NASA’s Mars Exploration Rover Spirit has reached the summit of Husband Hill, part of the range the rover first observed on the distant horizon from its landing site in January 2004.

A news briefing Thursday, Sept. 1 at NASA Headquarters will reveal what Spirit is seeing as well as the current status and what we have learned from both Spirit and its twin, Opportunity. The briefing will begin at 1 p.m. EDT in the NASA Headquarters auditorium, 300 E St. SW, Washington and will be carried live on NASA Television.

Briefing participants:

  • Douglas McCuistion, NASA Mars Exploration Program Director, Science Mission Directorate, Washington
  • Dr. Steve Squyres, Principal Investigator for Mars Exploration Rovers science payload, Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y.
  • Chris Leger, Rover Planner, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), Pasadena, Calif.
  • Jacob Matijevic, Mars Exploration Rover Engineering Team Chief, JPL
  • Ray Arvidson, Deputy Principal Investigator for Mars Exploration Rovers science payload, Washington University, St. Louis, Mo.

NASA TV will provide question-and-answer capability from participating agency centers. Media interested in asking questions via phone during the briefing should call Grace Reardon on 202/358-0884, by noon EDT, Wednesday, Aug. 31, to receive instructions.

NASA TV is available on the Web (see http://www.nasa.gov/ntv) and on an MPEG-2 digital signal accessed via satellite AMC-6, at 72 degrees west longitude, transponder 17C, 4040 MHz, vertical polarization. It’s available in Alaska and Hawaii on AMC-7 at 137 degrees west longitude, transponder 18C, at 4060 MHz, horizontal polarization. A Digital Video Broadcast compliant Integrated Receiver Decoder is required for reception.