[meteorite-list] Mars Meteorite Presented to the CNRS and the French Scientific Community by the CNES

From: Ron Baalke <baalke_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Apr 22 09:54:11 2004
Message-ID: <200202282220.OAA19528_at_zagami.jpl.nasa.gov>

Note: This press release is nearly a year old.

Ron Baalke

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http://www.cnrs.fr/cw/en/pres/compress/Meteorite.htm

Mars meteorite presented to the CNRS and the French scientific community
by the CNES

Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique
Paris, March 30, 2001

During a press conference on Wednesday, April 4, 2001, at 4 p.m., the
French National Space Research Center (CNES) will present NWA 480, a Mars
meteorite christened "Theodore-Monod," to the CNRS. The space agency will
thus enable the French scientific community to prepare for the analysis of
the first rock samples to be brought back from Mars by the French-American
mission, Mars Sample Return.

Scientists are as fascinated by Martian meteorites as they are by the
planet Mars. To date, less than twenty such meteorites have been
officially identified around the world. The meteorite acquired by the CNES
is the most recent: NWA 480 was discovered in November 2000 in the Sahara
Desert, which was much-loved by Theodore Monod, the renowned French
naturalist who died in 2000. As a tribute to this remarkable man, the CNES
gave his name to the NWA 480 meteorite. During the ceremony at the CNES
Headquarters on April 4 at 4 p.m., José Achache, Assistant Director
General for Science at the CNES, will officially present the meteorite to
Philippe Gillet, Director of INSU ("Institut National des Sciences de
l'Univers," National Institute for Sciences of the Universe, CNRS). A
number of French scientists are expected to attend the ceremony.

Thanks to the "Theodore-Monod" meteorite, the French scientific community
will be able to develop new analytical methods for the study of
extraterrestrial matter. For the CNES, the CNRS, and French scientists
working in this field, the analysis of this meteorite represents an
important step in the preparation of the Mars rock sample return program,
carried out jointly by the CNES and NASA.

For more information or to receive photographs or a video of the
"Theodore-Monod" meteorite, please contact:
Julien Guillaume, Media Relations, CNES
Tel. : +33 1 44 76 76 83
Fax : +33 1 44 76 78 16
E-mail : julien.guillaume_at_cnes.fr
Received on Thu 28 Feb 2002 05:20:42 PM PST