Selected Articles from the
October 2001 Odyssey

Editor: Terry Hancock

• Hollywood Bowl Concert, Diane Rhodes
• Observing the Leonid Meteor Shower, Norm Cook
• A Martian Space Odyssey, NASA/JPL
• Isn't Mars Being Interesting?, NASA/STScI
• The Surf Report, Diane Rhodes

The Surf Report

By Diane Rhodes

A Change In The Wind

By now, most of you have heard of the resignation of Daniel Goldin, NASA Administrator since April 1, 1992. This event has been one of the most dreaded and eagerly anticipated events in the spacer community (depending on who you're speaking with!). Some activists have deplored his tenure, citing the number of employees laid off, the change of focus of the main NASA centers, and the perceived deterioration of the NASA mission. Frequent calls for his head on a platter are a mainstay in some circles. Others have called him the best person to have headed the agency since its inception, that he has fought long and hard to keep NASA viable, with his famous (or infamous!) Faster, Better, Cheaper mandate. Undoubtedly, he has the longest tenure in that position, and probably the most influence in its overall direction both for the last decade and a goodly portion of the next. You can find his official NASA biography here

This is not going unnoticed. There are numerous comments out there on the 'Web. Some of the most entertaining and vociferous ones are at the site for NASAWatch (an ``unofficial'' site about the agency run by a former NASA employee): NASAWatch comments

Some further comment is being made at Slashdot, the self-proclaimed ``News for Nerds. Stuff That Matters''.

Cosmiverse is a site on space matters from a number of different angles: Astronomy, education, and space programs around the globe. The article on Goldin's departure touches on more than just the event itself

For an international view of an American news item, try the BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) here.

And lastly, CNN has a few things to say, a good overview of his speech and history with the agency: CNN article

We'll have to wait and see who will be appointed to replace him, or if the agency will be ``left in the air'' with a temporary administrator during the current political situation. With so much monetary commitment to disaster relief at home and to overseas military activities, I think we can expect to see some deep budget cuts at NASA, to balance the ``unplanned'' spending in other arenas. It's probably a good political move for Daniel Goldin to bow out now.

Watch out for High Surf warnings!

File translated from T_EX by T_TH, version 2.25.
On 23 Jan 2002, 11:30.

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