Sep 10 2015

From The Space Library

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Revision as of 03:57, 14 September 2015

Release M15-139 NASA Invites Media to Explore Mars Science Fiction and Fact in Cinema

Media are invited to NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston on Tuesday, Sept. 15 for a fresh perspective on the journey to Mars. Cast members from the soon-to-be-released 20th Century Fox movie “The Martian” will meet with NASA scientists and engineers to see the real technology and spacecraft being developed for future Mars exploration.

At 10:30 a.m. EDT, NASA Television will broadcast an employee technology roundtable with “The Martian” cast members Sebastian Stan, Mackenzie Davis, Johnson Center Director Ellen Ochoa and NASA scientists, engineers and astronauts.

NASA Television also will provide live coverage as the cast members visit the Mission Control Center from 3:30 to 3:45 p.m., and talk with astronauts living on the International Space Station. Participating media may follow along during briefings at the International Space Station training facility, planetary rovers and the Orion spacecraft, and visit the control center where flight controllers provide support for space station research and operations.

Also in the afternoon, Ochoa, NASA personnel and “The Martian” cast members will be available to answer in-person media questions about the movie and how the space station, Orion and technology development efforts in Houston are paving the way for human space exploration beyond low-Earth orbit. Media must be at Johnson to participate. The day will conclude with a full-length screening of “The Martian” at a nearby theater.

Release M15-137 NASA Astronauts, Events Mark Halfway Point of One-Year Space Station Mission

Tuesday, Sept. 15, is the midpoint for NASA astronaut Scott Kelly and Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko of their one-year mission aboard the International Space Station. To mark the occasion, the National Press Club in Washington will host an event from 8:30 to 10 a.m. EDT on Monday, Sept. 14, to discuss the first ever one-year space mission.

Kelly will participate live from the space station. His identical twin, retired NASA astronaut Mark Kelly, and NASA astronaut Terry Virts, who returned in June from his mission aboard the space station, will participate in the conversation from the press club. The televised portion of the event will air on NASA Television and the agency's website from 9 to 10 a.m.

From midnight to 1 a.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 16, NASA partner Slooh will broadcast live views of the space station as it passes over a network of ground-based telescopes. The program, which also will air on NASA TV and the agency's website, will include participation by NASA astronaut Cady Coleman and other agency experts who will discuss the future of space exploration.

The average International Space Station expedition lasts four to six months. Research enabled by the one-year mission will help scientists better understand how the human body reacts and adapts to long-duration spaceflight. This knowledge is critical as NASA looks toward human missions deeper into the solar system, including to and from Mars, which could last 500 days or longer. It also carries potential benefits for humans on Earth, from helping patients recover after long periods of bed rest to improved monitoring for people whose bodies are unable to fight infections.

The International Space Station is a convergence of science, technology and human innovation that enables us to demonstrate new technologies and make research breakthroughs not possible on Earth. It has been continuously occupied since November 2000 and, since then, has been visited by more than 200 people and a variety of international and commercial spacecraft. The space station remains the springboard to NASA's next giant leap in exploration, including future missions to an asteroid and Mars.