MEDIA RELATIONS OFFICE
JET PROPULSION LABORATORY
CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
PASADENA, CALIF. 91109 TELEPHONE (818) 354-5011
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov

Contact: Mary Beth Murrill, (818) 354-6478

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE August 5, 1999

CASSINI MISSION TO SATURN AND TITAN SUBJECT OF JPL LECTURE

       Saturn, its rings, moons and the other wonders to be explored by the Cassini space mission are the topics of the next von Karman Lecture to be held at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena on Thursday, Aug. 19, and at Pasadena City College on Friday, Aug. 20. Both lectures are free of charge, open to the public and seating is on a first-come, first-served basis. Parking is free.

       "Voyage to the Ringed Giant: The Cassini Spacecraft Completes Two Years of Its Seven-Year Journey to Saturn," will be presented by Dr. Ellis Miner, the Cassini Program's science adviser at JPL. The international Cassini mission is managed by JPL for NASA.

       Launched two years ago, the Cassini spacecraft began a journey of many years to reach and explore Saturn, the most distant planet that can easily be seen by the unaided human eye. In addition to Saturn's interesting atmosphere and interior, its vast system contains the most spectacular ring system in the solar system, numerous icy satellites with a variety of unique surface features, a huge magnetic environment teeming with particles that interact with the rings and moons, and the large, intriguing moon Titan, which is slightly larger than the planet Mercury, and whose hazy atmosphere is denser Earth's.

       The lecture at JPL will be held in the von Karman Auditorium located at 4800 Oak Grove Dr., Pasadena, near the Oak Grove Dr. exit of the 210 (Foothill) Freeway. On Friday, the lecture will be held in Pasadena City College's Forum at 1570 E. Colorado Blvd. For more information, call (818) 354-5011.

       JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, Calif.

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