[meteorite-list] NASA to Release Science Results and New Images From Mercury Flyby

[Ron Baalke]

Jan. 28, 2008

Dwayne Brown
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1726
dwayne.c.brown at nasa.gov 

MEDIA ADVISORY: M08-019

NASA TO RELEASE SCIENCE RESULTS AND NEW IMAGES FROM MERCURY FLYBY

WASHINGTON - NASA will hold a press conference at 1 p.m. EST on 
Wednesday, Jan. 30, to announce scientific findings and release 
never-before-seen images of Mercury. The images were taken during a 
NASA spacecraft's January flyby of the planet. The briefing will take 
place in the NASA Headquarters' James E. Webb Auditorium, 300 E 
Street, S.W., Washington, and will be carried live on NASA 
Television. 

NASA's MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging 
(Messenger) spacecraft is the first mission sent to orbit the planet 
closest to our sun. After a journey of more than 2 billion miles, the 
spacecraft made its first flyby of Mercury on Jan. 14. The 
spacecraft's cameras and other sophisticated, high-technology 
instruments collected more than 1,200 images and made other 
observations. Data included the first up-close measurements of 
Mercury since the Mariner 10 spacecraft's third and final flyby on 
March 16, 1975. 

Participants in the press conference will be:
- James Green, director, Planetary Science Division, NASA 
Headquarters, Washington
- Sean Solomon, Mesenger principal investigator; director, Department 
of Terrestrial Magnetism, Carnegie Institution of Washington
- Maria Zuber, Messenger science team member; head, Department of 
Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of 
Technology, Cambridge
- Robert Strom, Messenger science team member; professor emeritus, 
Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona, Tucson
- Louise Prockter, instrument scientist for the Mercury Dual Imaging 
System, Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, 
Md.

Reporters may ask questions from participating NASA locations. The 
briefing also will be streamed live on NASA's Web site at: 

http://www.nasa.gov

	
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