Memorandum
To: Dr. Derbyshire

From: J. Lederberg

Just a quick note on ''Sclence In Space."

| would suggest that the organizational and polltical
material on pages 7 through 24 should be transposed to the
end of the volume. While these considerations must loom very
large In the minds of the membars of the Board, | don't
believe that they are calculated to engage the Interest of
working scientists. They should certainly be in the vol ume
to answer questions that wil! inevitably arise If a reader's
interest la stimulated. I will assume that you are keeping
in mind bringing this material up to date with mention of,
for example, the Bloastronautics Comm! ttee.

Reading through the draft, 1! noticed several references
to the high temperature of Venus, for example page !7, chapeer
4; page 6 of that chapter and | think elsewhere. | have
more recently heard considerable skepticism as to the certainty
of radio measurements of the temperature of Venus and | wonder
If the members of the Board might not prefer to be more
cautious. The high temperatures that have been proposed will,
of course, preclude the maintenance of familfar forms of
ltfe there.

| found page 6 of section 3 of chapter 2 somewhat
confusing unt!! | read "It moves northward during daylight’
to refer to the sum of several traverses. On page 7,
“polar satellite would always view the earth at nearly
the same local time,'' would be clear, on the same grounds,
if it read,"'a given meridional zone of the earth."

At the foot of page 18, chapter 4 Is a remark that
on Mars "life of the active forms found on the earth Is
most Improbable.'' {| don't think | could go quite so far
on the basis of the a prior! argument since other oxidants
besides oxygen Itself might be avallable. To litustrate
this polnt in a general way, the rocket that lands the
Martian probe may carry a propellant other than oxygen.

is there a typographical error on page 23? 1! would
have thought that a low radius for Mars would Imply a high
density and therefore a possible core.

i'm not sure that | can Improve greatly on Dr. Hartline's
SAMERAPasLS PSE SeMecRASLCA eT ALEAT Hrs. exPand the sectlon