WASHINGTON — NASA will host a news conference at 11 a.m. EDT (8 a.m. PDT), on Thursday Aug. 25, to discuss the upcoming launch of the Gravity Recovery And Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) mission. Scheduled to launch Sept. 8, GRAIL will help answer longstanding questions about Earth’s moon and provide a better understanding of how Earth and other rocky planets in our solar system formed.
The event will take place in the NASA Headquarters James E. Webb Auditorium in Washington. It will air live on NASA Television and the agency’s website.
The news conference panelists are:
— Jim Green, director, Planetary Science Division, NASA Headquarters, Washington
— Maria Zuber, GRAIL principal investigator, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge
— David Lehman, GRAIL project manager, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
— Leesa Hubbard, teacher in residence, Sally Ride Science, San Diego
Reporters who are unable to attend may ask questions from participating NASA centers or by telephone. To participate by phone, reporters must contact Steve Cole at 202-358-0918 or stephen.e.cole@nasa.gov by 10 a.m. EDT (7 a.m. PDT) on Thursday.
Local reporters are invited to watch the briefing via satellite, with two-way question-and-answer capability, at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. Reporters who would like to come to JPL must RSVP to the Media Relations Office by 3 p.m. PDT Wednesday, Aug. 24, at 818-354-5011. Valid media credentials are required, and non-U.S. citizens must also bring a passport.
The news conference will also be streamed live, with a chat available, at: http://www.ustream.tv/nasajpl2 . For more information about the GRAIL mission, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/grail and http://grail.nasa.gov .
NASA TV streaming video, downlink and scheduling information is at: http://www.nasa.gov/ntv .
