[meteorite-list] Briefings And Live Feed Set For First Asteroid Touchdown

From: Ron Baalke <baalke_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Apr 22 09:42:05 2004
Message-ID: <200101252218.OAA01184_at_zagami.jpl.nasa.gov>

Donald Savage
Headquarters, Washington, DC January 25, 2001
(Phone: 202/358-1547)

Helen Worth
Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD
(Phone: 240/228-5113)

NOTE TO EDITORS: N01-05

BRIEFINGS AND LIVE FEED SET FOR FIRST ASTEROID TOUCHDOWN

     On Feb. 12, NASA makes history when mission controllers
attempt to bring a spacecraft down to the surface of an asteroid
for the first time.

Controllers will send commands to the NEAR Shoemaker spacecraft
to initiate a four-hour series of engine burns designed to set
the spacecraft down gently on the asteroid Eros at about 3:01
p.m. EST.

The target site is on a saddle-shaped area known as Himeros on
the Manhattan-sized asteroid. The goal is to obtain high-
resolution imagery as NEAR Shoemaker, which has completed its
one-year orbital mission of Eros, slowly drops to the surface.

A media briefing to discuss the mission's science results and
the details of the descent to the surface of Eros is set for 1
p.m. EST, Wednesday, Jan. 31, in the James E. Webb Auditorium at
NASA Headquarters, 300 E St. SW, Washington, DC. The briefing
will be carried live on NASA Television with question-and-answer
capability for reporters at participating NASA Centers.

Speakers for the briefing will be:
- Dr. Edward Weiler, Associate Administrator for Space Science,
   NASA Headquarters
- Dr. Andrew Cheng, NEAR Project Scientist, The Johns Hopkins
   University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL), Laurel, MD
- Dr. Mark Robinson, Imaging Team member, Northwestern
   University, Evanston, IL
- Dr. Jessica Sunshine, Staff Scientist, Science Applications
   International Corp., Chantilly, VA
- Dr. Robert Farquhar, NEAR Mission Director, APL

On Monday, Feb. 12, 2001, "Descent to Eros" events will be held
at the Applied Physics Laboratory's Kossiakoff Center, in
Laurel, MD. Media interested in covering the descent activities
at APL should contact Helen Worth, APL Public Affairs Office.

A brief summary of the Feb. 12 activities are:
- 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. EST -- Recap of the mission
- 1:45 to 3:30 p.m. EST -- Descent Activities from the NEAR
  Mission Operations Center (broadcast live on satellite).

On Wednesday, Feb. 14, a press conference is scheduled at 1 p.m.
EST in APL's Kossiakoff Center to discuss details of the
landing. Because NEAR was not designed to land, there is very
little chance the spacecraft will continue to operate after it
reaches the surface of Eros.

Due to the expected launch of the space shuttle mission in
February, live coverage of the descent-day activities on Feb. 12
and the post-mission briefing on Feb. 14 will not be broadcast
on NASA TV, but will be available on a separate satellite.
Details regarding those two events, including updated satellite
information, will be provided early next month.

NASA TV is broadcast on GE-2, transponder 9C, C-Band, located at
85 degrees West longitude. The frequency is 3880.0 MHz.
Polarization is vertical and audio is monaural at 6.8 MHz.

                                -end-
Received on Thu 25 Jan 2001 05:18:03 PM PST