NOTE TO EDITORS AND NEWS DIRECTORS: News media representatives are invited
to cover this year’s Space Day 2002 activities sponsored by NASA Ames
Research Center. To reach NASA Ames, take the Moffett Field exit off U.S.
101 and drive east to the main gate at Moffett Federal Airfield. U.S. media
representatives must have valid picture ID in order to enter Ames. Foreign
media representatives must be escorted, if cleared for entry.
San Francisco Bay Area residents and news media are invited to share the
excitement of space exploration on May 1 and 2 at a series of special
events sponsored by NASA Ames Research Center to celebrate Space Day 2002.
Co-chaired by former astronaut and Senator John Glenn, this global
celebration is dedicated to the extraordinary achievements, benefits and
opportunities of space exploration. Space Day is celebrated each year on
the first Thursday in May.
“Space Day is a wonderful opportunity for NASA to share with the public the
achievements and wonder of space exploration,” said NASA Ames Director Dr.
Henry McDonald. “It also is a means to inspire youth to study science and
math and to continue the vision of our space pioneers.”
NASA Ames will have a series of special events to celebrate Space Day 2002.
physics at the University of California, Irvine, will speak about
“Navigating the Gulf: The Borderline of Science and Fiction,” at Foothill
College in Los Altos Hills, Calif. He will discuss how science fiction can
help us understand the cosmos and see our future more clearly. This free
public lecture is part of the Silicon Valley Astronomy Lecture Series.
Details are available by calling the series hotline at 650/949-7888. A $2
campus parking permit is required.
tour on May 2 at 8 a.m.PDT for student winners of the Santa Clara Valley
Science and Engineering Fair and the San Francisco Bay Area Science Fair.
Twenty-four students in grades 6 to 12 and their parents and teachers will
be honored for their outstanding achievements. The breakfast will be in the
Ames Visitor Center.
Aerospace Encounter (AAE) at 10 a.m. PDT to observe 5th-grade students from
Oak Knoll School in Menlo Park, Calif., as they experience the AAE’s
unique, interactive programs. Located in a renovated supersonic wind tunnel
in Bldg. N-226, this classroom facility makes the math and science
curriculum come alive through out-of-this-world fun for students in grades
4 to 6.
news media to tour the walk-through Centrifuge Accommodation Module (CAM)
mock-up on May 2 between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. PDT in Bldg. N-244, second
floor mezzanine. The CAM is a working laboratory that will house several
pieces of hardware for the study of cells, plants and animals on the
International Space Station (ISS). Also available will be a model of the
Biomass Production System, which currently is growing plants on board the
ISS. Scientists will be available to answer questions.
biology and the Space Station Biological Research Project at NASA Ames,
will answer questions and discuss Amesâ role in the International Space
Station from 9-10:30 a.m. and 2-5 p.m. PDT at The Tech Museum in San Jose.
The museum is showing the new IMAX movie, “Space Station 3D.”
Visitor Center, which houses wind tunnel models, a Mercury spacecraft, a
moon rock, space suits, a 1/3-scale model of the space shuttle, and several
research aircraft. Ongoing research programs are highlighted with displays,
models and interactive computer software. The Visitor Center is open Monday
thru Friday, 8:00 a.m. till 4:30 p.m. Admission is free. The gift shop
sells NASA and space-related clothing, patches, posters, videos and more.
More than 70 non-profit, government, education and corporate Space Day
partners host a variety of Space Day activities to inspire the next
generation of explorers. Details about Space Day 2002 are available at:
