Apr 19 2017
From The Space Library
MEDIA ADVISORY M17-046 NASA Scientists to Discuss Search for Habitable Planets, Signs of Life off Earth
NASA scientists from across the agency will present their latest findings and perspectives on topics ranging from the origins and evolution of life on Earth to the search for habitable environments and life in our solar system and beyond during the 2017 Astrobiology Science Conference, April 24-28 in Mesa, Arizona.
Among the scientists scheduled to present at the conference are:
- Giada Arney from NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, will discuss organic haze on Earthlike planets as a possible biosignatures
- Morgan Cable at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, will talk about mechanisms for enrichment of organics in Enceladus plumes
- John Grunsfeld, former NASA astronaut and associate administrator for science, will deliver a presentation on next-generation space telescopes for terrestrial exoplanet characterization and the search for biosignatures
- Michael Mumma from Goddard will discuss methane as a possible messenger in the search for life on Mars
- Andrew Pohorille at NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley will talk about the origin and evolution of information transfer in biological systems
On Sunday, April 23, NASA will hold a town hall meeting from 12:30 to 6 p.m. PDT at the Phoenix Marriott Mesa Hotel to solicit feedback from the astrobiology community on the Europa Lander Science Definition Team report. For more information on this town hall, contact Curt Niebur at curt.niebur@nasa.gov.
The Roadmaps to Ocean Worlds (ROW) team, chartered to identify science objectives and exploration roadmaps for ocean worlds, will hold a town hall from 12:15 to 1:15 p.m. on Monday, April 24, to share its progress and gather input from the astrobiology community.
Arizona State University (ASU), host of the conference, will hold two free public events at the Phoenix Marriott Mesa Hotel. The ASU Beyond Center will sponsor a program from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 25 titled “Where a Second Example of Life Might be Discovered in the Next Century.” On Thursday, April 26, the ASU Origins Project will sponsor a program from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. on “How Astrobiology and Planetary Science Inform a Perspective of Planetary Stewardship.”
The conference will take place at the Mesa Convention Center, located at 263 N. Center Street, and the Phoenix Marriott Mesa Hotel, at 200 North Centennial Way.
The Lunar and Planetary Institute is responsible for conference logistics.
MEDIA ADVISORY M17-045 President Trump Makes Special Long-Distance Call to Record Breaking American Astronaut
President Donald Trump, First Daughter Ivanka Trump, and NASA astronaut Kate Rubins will make a special Earth-to-space call Monday, April 24, from the Oval Office to personally congratulate NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson for her record-breaking stay aboard the International Space Station.
The 20-minute call will air live on NASA Television and stream on the agency’s website and Facebook page at 10 a.m. EDT, and will be made available to schools, museums, and other organizations across the nation and globally.
The Department of Education and NASA are working together, on behalf of the White House, to encourage classrooms throughout America to tune-in to this historic event. They also are making available for voluntary use STEM on Station educational materials that may be helpful to further engage students in the classroom. STEM on Station is comprised of education activities that follow astronauts as they demonstrate STEM concepts such as Newton’s Laws of Motion, surface tension and advances in technology.
Commander of the station’s Expedition 51 crew, Whitson will officially set the U.S. record Monday for most cumulative days in space, surpassing NASA astronaut Jeff Williams’ record of 534 days. Additionally, she is the first woman to command the space station twice, and holds the record for most spacewalks conducted by a female astronaut.
Whitson will be joined for President Trump’s call by NASA astronaut Jack Fischer, who is scheduled to arrive at the orbiting laboratory Thursday, April 20.
Whitson arrived at the space station Nov. 19, 2016, and is sharing her experiences in space on Twitter, Tumblr and Facebook. Fischer will share his first-time flyer experiences on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
