GREENBELT, Md. — NASA invites reporters and producers to participate in a special media briefing and walking tour that will highlight NASA’s upcoming Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) mission. SDO Media Day will be held from 9:30 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. EDT on Monday, June 22 at Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
 
A panel briefing will begin at 10 a.m. and will be followed by a question-and-answer session with mission scientists and engineers. Opportunities for one-on-one interviews will follow the Q&A session.
 
After the briefing and Q&A, reporters will visit Goddard’s Integration and Test Facilities to view SDO as it is prepared for shipping to Kennedy Space Center, Fla. The final stop will be the SDO Mission Operations Center. This event marks the last opportunity to catch a glimpse of the SDO spacecraft before it ships to the Kennedy Space Center for its anticipated November 2009 launch.
 
SDO will take measurements and images of the sun in multiple wavelengths for at least five years, collecting a staggering 1.5 terabytes of data daily, the equivalent of downloading a half million songs a day. SDO’s long-term measurements will give solar scientists in-depth information about changes in the magnetic field of the sun and how those changes affect Earth. SDO is the first mission in NASA’s Living With a Star Program.
 
Reporters should contact Laura Layton at 301-286-8170, or at laura.a.layton@nasa.gov, by June 16. Foreign nationals must RSVP by June 12 to allow for proper clearance. Reporters should meet at the Goddard Visitor’s Center, located off Greenbelt Road (State Route 193) and ICESat Road no later than 9:15 a.m. EDT to allow sufficient time for everyone to receive badges. A shuttle will take reporters to the various sites.
 
For more information about SDO, visit: http://sdo.gsfc.nasa.gov