Two free public programs in Pasadena next week offer an overview of the historic Mars Global Surveyor mission.
Dr. Terry Martin, planetary scientist and member of the Mars Global Surveyor science team, will discuss and display imagery, charts and scientific findings as he chronicles the adventures of the one spacecraft that has returned more data about Mars than all other missions combined. The first lecture will be held on Thursday evening, April 17, at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and the second on Friday evening, April 18, at Pasadena City College.
Mars Global Surveyor has been orbiting the red planet since Sept. 12, 1997. The mission has examined the entire martian surface and provided a wealth of information about the planet’s atmosphere and interior. Evaluation of landing sites for two Mars Exploration Rovers, due to launch in the next three months, has relied heavily on mineral mapping, detailed imagery and topographic measurements made by Global Surveyor.
“”There are at least five kinds of new global maps of Mars in hand now, thanks to Global Surveyor,” said Martin. “We are finding places on the planet both fascinating and beautiful.”
Both lectures begin at 7 p.m. Seating is on a first-come, first-served basis. The lecture at JPL, located at 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, off the Oak Grove Drive exit of the 210 (Foothill) Freeway, will be held in the von Karman Auditorium. The Friday lecture will be in Pasadena City College’s Vosloh Forum, 1570 E. Colorado Blvd. For more information, call 354-0112.
The lecture at JPL will be webcast live and available for later viewing at
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/events/lectures/apr03.html .
