February 11, 1960

Dr Richard Davies

det Propulsion Leboratory
4800 Oak Grave Asenee
Pasadena 5, California

Dear Dick:

I would not press you to come to the 2/29 session, except as an observer
‘on behalf of JPL, who might be concenmed to meet “Committee 11", Derbyshire
has raised some additional matters for the agenda; you will have received then
as SSB-159. If NASA is going to be unresponsive to SSB recommendations, we
really are being led by the nose: what would all this be about then?

Re back-contaminationaxt, Norm also feels that this might have been over-
stated. Ithink he is right that we should stress a positive approach, that
perhaps our main scientific objective should be the detailed study of planetary
sanpjes with the resources of the terrestrial laboratory, And I would stress
this. But I think there have to be qualifications in the immediate program
and a considerable part of our effort in the next ten years' flights should
be directed a& the safeguards that will be necessary before we can preclude
back-sontamination as a hazard. If I diageme disagree with Norm it is in the
@ priori expectation that this can be a hazard, which I feel is quite high
if there is any microbial life at all. But I will keep your political cautions
in mind, and certainly will try to avoid any basis for negative thinking. I am
rather afraid of the space-adventure menhality that would push manned exploration
as an end~in-itself, as Mercury is doing, and feel this may give too quch, rather
impetus to planetary missions whose scientific objectives have net been thought
outs you are afraid that too much pressure to hew a narrow line may discourage
planetology altogether, but this seems almost an incredible possibility.

If SSB-139 is to be believed, NASA has already established a planetary goal as
policy; I will certainly do all possible to discourage any diversion from this,
but I do feel we have to lay out what we have to do.

Phillips has also, already, brought up back-contamination and I do not think
it will be forgotten if merely not discussed. It does furnish another valid ani
pressing motivation to insist on early develépment of exoblological experiments.

I would be glad to sit in on any sessions you might happen to hold around
here, but doubt I can make any more trips. You probably would want to have your
meeting at JPL, and I'm just not sure now whether I could break away.
I've submitted a preliminary application to NASA (Newell) for about $40,000
in fiscal 1961 to get started on the planetary microscope systen. I did stress
the importance of our working closely with JPL on this, particularly in its later
stages. We have $10,000 in preliminary money from Rockefeller and will soon be
setting up an elementary TV-microscope chain with UV sensitivity. We do need
definite guidanne from you on picture-taking and ~transmission capabilities, and
I would appreciate any information you can collect on these. If clearance is
necessary, I think you can get some help from the SSB secretariat; please also
let me know quite explicitly what I can pass on to the various people helping me
as background for the problem

You have mentioned a special vidicen several times, one you were playing with
for spacecraft installation. Is this the Lockheed solid-state device, or do you
have sonething else up your sleeves?

An important element of our program will be the caleuiated degradation of
our images, with noise and with limits on resolutéan and contrast, Perhaps the
cheapest way to go after this is te use a simulator that ROA had developed, and
which has been used by Harry Wexler for kis studies on eloud~cover-sensing. This
will take a photographie negative and preduce TV images with known degradation.
Do you have such a device at JPL, or do you know of any on the West Coast? Or
should you not be setting one up in any case if you are going into photography.

The papers carried a story last week on CBS "Photosean" for hich resolution
pictures. Is there anything in this for us?

Our staff so far is one 5th year BE student, a few hours a week. Such is
the American program in exbiology.

oN Yours/
‘Joshua Ledorberg