NASA To Announce Major Mars Rover Finding

Donald Savage
Headquarters, Washington March 22, 2004
(Phone: 202/358-1547)

Guy Webster
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
(Phone: 818/354-5011)

NOTE TO EDITORS: N04-044

NASA ANNOUNCES MAJOR MARS ROVER FINDING

NASA will announce a major scientific finding at a Space
Science Update (SSU) Tuesday at 2 p.m. EST, in the headquarters
Webb Auditorium, 300 E St. SW, Washington. The Mars Exploration
Rover (MER) Opportunity is exploring the martian Meridiani
Planum and recently discovered evidence rocks at the landing
site have been altered by water.

NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe will make opening remarks. SSU
panelists:

--Dr. Ed Weiler, NASA's Associate Administrator, Office of
Space Science
--Prof. Steve Squyres, Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y., and
MER Principal Investigator
--Prof. John Grotzinger, Massachusetts Institute of Technology,
Cambridge, Mass, and a MER Co-investigator
--Dr. Dave Rubin, U.S. Geological Survey Sedimentologist at the
Pacific Science Center in Santa Cruz, Calif.
--Dr. Jim Garvin, NASA Lead Scientist for Mars and the Moon,
Office of Space Science, NASA Headquarters

The SSU will be carried live on NASA TV with two-way question-
and-answer capability for reporters covering the event from
participating NASA centers. NASA TV 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.

For audio only of the broadcast call: 321/867-1220/1240/1260.
For a live webcast of the briefing and information about NASA
TV on the Internet, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/ntv


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