Journalists are invited to attend and interview NASA officials participating in the annual Space Weather Enterprise Forum on June 21, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. EDT in the National Press Club Ballroom on the 13th Floor, 529 14th St. NW, Washington.
The forum will focus on the impact of space weather events on national security, critical infrastructure, human safety and preparedness, and mitigation of those impacts as the sun reaches its peak of activity expected in 2013-14.
Forum participants include researchers, policymakers, forecasters and others sharing information to raise awareness about space weather and its effects. Space weather involves conditions and events on the sun and in near Earth space that can affect critical space-borne and ground-based technological systems, such as electric power grids, and communications and navigation systems.
NASA participants are:
— John Allen, program executive, crew health and safety, NASA Space Operations Mission Directorate in Washington. Allen’s presentation will focus on astronaut safety and response preparedness during adverse space weather conditions.
— Michael Hesse, director, Space Weather Laboratory, NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. Hesse’s presentation will highlight products and services to improve space weather prediction capabilities on Earth and throughout the solar system.
— Madhulika Guhathakurta, Living With a Star program scientist and lead on the National Space Weather Program Committee for Space Weather at NASA Headquarters, Washington. Guhathakurta is available for interviews.
The forum is sponsored by the Office of the Federal Coordinator for Meteorology’s National Space Weather Program Council in Washington. All attendees must register however there is no registration fee for media. For additional information and to register online, visit http://www.nswp.gov/swef/swef_2011.html
