WASHINGTON — NASA will host a news conference at 1 p.m. EDT on Thursday, June 16, to reveal new images and science findings from the first spacecraft to orbit Mercury. The event will be held in the NASA Headquarters auditorium located at 300 E St. SW, in Washington. NASA Television and the agency’s website will broadcast the event.
NASA’s MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging, or MESSENGER spacecraft conducted more than a dozen laps through the inner solar system for six years prior to achieving the historic orbit insertion on March 17.
Briefing participants are:
— Brett Denevi, scientist, Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) , Laurel, Md.
— Ralph McNutt, Jr., MESSENGER project scientist, APL
— Larry Nittler, scientist, Department of Terrestrial Magnetism, Carnegie Institution of Washington
— Sean Solomon, MESSENGER principal investigator, Carnegie Institution
Reporters may attend the event, ask questions from participating NASA locations, or join by phone. To obtain dial-in information, journalists must email Dwayne Brown at dwayne.c.brown@nasa.gov with their name, media affiliation and work telephone number by 9 a.m. on June 16.
For more information about the mission, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/messenger/main/index.html
For NASA TV streaming video, downlink and schedule information, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/ntv