Large quantities of water ice were discovered near the surface of the south lunar pole by the US Department of Defence's satellite "Clementine" in 1996. At a press conference at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory on March 5 it was announced that data from NASA's Lunar Prospector satellite launched in January has confirmed that discovery and indicates the presence of many millions of tons of ice, and possibly as much as a billion tons, at both lunar poles.

After a reception starting at 8.00 am, a press conference will be held at 9.00 am on Wednesday March 25th on Capitol Hill at the Rayburn House Office Building, Room B-354 (corner of Independence Avenue and South Capitol Street, SW) Washington D.C. to announce the release of the final report of the joint study by STA and NASA on General Public Space Travel and Tourism.

The "Superphoenix" power plant, a 1240 MW sodium-cooled "fast breeder" nuclear reactor near Lyons in France, is to be closed after a very expensive and unsuccessful life. Construction started in December 1974; it operated at full power for the first time in December 1986; and since then it operated for only six months in total, being used finally for research.

Until recently pointedly ignored by the "space establishment", the subject of space tourism continues to get discussed more and more seriously and frequently. In the February 9-15 issue of Space News it appeared in two separate articles.

TV star Akiko Hinagata was given an out-of-this-world birthday present. During a televised celebration, her friends reserved a seat for her on the "space cruiser," a craft that could become the first private passenger vessel in space.

NASA has announced that Senator John Glenn (D Idaho), the first US citizen to orbit the Earth (in 1962) will fly on board the space shuttle in late 1998. Scepticism has been expressed about claims that this will be useful for research on ageing, and it is acknowledged that his case is exceptional. (There's a long queue of other ex-astronauts who'd like a flight!)

A joint press conference by NASA and the Space Transportation Association (STA) was planned for January 21st at the Press Club, Washington DC, and publicised in the STA Newsletter. However it was cancelled by NASA at the last minute, and a new date has yet to be announced.

On October 24 the US House Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics held a hearing to examine the viability of microwave energy from space. They discussed the need to direct NASA to study SPS, since it is not working on this project, despite its promise to provide an economic return on taxpayers' huge investment in space. For a fuller report see http://www.nss.org/alerts/capsules/capsule17.html

An article in December's "Wired" magazine entitled "Reality Check: The Future of Hotels" asked the question: "Might we one day blast off to soak in whirlpool spas in outer space?" It published comments on the idea from three hotel industry professionals.

The Final Report of the joint study carried out since 1995 by NASA and the Space Transportation Association (STA) in Washington DC is due to be published in January, according to Thomas F Rogers, the President of STA.