On July 4, NASA’s Deep Impact spacecraft concludes a six-month, 268 million mile voyage to comet Tempel 1 by sending a projectile crashing into the cosmic traveler. The impact should create a stadium-sized crater, allowing scientists to study pristine material inside the comet dating back to the formation of our solar system.

This daring first-of-its-kind mission is the subject of a news media briefing at 1 p.m. EDT, Thursday, June 9, in the NASA Headquarters auditorium, 300 E St. S.W., Washington.

Briefing participants:

  • Andrew Dantzler, NASA’s Solar System Division Director, Science Mission Directorate
  • Rick Grammier, Deep Impact Project Manager, JPL
  • Dr. Michael A’Hearn, Deep Impact Principal Investigator, Univ. of Maryland, Baltimore
  • Dr. Don Yeomans, Deep Impact Co-Investigator, JPL

NASA TV will carry the conference live with question-and-answer capability from participating agency centers. Media interested in asking questions via phone during the briefing should call Tomeka Scales at: 202/358-0781, by noon EDT, Wednesday, June 8, to receive the call-in number and password. Reporters may listen to the briefing by calling: 818/354-6666 or: 321/867-1220/1240/1260.

NASA TV is available on the Web and via satellite in the continental U.S. on AMC- 6, Transponder 9C, C-Band, at 72 degrees west longitude. The frequency is 3880.0 MHz. Polarization is vertical, and audio is monaural at 6.80 MHz. It’s available in Alaska and Hawaii on AMC-7, Transponder 18C, C-Band, at 137 degrees west longitude. The frequency is 4060.0 MHz. Polarization is vertical, and audio is monaural at 6.80 MHz.

The briefing will be webcast live at: http://www.nasa.gov/deepimpact