[meteorite-list] NASA Sets MAVEN/Atlas V Launch Events Coverage

[Ron Baalke]

November 8, 2013

Joshua Buck/Dwayne Brown
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1100/202-358-1726
jbuck at nasa.gov / dwayne.c.brown at nasa.gov 

George H. Diller
Kennedy Space Center, Fla.
321-867-2468
george.h.diller at nasa.gov 

Nancy Neal Jones
Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
301-286-0039
nancy.n.jones at nasa.gov 
     
MEDIA ADVISORY M13-171
     
NASA Sets MAVEN/Atlas V Launch Events Coverage

NASA's next Mars-bound spacecraft, the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution  
(MAVEN), is set to launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V 401 rocket  
Monday, Nov. 18.

The two-hour launch window extends from 1:28 p.m. to 3:28 p.m. EST. Liftoff  
will occur from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Space Launch Complex 41.

Launch commentary coverage and prelaunch media briefings, will be carried  
live on NASA Television and the agency's website.

MAVEN is the second mission under NASA's Mars Scout Program. It will take  
critical measurements of the Martian upper atmosphere to help scientists  
understand climate change over the Red Planet's history. MAVEN is the first  
spacecraft devoted to exploring and understanding the Martian upper  
atmosphere. It will orbit the planet in an elliptical orbit that allows it to  
pass through and sample the entire upper atmosphere on every orbit. The  
spacecraft will investigate how the loss of Mars' atmosphere to space  
determined the history of water on the surface.

NASA will host a number of pre- and post-launch activities at the agency's  
Kennedy Space Center in Florida, including:

Friday, Nov. 15

 * 1 p.m. - Prelaunch news conference on NASA TV
 * 2 p.m. - MAVEN Spanish media briefing on NASA TV

Saturday, Nov. 16

 * 9 a.m. - Atlas V launch vehicle rollout transportation departs the Kennedy
   Press Site parking lot at 9 a.m. (not on NASA TV)
 * 1:30 p.m. - Remote camera placement at Space Launch Complex 41
   transportation departs the Kennedy Press Site parking lot at 1:30 p.m.
   (not on NASA TV).
 * 2 p.m. - MAVEN NASA Social on NASA TV

Sunday, Nov. 17

 * 9 a.m. - PhoneSat 2 overview media availability at Kennedy's Press Site
   (not on NASA TV)
 * 10 a.m. - MAVEN mission science briefing on NASA TV
 * 11:30 a.m. - "The Path Toward Humans to Mars" briefing on NASA TV

Monday, Nov. 18

 * 11 a.m. - Live prelaunch commentary begins on NASA TVÂ 
 * Post-launch news conference on NASA TV targeted for about 2 1/2 hours
   after launch

Media who want to cover the MAVEN briefings and launch in person must apply  
for credentials at:

https://media.ksc.nasa.gov/ 

U.S. media requests must be received no later than Tuesday, Nov. 12. The  
deadline for foreign media has passed. Media may obtain access badges at the  
Gate 2 Press Accreditation Office. For all media, two forms of  
government-issued identification are required to receive Kennedy credentials.  
At least one form must be a government-issued photo identification, such as a  
passport or driver's license. For further information about accreditation,  
contact Jennifer Horner at 321-867-6598 or 321-867-2468.

NASA's Launch Services Program at Kennedy is responsible for launch  
management. United Launch Alliance of Centennial, Colo., is the provider of  
the Atlas V launch service. Lockheed Martin of Littleton, Colo., built the  
spacecraft and is responsible for mission operations after launch.

MAVEN's principal investigator is based at the Laboratory for Atmospheric and  
Space Physics at the University of Colorado Boulder. The university provided  
science instruments and leads science operations, as well as education and  
public outreach, for the mission.

NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., manages the project and  
provided two of the science instruments for the mission. The University of  
California at Berkeley's Space Sciences Laboratory also provided science  
instruments for the mission. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena,  
Calif., provides navigation support, Deep Space Network support and Electra  
telecommunications relay hardware and operations.

For the latest information about all of MAVEN's media opportunities, visit:

http://go.nasa.gov/17cP2bZ 

For more information about MAVEN's mission, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/maven 

-end-