NASA Administrator Sean O’Keefe will share the excitement surrounding the Vision for Space Exploration with the next generation of explorers at Chapman School in Sheridan, Ore., on March 29, 2004. Accompanying O’Keefe will be astronaut David Wolf and NASA Ames Research Center Director G. Scott Hubbard.

Date: Monday, March 29, 2004

Schedule:

9:30 a.m. PST Performance by school band and Native American dancers

10:00 a.m. PST Vision for Space Exploration presentation by NASA Administrator

11:10 a.m. PST Media availability/Question-and-answer session

11:30 a.m. PST School tour

Who: NASA Administrator Sean O’Keefe, astronaut David Wolf and NASA Ames Research Center Director G. Scott Hubbard.

Where: Chapman School, 332 SW Cornwall St, Sheridan, Ore.

“Right now, tomorrow’s space explorers are seated in America’s classrooms — asking questions, solving problems and conducting experiments,” O’Keefe said. “As we work to carry NASA’s new vision forward, we remain committed to working closely with our schools to foster learning environments that will inspire young people to venture to the moon, to Mars and beyond.” During their visit, O’Keefe and Hubbard will talk with students about America’s destiny as explorers, NASA’s stepping-stone approach to exploring Earth, the moon, Mars and beyond, how space impacts our lives, and how people and machines rely on each other in space. Wolf joined the astronaut corps in 1990 as a mission specialist and currently serves as chief of the Astronaut Office Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Branch at the Johnson Space Center, Houston. His team is responsible for developing, testing, and conducting spacewalks for Space Station assembly, maintenance, and emergency repair. Wolf has logged 158 days in space over three separate missions, including a long-duration stay on the Russian Mir space station. He has conducted four spacewalks utilizing both the American and Russian spacesuits.

Hubbard is the director of NASA Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley and was the sole NASA representative on the Columbia Accident Investigation Board. Hubbard also served as NASA’s first Mars program director.

News media interested in arranging an interview with O’Keefe in conjunction with his visit to Chapman School should contact Jonas Dino of NASA Ames Research Center at 650/207-3280 to book a time slot. All news media representatives will be required to sign in at the school’s office prior to entering the campus.

For information about the NASA Explorer Schools Program, visit:

http://explorerschools.nasa.gov

For more information about the Vision for Space Exploration, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/missions/solarsystem/bush_vision.html

For information about NASA, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov