MOFFETT FIELD, Calif. — NASA scientists will join space experts, celebrities and science fiction writers to discuss science, entertainment and celebrate the 25th anniversary of the SETI Institute, Mountain View, Calif., at the SETIcon, Aug. 13-15, 2010 at The Hyatt Regency Santa Clara House, 5101 Great America Parkway, Santa Clara, Calif.

The conference will focus on the search for life in the universe in science fact and science fiction, featuring panel discussions, workshops, question and answer sessions, book signings and a variety of other activities. Participants will learn about various topics, including NASA’s Kepler mission to detect Earth-size planets, the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) airborne observatory; human and robotic exploration of our solar system, astrobiology and life in extreme environments, asteroids and other near-Earth objects.

NASA scientists and researchers participating in SETIcon, include:

– Yvonne Pendleton, director of the NASA Lunar Science Institute
– David Morrison, senior scientist at the NLSI
– Dale Cruikshank, planetary scientist at NASA Ames Research Center
– Dana Backman, director of education and public outreach for SOFIA at NASA Ames
– Gibor Basri, co-principal investigator on NASA’s Kepler mission and a professor of Astronomy at the University of California, Berkley; Douglas Caldwell, co-investigator and instrument scientist on the Kepler mission and
a physicist at the SETI Institute, and Jon Jenkins, co-investigator of the Kepler mission and principal investigator at the SETI Institute
– Scientists Adrian Brown, Janice Bishop and Ross Beyer; Astronomers Ignacio Mosqueira and Peter Jenniskens; and Planetary Geologist Cynthia Phillips of the SETI Institute, Mountain View, Calif., and NASA Ames
– Jennifer Blank, astrobiologist at the SETI Institute and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), Pasadena, Calif.;
– Kevin Grazier, investigation scientist and science planning engineer for the Cassini/Huygens Mission at JPL
– Rusty Schweickart, former NASA Apollo astronaut
– Scott Hubbard, professor in the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics
at Stanford University, former director of NASA Ames, and founder of the
NASA Astrobiology Institute

For more information, full meeting schedule and to register for the SETIcon,
visit: http://www.seticon.com

For more information about events featuring NASA participants at SETIcon,
visit: http://www.nasa.gov/centers/ames/events/2010/08.13.10.html