May 16, 1960

Dr. Lloyd Berkner.
space Science Board
Wshington, D.C.

Dear Lloyds

We had a meeting at Lockheed, Palo Alto, yesterday to review availa>le
information on the emission-reflection spectrum of the earth as it would
be seen outside the atmosphere, This would be analozous to Sinton's tele-
scopic studies of Mars, and to the planned efferts to detect organic material
or: the planets by vicinal probes.

I an deeply disturbed to leave that meeting with the dusression that the
desired information simoly does not exist; there cemains, of coursep the
possibility that it 4s suried somewhere else in the classificd literature.
Since the satellite. easly warning prozrams depend or the detection of
unique spectral features against the normal backgrounc. of the earth, 1t is
astonishing that this should not have been empirically deterained. Some
reasonably olausible predictions can, of course, be made, but we would be
very sad to find ourselves making new discoveries comparable to the
absorption of radar by water,

As far as I could tell, this cap stems from the argency of the orogran
dn its early stages, and the lack of funding for fundanantal studies at that
tine.

Sincerely,
Joshua Lederoers

The indicated action, if warranted, would be I assume to call the matter
fo Herbert York's attention.

A

Secatp felix — bei to Lasher,