Also: NASA explains itself before U.S. House of Representatives
6/20/2000
Written by Wiggz...also known as the AlienZoo prohibitor of dullness..
NASA watchdog site NASAWatch.com reported Monday afternoon that NASA "recently briefed the White House on a potential major discovery on Mars." The source of the information was undisclosed. The posting reads further, "An announcement of some sort is rumored to be planned for next week and that it involves Mars Global Surveyor."
Paradigm Research Group Executive Director and AlienZoo contributing writer Steve Bassett is looking into the matter. "My colleagues and I are working feverishly to find out the particulars," he writes.
Meantime, government Web site http://www.house.gov/science/webcast.htm is Webcasting a live two-hour hearing before the House Science Committee regarding NASA's Mars Program. NASA chief Dan Goldin is charged with explaining the causes of NASA's recent failures.
Goldin is facing a tough audience. In a June 7 press release, House Committee on Science Chairman F. James Sensenbrenner, Jr. stated, "A lot of phrases came to my mind upon hearing the Mars Polar Lander was lost. 'Performance target achieved' was certainly not among them. By demonstrating merely that the robotic arm worked prior to launch, NASA claims success in the Performance Report, even though the mission failed and the arm was never used as intended. If this is NASA.s definition of success, planetary exploration just got a whole lot easier."