Page 2 July 3, 2014 Calendar Looking Up Manhattan Beach Friday, July 4 • 4th of July Pool Party Celebration, 10 a.m.-2 p.m., Begg Pool, 1402 North Peck Avenue. For more information call (310) 802-5428 or (310) 802-5448. Tuesday, July 15 • City Council Meeting, 6-11 p.m., City Council Chambers, 1400 Highland Avenue. Sunday, August 3 • 54th Annual Sand Castle Design Contest, 9 a.m.-12 p.m., Manttan Beach Pier- South Side, 100 Manhattan Beach Boulevard. For more information call (310) 802-5448. Friday, August 8 • Shakespeare by the Sea: Hamlet, 7 p.m., Polliwog Park, 1601 Manhattan Beach Boulevard. Saturday, August 9 • Shakespeare by the Sea: A Midsummer Night’s Dream, 7 p.m., Polliwog Park, 1601 Manhattan Beach Boulevard. Ongoing • Concerts in the Park, 5-7 p.m., Polliwog Park Amphitheater, 1601 Manhattan Beach Boulevard • Curiosity Rover Completes Its First Martian Year By Bob Eklund NASA’s Mars Curiosity rover completed a full Martian year—687 Earth days—as of June 24, having accomplished the mission’s main goal of determining whether Mars once offered environmental conditions favorable for microbial life. One of Curiosity’s first major finds after landing on the Red Planet in August 2012 was an ancient riverbed at its landing site. Nearby, at an area known as Yellowknife Bay, the mission met its main goal of determining whether the Martian Gale Crater ever was habitable for simple life forms. The answer, a historic “yes,” came from two mudstone slabs that the rover sampled with its drill. Analysis of these samples revealed the site was once a lakebed with mild water, the essential elemental ingredients for life, and a type of chemical energy source used by some microbes on Earth. If Mars had living organisms, this would have been a good home for them. Other major tasks performed during the first Martian year include: Assessing natural radiation levels both during the flight to Mars and on the Martian surface, providing guidance for designing the protection needed for human missions to Mars, and measuring heavy-versus-light variants of elements in the Martian atmosphere. Findings indicate that much of Mars’ early atmosphere disappeared by processes favoring loss of lighter atoms. The first determinations of the age of a rock on Mars and how long a rock has been exposed to harmful radiation. Curiosity paused in driving this spring to drill and collect a sample from a sandstone site called Windjana. The rover currently is carrying some of the rock-powder sample collected at the site for follow-up analysis. “Windjana has more magnetite than previous samples we’ve analyzed,” said David Blake, principal investigator for Curiosity’s Chemistry and Mineralogy (CheMin) instrument at NASA’s Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California. “A key question is whether this magnetite is a component of the original basalt or resulted from later processes, such as would happen in water-soaked basaltic sediments. The answer is important to our understanding of habitability and the nature of the early-Mars environment.” Curiosity departed Windjana in mid-May and is advancing westward. It has covered about nine-tenths of a mile in 23 driving days The Curiosity Rover uses its Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI), which sits at the end of its arm, to take a self-portrait composed of dozens of images sewn together. Curiosity Rover has run slowly but surely for 687 days on the surface of Mars. Image Credit: NASA/ JPL-Caltech/MSSS. and brought the mission’s odometer tally up to 4.9 miles. After wheel damage prompted a slow-down in driving late in 2013, the mission team has adjusted routes and driving methods to reduce the rate of damage. For example, the mission team revised the planned route to future destinations on the lower slope of an area called Mount Sharp, where scientists expect geological layering will yield answers about ancient environments. Before Curiosity landed, scientists anticipated that the rover would need to reach Mount Sharp to meet the goal of determining whether the ancient environment was favorable for life. They found an answer much closer to the landing site. The findings so far have raised the bar for the work ahead. At Mount Sharp, the mission team will seek evidence not only of habitability, but also of how environments evolved and what conditions favored preservation of clues to whether life existed there. The entry gate to the mountain is a gap in a band of dunes edging the mountain’s northern flank that is approximately 2.4 miles ahead of the rover’s current location. The new path will take Curiosity across sandy patches as well as rockier ground. Terrain mapping with use of imaging from NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter enables the charting of safer, though longer, routes. • Community Briefs City Reaches Platinum Energy Status By Marilyn Lyon for South Bay Cities Council of Governments At the June 17 Manhattan Beach City Council meeting, South Bay Cities Council of Governments and Southern California Edison presented Mayor Amy Howorth and City Council of Manhattan Beach with a certificate of achievement honoring the City of Manhattan Beach with Platinum status, the highest level of achievement in the SBCCOG/SCE Energy Leader Partnership local government program. The Energy Leader partnership program is a framework that offers enhanced rebates and incentives to cities that achieve measurable energy savings, reduce peak-time electricity demand and plan for energy efficiency. In order to reach the Platinum tier the City of Manhattan Beach reduced energy consumption at its municipal buildings and facilities by 1,156,641 kWh reaching above the 20% energy savings required for Manhattan Beach to become Platinum. They actually saved 23.33% from their baseline established in 2006! Leading by example, the City has participated in Southern California Edison Demand Reduction programs. These programs reward the City by doing its part to reduce electricity use on hot days and help prevent power outages. The City also encouraged local businesses and residents to save energy and money through marketing, education and outreach activities. As a further demonstration of its commitment to long-term energy leadership, the City initiated, completed, and is implementing its Energy Action Plan. MBPD and Neighborhood Watch Sponsor National Night Out Manhattan Beach Police Department and the Manhattan Beach Neighborhood Watch have joined together in sponsoring a National Night Out on Tuesday, August 5th, from 5-9 p.m. The Night Out program is a chance for neighborhood watch communities to turn on their porch lights and come out to meet or socialize with their neighbors. Neighborhoods may hold block parties, safety demonstrations or flashlight walks, youth events, or cookoffs. To register your block, please contact Neighborhood Watch at (310) 802-5184. • 2 games of bowling everyday 9-5 KIDS BOWL FREE! KIDS SUMMER MENU $5.50 (plus tax) your choice of: Grilled Cheese Peanut Butter & Jelly Slice of Cheese Pizza Hamburger Hot Dog Apple Juice or Skim Milk Apple Slices or French Fries Register at www.kidsbowlfree.com/palosverdes For more information please call Charlotte at charlotte@pvbowl.com; or 310.326.5120
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