Dec 13 2010

From The Space Library

RELEASE: 10-200

NASA TV AIRS INTERVIEW WITH TWIN ASTRONAUTS; KELLY BROTHERS SCHEDULED TO BE IN SPACE TOGETHER

HOUSTON -- Interview footage of two NASA astronauts scheduled next year to become the first twins to rendezvous in space is available on NASA Television and the agency's website. Mark Kelly will command the last scheduled space shuttle flight, while his twin brother Scott Kelly will be in command of the International Space Station. During the interview, they discuss growing up in West Orange, N.J., their paths to becoming astronauts, and the possibilities of a joint mission in space. The Kellys, both captains in the U.S. Navy, were born Feb. 21, 1964, in Orange, N.J. Scott has flown on two prior shuttle missions, as pilot of STS-103 in 1999 and commander of STS-118 in 2007. Mark is a veteran of three prior shuttle missions, as pilot of STS-108 in 2001 and STS-121 in 2006, and commander of STS-124 in 2008. Scott is scheduled to launch to the space station aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Oct. 7 for a six-month-long mission aboard the complex. He will serve as flight engineer for Expedition 25 and commander for Expedition 26. Mark, commander of shuttle Endeavour's STS-134 mission, is scheduled to visit the station in February to deliver supplies and the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer. The device will study the universe's origin by searching for antimatter, dark matter, and strange matter, and by measuring cosmic rays. If the launch schedule doesn't change, the pair would be working together in orbit for eight days before the shuttle undocks and returns to Earth. To read highlights from the interview, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/astronauts/kellybrothers.html NASA TV will air the interview Friday at 10 a.m. EDT, 1 p.m., 4 p.m., 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. For additional air times and streaming video, downlink and scheduling information, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/ntv Scott and Mark Kelly also are sharing their experiences via their respective Twitter accounts. Follow Mark at: http://twitter.com/shuttlecdrkelly Follow Scott at: http://twitter.com/stationcdrkelly For complete biographical information about Scott and Mark Kelly, visit: http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios

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RELEASE: 10-223

NASA'S LUNAR SPACECRAFT COMPLETES EXPLORATION MISSION PHASE

WASHINGTON -- NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, or LRO, will complete the exploration phase of its mission on Sept. 16, after a number of successes that transformed our understanding of Earth's nearest neighbor. LRO completed a one-year exploration mission in a polar orbit approximately 31 miles above the moon's surface. It produced a comprehensive map of the lunar surface in unprecedented detail; searched for resources and safe landing sites for potential future missions to the moon; and measured lunar temperatures and radiation levels. The mission is turning its attention from exploration objectives to scientific research, as program management moves from NASA's Exploration Systems Mission Directorate to the Science Mission Directorate at the agency's Headquarters in Washington. "LRO has been an outstanding success. The spacecraft has performed brilliantly, said Doug Cooke, associate administrator of the Exploration Systems Mission Directorate. LRO's science and engineering teams achieved all of the mission's objectives, and the incredible data LRO gathered will provide discoveries about the moon for years to come. The LRO team will continue to send data gathered during the last year to the Planetary Data System, which archives and distributes scientific information from NASA planetary missions, astronomical observations and laboratory measurements. By the time LRO achieves full mission success in March, and its data is processed and released to the scientific community, it will have sent more information to the Planetary Data System than all other previous planetary missions combined. During its new phase of discovery, LRO will continue to map the moon for two to four more years. "The official start of LRO's science phase should write a new and intriguing chapter in lunar research, said Ed Weiler, associate administrator for the Science Mission Directorate. This mission is one more asset added to NASA's vast science portfolio. The spacecraft launched from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida carrying a suite of seven instruments on June 18, 2009. LRO formally began its detailed survey of the moon in September 2009. Results from the mission include: new observations of the Apollo landing sites; indications that permanently shadowed and nearby regions may harbor water and hydrogen; observations that large areas in the permanently shadowed regions are colder than Pluto; detailed information about lunar terrain; and the first evidence of a globally distributed population of thrust faults that indicates the moon has recently contracted and may still be shrinking. LRO also took high resolution pictures of the Lunokhod 1 rover that had been lost for almost 40 years. The rover, which carries a retroreflector, was located to within approximately 150 feet. The accurate position data enabled researchers on Earth to bounce laser signals off the retroreflector for the first time ever. The retroreflector is providing important new information about the position and motion of the moon. LRO also supported the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite impact, a companion mission sent to determine if the moon's poles harbor water ice, by helping to select a promising impact site. LRO observed both the expanding plume that arose after the impact and the evolving temperature at the site. NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., built and manages LRO for the Exploration Systems Mission Directorate. The Institute for Space Research in Moscow provides the neutron detector aboard the spacecraft.

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MEDIA ADVISORY: M10-158

NASA HOSTS BRIEFING ABOUT ANTARCTIC SCIENCE MISSION

WASHINGTON -- NASA will hold a media teleconference at 2 p.m. EST on Monday, Nov. 15, from Punta Arenas, Chile, to discuss the agency's Operation IceBridge. Researchers are using seven instruments aboard NASA's DC-8 flying laboratory to map Antarctic ice surfaces and the features hidden below. The data are critical for understanding the dynamics of ice in West Antarctica and its impact on sea-level rise. During the briefing, IceBridge scientists will provide an overview of the multi-year mission and an update on flights under way over Antarctica. They also will describe some of the observations made since flights began on Oct. 26. The briefing participants are: - Michael Studinger, IceBridge project scientist, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center/University of Maryland, Baltimore County - Seelye Martin, research scientist (sea ice), University of Washington, Seattle - Chris Shuman, research scientist (land ice), Goddard Space Flight Center/University of Maryland, Baltimore County For dial-in information, journalists must e-mail their name, media affiliation and telephone number to Kathryn Hansen at kathryn.h.hansen@nasa.gov. Audio of the teleconference will be streamed live at: http://www.nasa.gov/newsaudio This is Operation IceBridge's second year monitoring Antarctic sea ice, ice sheets and glaciers.

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