if not
impossible. . . .” Dr. Eiseley predicted the massive emphasis
on space and armaments might lead to downfall of modern
civilization; he compared the preoccupation with space and arm-
aments to Imperial Rome’s colonialism, Ancient Egypt’s tomb
and pyramid building, and India’s elaborate caste system which
contributed to downfall of those ancient civilizations.
Soviet news agency Novosti reported first Soviet radioastronomy
experiments with planet Venus Nov. 19 and 24. Scientists sent
words “peace,” “Lenin,” and “U.S.S.R.” to Venus in radio code
and they returned to earth about 4.5 min. later.
December SO: AT&T announced that second Telstar communications
satellite would be launched next spring, one which would attempt,
to avoid or overcome radiation damage which shortened the life
of TELSTAR I. TELSTAR I transmitted the first live intercon-
tinental television after launch on July 10, but developed mal-
functions in power sources on November 29.
Speaking at general AAAS meeting in Philadelphia, Dr. Hugh L.
Dryden, Deputy NASA Administrator, supported the thesis that
science has developed most rapidly in an environment of a
national social need, most often for national defense or health.
In an atmosphere of highly motivated and widely supported
national activities, science and scientists have received enhanced
support over broad areas as well as in narrow specialties:
Benefits of this have far outweighed unbalances. Such has been
our national experience in the technologies of aeronautics, com