Cows / July 20, 1959 Dear Dean-- Can ycu give me any more Information than already appears in the opus magnus concerning the utilization of Sugar phosphates by E. coli? Tnere is @ rather provocative statement atop p.75, and | wondered if that had been cleared up. Could the large water space for the hexose- phosphates have been enlarged by transient shock? My main concern for this at the moment is for the possible use of phosphotylated galactose derivatives in typing the enzymatic blocas in Gal mutants with intact cells -- we badly need some sm simplified methods, 1958 was certainly a discouraging year for vs with respect to the pros- pects of scientific microtiology in the space program-- '-i+ 1959 seems to be working out much better. It looks as if NASA itself is awakening to the hazards and the challenge, and it ray be getting down to Lusiness with Managing the first step. We had a gechnical meeting on decontamination procedureshere last week, and ehere is a good chance that the Fort Detrick group will be technical direction for them-- we couldn't have Aoeed for a more constructive and practical outcome. If they do handle it, we can concentrate on tne aore interesting scientific experiments with some assu- rance the tools will try to be clean. Dick Davies at Jet Propulsfon Labs. has been one of the most constructive contacts we've had on this -- | hope you two get to know one another, One of the penalties has been more than a little drag on my Own time-- | can't say though that | was quite Innocent of the possibility, and | hope it's worth it. The early Mars mission has been temporarily scrapped, but the moon-landing experiments are belng shappd up: the soonest ones (260-61) by @ group chaired by Bob Jasirow whom you may kaow (formerly at Nava} Res. Lab., then Vanguard, now NASA). 1 don't think there will (or need) be any strictly biological experiments the first round,but 1 have some popes the operative field will be kept more or less clean, and some of the prelimineries may be informative. |! was also a little Surprised to have a letter from Bronk asking me to join tic « \BMREXAX Space Science Board itself. 1 am not sure whether the Board itself has very decisive influence, but it can be ar -°--m for scientific opinion and perhaps indirectly try to temper some of the current nonsene. The significant point about this js its encouragement about the Climate of opinion. Fortunately | have a XXouXXaMMMxxXeM date east about the Same time and I'm planning to attend the next meeting Oct, 27 7 --d hop to have a chance to see you then. NASA and the administration generally seem to have firmly sectled on ': an-in-space! for the AAAI priority Sax less for scientific or military reasons than explorative. Have you any idea who makes this decision: H'd-€hought it was tie Academy but now | doubt it, and it must be the President's Advisory Board. (Current issue of Fortune pretty well illustrates this.) | Suppose it would be futile » to try to make a more temperate app. :ach -- and | don't think I'd want to excise MIS altogether even if it were possitle -- but it would still be helpful to know who's calling the shots. ry foe ° A : \ ' ee FO — se !