NOTE TO EDITORS: Members of the news media and public are invited to
attend the third talk in the 2001-2002 Silicon Valley Astronomy
Lecture Series to be held on Wednesday, Jan. 23, at 7 p.m. PST at
Foothill College’s Smithwick Theater, Los Altos Hills, Calif. More
information is available by calling the series hotline at
650/949-7888.

‘Following the Water: The New Program for Mars Exploration’
-including recent discoveries about the red planet and the roster of
Mars missions being planned — will be the topic of a free,
non-technical talk at 7 p.m. PST on Wednesday, Jan. 23, at Foothill
College in Los Altos Hills, Calif. The public is invited.

Scott Hubbard, deputy director for research at NASA Ames Research
Center, will deliver the lecture. Hubbard recently returned to Ames
after serving as the first Mars program director at NASA Headquarters
in Washington, D.C.

"The Silicon Valley Astronomy Lecture Series is a valuable resource
for the community, bringing the latest scientific research in
astrobiology and astronomy to a wide audience," said NASA Ames
Director Dr. Henry McDonald.

At Ames, Hubbard is responsible for organizing, directing and
implementing research efforts that further the strategic plans of the
center. Prior to his assignment at NASA headquarters, Hubbard served
as the Ames associate director for astrobiology and space programs,
interim director of NASA’s Astrobiology Institute (NAI) and manager
of the agency’s Lunar Prospector mission. He also is credited with
creating NASA’s Mars Pathfinder mission.

Prior to coming to Ames in 1987, Hubbard was vice president and
general manager of Canberra Semiconductor and a staff scientist at
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Hubbard received a bachelor’s
degree in physics and astronomy from Vanderbilt University and did
graduate studies in semiconductor physics at the University of
California, Berkeley.

Hubbard has been awarded four NASA medals: twice the Outstanding
Leadership Medal and twice the Exceptional Achievement Medal. He
also has twice been awarded Laurels by Aviation Week magazine.
Hubbard was elected to the International Academy of Astronautics, is
an associate fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and
Astronautics and is the author of more than 40 papers on space
missions and related subjects.

Additional information about NASA’s Mars exploration strategy can be found at:

http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/ and at

http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/mep/missions/index.html

This is the third talk in this year’s Silicon Valley Astronomy
Lecture Series, co-sponsored by NASA Ames, Foothill College’s
Division of Physical Science, Mathematics and Engineering, the
Astronomical Society of the Pacific and the Search for
Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) Institute.

The Silicon Valley Astronomy Lecture Series is held at Foothill
College’s Smithwick Theater in Los Altos Hills. From Interstate 280,
exit at El Monte Road and travel west to the campus. Visitors must
purchase a one-day campus parking permit for $2.

Admission is free and the public is invited. Seating is on a
first-come, first-served basis. Children over the age of 13 are
welcome. More information is available by calling the series hotline
at 650/949-7888.