NASA Headquarters Mars Rover Opportunity Press Briefing March 2

SpaceRef.com ^ | 3/1/04

[LibWhacker]

Date Released: Monday, March 01, 2004 Source: NASA HQ

Significant findings from NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity, now exploring Meridiani Planum on Mars, will be announced at a press briefing at 2 p.m. EST, Tuesday, March 2, 2004, at NASA Headquarters, Washington.

The briefing will originate from the James E. Webb Auditorium, 300 E St., S.W., Washington, and will be carried live on NASA TV with two-way question-and-answer capability for reporters covering the event from participating NASA centers.

Dr. Ed Weiler, Associate Administrator, Office of Space Science at NASA Headquarters, will make opening remarks. The panelists include:

Professor Steve Squyres, Mars Exploration Rover (MER) Principal Investigator, Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y.

Professor John Grotzinger, MER science team geologist, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Mass.

Dr. Benton C. Clark III, MER science team member and Chief Scientist of Space Exploration, Lockheed Martin Space Systems Astronautics Operations, Denver

Dr. Joy Crisp, MER Project Scientist, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.

Dr. Jim Garvin, Lead Scientist for Mars and the Moon, NASA Headquarters

NASA Television is available on AMC-9, transponder 9C, C-Band, located at 85 degrees west longitude. The frequency is 3880.0 MHz. Polarization is vertical, and audio is monaural at 6.80 MHz. Audio of the broadcast will be available on voice circuit at the Kennedy Space Center on 321/867-1220.

For a live webcast of the briefing and information about NASA TV on the Internet, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/ntv

[LibWhacker]

Finally, maybe some answers.

Briefing, tomorrow, March 2nd @ 11 a.m. PST, click link below to watch it.

http://www.nasa.gov/ntv

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Rats, I''ll be in class!

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

ping!

[RightWhale]

Oboy! Significant findings.

[LibWhacker]

Keep an eye on it anyway, Ern . . . NASA changes its tv schedule willy nilly. So while they say it's tomorrow at 11am Pacific, it might not start until 1pm. At least that's been my experience with them. 'Ya gotta watch 'em like a hawk!

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Thanks!

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

I don't think they have this on the schedule !

	NASA Television can be found on the satellite AMC 9, Transponder 9C, 85 degrees west longitude, vertical polarization downlink frequency - 3880 MHz, Audio is at 6.8 MHz. The programs listed below are changes to the general NASA Television schedule. All programs subject to change without notice. All times are Eastern U.S. time. February 2004 Daily Programming 11 a.m. - 12 p.m. - Expedition/ISS Commentary - JSC (Updates on the ISS Mission and Expedition Crews) (Replay at 7 p.m.) 12 p.m. - 1 p.m - NASA TV Video File (NASA Newsfeed for Broadcast Media) (Replays at 3,6 and 9 p.m. Also 12, 3,6 and 9 a.m.) **ALL PROGRAMS MAY BE PRE-EMPTED OR RESCHEDULED WITHOUT ADVANCE NOTICE** March March 1, Monday 10 a.m. - 11 a.m. - Earth Crew Webcast - HQ (Education Series) March 2, Tuesday 11 a.m. - 1 p.m. - NASA's Office of Exploration Systems Presents NASA Day Briefings - HQ (Employee Information Event) March 3, Wednesday 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. - Presidential Commission on Implementation of U.S. Space Exploration Vision Public Hearing - HQ (Formal Public Question and Answer meeting) March 4, Thursday 9 a.m. - 12 p.m. - Presidential Commission on Implementation of U.S. Space Exploration Vision Public Hearing - HQ (Formal Public Question and Answer meeting) 2 p.m. - 4 p.m. - Presidential Commission on Implementation of U.S. Space Exploration Vision Press Conference - HQ (Interactive Media briefing)

[okie01]

Significant findings from NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity...

"Significant findings" from one of the Rovers.

In other words, a very specific finding of considerable importance. Not just a general impression...

Hmmmmmmmmmmm. Pass the rotini...

[LibWhacker]

I think I'm gonna have it on in the background from mid-morning on, just in case. Gotta hear what they have to say about the berries, and the rotini, and water, etc.!

[CJ Wolf]

They have been hunting wabbits

[ElkGroveDan]

I KNEW IT!

The Rotini pasta lives!!!!!

[ElkGroveDan]

[ElkGroveDan]

But seriously, imagine if they found some indisputable fossil in a photo, like a fish head, that could NOT be explained by geologic processes.

[Brett66]

Bump for later watching.....

[Boundless]

> But seriously, imagine if they found some indisputable
> fossil in a photo, like a fish head, that could NOT be
> explained by geologic processes.

This would be an alien fossil.
Would it be that easy to conclusively identify it as such?

The gravimetric, solar/thermal and chemical environment
on Mar, even when it might have supported water-based
carbon-based life, would have been very different from
anything at anytime on Earth.

Of course, if all inanimate processes can be ruled out...

[ElkGroveDan]

Well I used the fish as an example, but clearly there are fossil shapes that could excede the boundaries of geologic explanation.

I don't think it would be unreasonble to imagine multiple appendages or fins in an aqueous environment, or perhaps some sort of spinal structure, assuming life on the alien location had enough time to evolve that far.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Wired Magazine has a fascinating article on a place on the earth that has no visible sign of life. They have been checking it for years, they believe it mimics Mars very well! The Chile Desert in South America:

Mars on Earth

In the middle of the driest desert in the world, NASA gets ready to invade the Red Planet.
By David L. Chandler

[brownsfan]

I think you're getting carried away here. Big news would be that there is, or was, water on Mars. I suspect that's what they've found. Going beyond that, there is a lot of chatter on space.com about a Viking Lander scientist who claims his test in 1976 found evidence of microbes on Mars. I'm guessing it's a bit early in the rover mission to say they've found microbes. But, that's as big as it will get. I'd wager huge dollars that there are no complex life form fossils. But the idea does get the blood flowing!
Even if it is the discovery of microbes, that's going to be a major event in history. It will be alongside Copernicus in terms of discovery, and our re-evaluating ourselves and our role in the universe!
Exciting stuff.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

See the link at post #17.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

See this:

NASA to Announce 'Significant Findings' of Water on Mars Tuesday!