NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Washington metropolitan area media are invited to tour NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center on March 30 to learn more about the role of 3-D visualizations in science and visit the STEREO spacecraft in the cleanroom before they ship to Kennedy Space Center, Fla.

NASA's STEREO, or Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory, consists of two spacecraft that will provide the very first 3-D measurements of the sun and advance our understanding of the nature of coronal mass ejections (CMEs), the most violent explosions in our solar system.

WHAT: 3-D Visualization Show & Cleanroom/Test Facilities Tour
WHERE: Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
WHEN: 8:45 am on Thursday, March 30, 2006
CMEs are a major source of magnetic disruptions on Earth and a key component of space weather. These powerful eruptions can affect satellite operations, communications, power systems, airline polar routes and humans in space.

News media wishing to attend the media day event should contact Ed Campion in Goddard public affairs by e-mail at: edward.s.campion@nasa.gov or call (301) 286-0697 to arrange accreditation and access.

"STEREO is going to help us answer some of the biggest questions about the sun. Not only will we see if CMEs are moving toward Earth, but we'll see how they move through the solar system," said Dr. Michael Kaiser, STEREO Project Scientist at the Goddard Space Flight Center. "Essentially, this mission will give scientists a much better handle on the workings of the sun and help protect our assets in space."

For more information about STEREO, go to: http://www.nasa.gov/stereo.

Edward Campion
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center