NASA dedicates Mars landmarks to Columbia crew

Donald Savage
Headquarters, Washington February 2, 2004
(Phone: 202/358-1547)

DC Agle
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
(Phone: 818/393-9011)

RELEASE: 04-048

NASA DEDICATES MARS LANDMARKS TO COLUMBIA CREW

NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe today announced the
Martian hills, located east of the Spirit Mars Exploration
Rover's landing site, would be dedicated to the Space Shuttle
Columbia STS-107 crew.

"These seven hills on Mars are named for those seven brave
souls, the final crew of the Space Shuttle Columbia. The
Columbia crew faced the challenge of space and made the supreme
sacrifice in the name of exploration," Administrator O'Keefe
said.

The Shuttle Columbia was commanded by Rick Husband and piloted
by William McCool. The mission specialists were Michael
Anderson, Kalpana Chawla, David Brown, Laurel Clark; and the
payload specialist was Israeli astronaut Ilan Ramon. On
February 1, 2003, the Columbia and its crew were lost over the
western United States during re-entry into Earth's atmosphere.

The 28th and final flight of Columbia (STS-107) was a 16-day
mission dedicated to research in physical, life and space
sciences. The Columbia crew successfully conducted
approximately 80 separate experiments during their mission.

NASA will submit the names of the Mars features to the
International Astronomical Union (IAU) for official
designation. The IAU serves as the internationally recognized
authority for assigning designations to celestial bodies and
their surface features.

An image taken by the Mars Global Surveyor Mars Orbiter Camera
of the Columbia Memorial Station and Columbia Hills is
available on the Internet at:

http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/mer2004/rover-images/feb-02-
2004/captions/image-10.html

For information about NASA and the Mars mission on the
Internet, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov

The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California
Institute of Technology, Pasadena, manages the Mars Exploration
Rover project for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington.
Additional information about the project is available on the
Internet at:

http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov


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Jacques :-)

Editor: www.spacepatches.info