The Hubble Legacy

Part Four: The Rewards

The once-troubled Hubble flying high

Todd Halvorson, Florida Today
for USA TODAY Images of stars and galaxies came back blurry, and the prom-
December 26, 1995 ise of Hubble seemed to collapse. But two years later came
“The Big Fix.”
The Hubble Space Telescope once was the butt of late-night
television jokes. Nobody’s laughing now. In December 1993, astronauts outfitted Hubble with cor-
rective lenses, a more powerful planetary camera, new
The once myopic orbiting obser- power-producing solar arrays and
vatory, outfitted two years ago this equipment that would enable the
month with a $ 629 million pair of telescope to point with greater accu-
contact lenses, is more than living racy. “The scientific returns frankly
up to its prelaunch hype. have been fantastic,” Oswalt said.

The reasons include the discovery The stream of discoveries since Hub-
of another planet orbiting a star, ble’s repair includes:
proof that black holes exist and
stunning pictures of comet chunks — Black holes: These objects are
smashing into Jupiter. thought to have such a powerful
gravitational pull that nothing, not
“There’s no question that it’s be- even light, can escape their grasp.
come the flagship of American
astronomy,” said Terry Oswalt, Scientists theorized that black holes
a professor of physics and space are the engines that keep galaxies
science at the Florida Institute of and their billions of stars together.
Technology.
Soon after Hubble’s repair, astrono-
“Oh it’s so sweet,” said David mers focused it on M87, a galaxy 52
Orion Nebula Courtesty of NASA/Hubble Space Telescope
Leckrone, senior Hubble project million light-years from Earth. They
scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Green- found clear evidence of a black hole: a whirlpool of dust, gas
belt, Md. and stars being drawn into a pitch-black vortex, a galactic
core that had a mass equal to 3 billion suns.
“I mean, to feel like we’ve successfully come back from ad-
versity, it transcends science. It’s a personal thing.” — Cosmic hula hoops: One of the most intensely studied ce-
lestial objects in recent history has been Supernova 1987A,
Adversity for the $ 2 billion Hubble project began in June a star over the Southern Hemisphere that exploded 170,000
1990, two months after the launch of the space telescope light-years from Earth.
designed to enable astronomers to peer to the edge of the
universe. It was supposed to answer ancient questions about It wasn’t until Hubble zoomed in on it that astronomers
the age of the universe, and whether it would expand for- discovered giant, colorful rings orbiting the remains of the
ever or collapse upon itself in a “Great Crunch.” obliterated star. The glowing red loops rotated and wobbled
around the supernova core like mystical hula hoops.
Then came “spherical aberration” - NASA jargon for blurry
vision. — Smash hits on Jupiter: A trail of 21
comet chunks collided with Jupiter in
Devastated astronomers discovered that the telescope’s July 1994, leaving scientists in awe.
8-foot primary mirror had been ground ten-thousandths of
an inch too flat, or about one-fiftieth of the diameter of a
human hair. As a result, Hubble was as nearsighted as Mr.
Magoo.

In collaboration with NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

Copyright 2008 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co., Inc. All rights reserved.
 The Hubble Legacy
Part Four: The Rewards

The comet fragments hit Jupiter’s atmosphere at up to The gaseous towers, each 6 trillion miles long, resemble
130,000 mph, sending up mushroom clouds and fireballs stalagmites rising from a cavern floor.
930 miles high.
At their tips are finger-like protrusions, each of which holds
Destructive enough to vaporize a major metropolitan a newborn star in what astronomers named EGGs - Evapo-
area, the collisions were rating Gaseous Globules.
said to be similar to one that
hammered Earth 65 million While the Hubble is answering an-
years ago. It theoretically cient questions and confirming
sent up a massive cloud of long-held theories, it also is creating
ash that choked off sunlight conundrums.
and killed 70% of the species
living at the time, including Astronomers long have said the uni-
all dinosaurs. verse was created in a primordial
explosion called “The Big Bang” 15
— The birth of other planets: to 20 billion years ago. Hubble data
Hubble astronomers took have shown that stars in the Milky
pictures showing that at Way galaxy appear to be at least 12
least half the newborn stars billion to 14 billion years old. Recent
in the Orion Nebula are sur- observations, however, indicate the
rounded by flat, dusty round universe itself might only be 8 bil-
disks that could turn into lion to 9 billion years old.
planets.
“How can you have stars that are
“What we learned from that older than the universe?” Oswalt
is that the basic conditions in Orion Nebula Courtesty of NASA/Hubble Space Telescope said.
which planets might form might
be extremely common around newborn stars,” said Steve The puzzle is but one of the holy grails astronomers will
Maran, a Hubble project scientist at Goddard Space Flight be seeking during the next decade of star-hunting with
Center. “And that eventually could help us make a judg- Hubble, which is expected to operate in orbit until at least
ment on whether we are alone.” 2005.

— A star is born: Astronomers this fall witnessed the birth “The fact is that we’ve just barely scratched the surface,”
of stars within monstrous columns of gas and dust in the Maran said. “We have barely begun to look around.”
Eagle Nebula, a region 7,000 light-years away from Earth in
the constellation Serpens.

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Copyright 2008 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co., Inc. All rights reserved.
 The Hubble Legacy
Part Four: The Rewards
Technology used in Hubble telescope helps
detect breast cancer more accurately
Larry Wheeler, Gannett News Service
October 24, 1997
WASHINGTON — The same technology that allows the
Hubble space telescope to unlock secrets hidden in gal-
axies millions of light years away is already making breast
cancer detection more accurate and less painful on Earth.
Similarly, a robotic brain surgery device developed for use
by an astronaut physician on a future trip to Mars may
eventually allow doctors to perform even more precise
breast surgery procedures at less cost and with even bet-
ter outcomes.
Such is the promise of merging the technological prowess
of the nation’s civilian space agency with the medical ex-
pertise at the Department of Health and Human Services,
according to government officials.
“If we can see the surface of Mars with the Hubble space
telescope, then let’s get a dividend from our national in-
vestment in space by transferring technologies to improve
the early detection of breast cancer and to fight other dis-
eases in women,” said Dr. Susan Blumenthal, deputy as-
sistant secretary for women’s health issues and assistant
surgeon general for Health and Human Services.
Blumenthal and Henry McDonald, director of NASA’s Ames
Research Center, signed a cooperative agreement Thurs-
day to bring the two agencies closer together in the fight
against breast cancer and other women’s diseases.
NASA Administrator Dan Goldin suggested the agreement
should silence critics who question why U.S. astronauts
continue to serve aboard the crippled Russian space sta-
tion Mir and challenge spending billions on a new Interna-
tional Space Station.
“NASA ingenuity develops machines and methods to treat
sick astronauts on the way to the Moon and Mars,” Goldin
said. “We should also use that talent to make a concerted
effort to save our wives, mothers, sisters, daughters and
friends whose lives are affected by cancers and other dis-
eases.”
In collaboration with NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Copyright 2008 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co., Inc. All rights reserved.
In January, NASA plans to send its so-called bioreactor to
Mir where it will perform as a high-tech incubator for hu-
man breast cancer tissue. Researchers anticipate learning
much from the experiment designed to use the micrograv-
ity environment of space to foster tumor growth that can’t
be achieved in a flat, laboratory petri dish back on Earth.
The agreement provided no new funding for breast can-
cer research but instead created a cooperative framework
between NASA’s Ames Research Center in California and
the Department of Health and Human Service’s Office on
Women’s Health.
On display at the event in the Cannon House office building
and at a luncheon in the Capitol building were examples of
NASA-developed medical products under development or
already at work in hospitals.
Some examples:
— Digital imaging technology developed for Hubble is al-
ready working at more than 350 medical facilities inside
the LORAD Stereo Guide Breast Biopsy System which of-
fers women a quick and less painful method for determin-
ing if a breast lump is malignant. The procedure costs $850
vs. a traditional breast biopsy surgery charge of approxi-
mately $3,500.
-- An instrument designed to study the Earth’s atmosphere
from space is being converted to provide superior new im-
ages of the entire breast while accommodating different
tissue density. An instrument unhampered by tissue densi-
ty is important because younger women have more dense
breast tissue than older women.
— Technology that allows the Mars Pathfinder to deliver
crisp pictures is being modified to make three-dimension-
al models of breast tissue, giving physicians the ability to
differentiate between cancerous and healthy tissue with-
out painful, invasive procedures.
Several members of the Congressional Caucus on Women’s
Issues praised the agreement.
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 The Hubble Legacy
Part Four: The Rewards

“NASA already has an impressive record of transferring its
technological discoveries to the private sector,” said Rep.
Anna Eschoo, D-Calif., whose congressional district hosts
the Ames Research Center. “The new interagency agree-
ment will help refine the space agency’s technologies and
apply them to the specific health care needs of women,
such as cancer, reproductive health, osteoporosis and edu-
cation.”
Breast cancer is the leading cause of death of women ages
35 to 50 in the United States. Each year, more than 180,000
new cases of breast cancer are diagnosed and more than
500,000 breast biopsies are performed.
Sen. Connie Mack, R-Fla., and his wife, Priscilla, spoke at the
luncheon about their personal experiences with cancer and
the value of early detection and continued research.
Priscilla Mack described how she found a lump in her breast
by accident and urged women not to leave their health to
chance. Practice self-exams, see your physician at least
once a year and follow recommended breast exam guide-
lines, she said.
Mack later had reconstructive surgery. She is now a tireless
advocate for early detection.
Sen. Mack said his brother Michael’s 12-year struggle with
melanoma was the motivating factor that led him to seek
public office. After his brother’s death and shortly after win-
ning his senate seat, Mack himself found out he had mel-
anoma but survived because his cancer had been caught
early enough.
Mack said continued federally sponsored cancer research is
essential to beating the disease in all its forms. The Florida
Republican has introduced a resolution to double spending
on cancer research at the National Institutes of Health.
“We’ve got to double the NIH budget,” Mack said. “I don’t
want another husband, another brother to have to hear the
words I heard and go through what we went through.”

Page 4
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