PUBLIC INFORMATION 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: Diane Ainsworth
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 10, 1996
PRESS BRIEFING ON 1996 MARS MISSIONS SET FOR OCTOBER 16
NASA Administrator Daniel S. Goldin and a panel of senior
space scientists and engineers will discuss NASA's plans for
robotic exploration of Mars and, specifically, the two U.S.
missions set for launch to the planet this fall, during a press
briefing on Wednesday, October 16, at NASA Headquarters,
Washington, D.C.
Members of the press are invited to NASA's Jet Propulsion
Laboratory to watch the live press conference on NASA Television,
beginning at 8:30 a.m. Pacific Standard Time. A question-and-
answer session will begin immediately after the briefing at
participating NASA centers.
Administrator Goldin is scheduled to open the briefing with
remarks on NASA's vision for Mars exploration. Dr. Wesley
Huntress, NASA associate administrator for the Office of Space
Science, will speak at 10 a.m. PST on the goals of the space
agency's long-term Mars Surveyor Program and on NASA's
cooperation with Russia in the Mars '96 mission. Dr. Michael Carr
of the U.S. Geological Survey then will discuss the state of
scientific knowledge about Mars and what major questions the
upcoming missions will help answer.
This will be followed by a JPL panel of speakers focused on
detailed discussions of the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) orbiter
and Mars Pathfinder lander missions, featuring:
- Glenn Cunningham, MGS project manager
- Dr. Arden Albee, MGS project scientist
- Anthony Spear, Mars Pathfinder project manager
- Dr. Matthew Golombek, Mars Pathfinder project scientist
Mars Global Surveyor is set for launch on November 6 and
Mars Pathfinder is set for launch on December 2, both on Delta II
launch vehicles, from NASA's Kennedy Space Center, FL. An on-time
launch of Mars Pathfinder would result in its landing in the Ares
Vallis region of Mars on July 4, 1997. Mars Global Surveyor
arrives in orbit around Mars in September 1997 and, after several
months of aerobraking in the upper atmosphere of Mars, will begin
its primary mapping mission in March 1998.
In addition to the press briefing, NASA Television will
dedicate its video file that day to Mars, barring any breaking
news events. The video file airs at 9 a.m., noon, 3 p.m. and 6
p.m. PST.
NASA Television is located on Spacenet 2, transponder 5,
channel 9, C-band, located at 69 degrees west longitude with
horizontal polarization. Frequency will be on 3880.0 megahertz,
with audio on 6.8 megahertz.
Further information on NASA's plans for robotic exploration
of Mars can be accessed on the Internet at the following URL:
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/mars/
A press kit describing the upcoming Mars missions can be found at:
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/files/misc/m96pkt.pdf
(Caution: 1.6 megabyte pdf file).
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10/10/96 DEA
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