NASA Presents Coins Flown in Space to National Federation of theBlind

July 24, 2009

Stephanie Schierholz
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-4997


Chris Danielsen
National Federation of the Blind, Baltimore
410-659-9314, ext. 2330


MEDIA ADVISORY: M09-140

NASA PRESENTS COINS FLOWN IN SPACE TO NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND

WASHINGTON -- During a ceremony July 31, senior NASA officials will
present the National Federation of the Blind with two Louis Braille
Bicentennial Silver Dollars that flew on space shuttle Atlantis's
mission to the Hubble Space Telescope in May 2009. Marc Maurer,
president of the National Federation of the Blind, will accept the
coins on behalf of the organization. The ceremony will take place at
6 p.m. EDT at the Capitol Visitor Center in Washington.

In celebration of the 200th anniversary of Louis Braille's birthday,
Congress authorized the minting of the 2009 Louis Braille
Bicentennial Silver Dollar. NASA flew one proof and one uncirculated
commemorative coin on the recent Hubble servicing mission. The coins
are the first to feature tactile, readable Braille, which enables the
blind to read and learn, just as Hubble allows people to learn about
the universe.

NASA astronaut Gregory H. Johnson will speak at the celebratory
closing of the National Federation of the Blind's 2009 Youth Slam. At
the Youth Slam, 200 blind high school students from across the nation
will participate in five days of activities to help encourage the
blind youth of America to consider careers in science, technology,
engineering and mathematics.

Reporters planning on attending the event must contact Chris
Danielsen
at 410-659-9314, ext. 2330, or by 5 p.m. on July
30.

NASA and the National Federation of the Blind have been collaborating
for more than five years to inspire and engage blind students to lend
their unique talents to disciplines critical to the nation's
engineering, scientific and technical missions.

NASA Television will broadcast a Video File of the event. For NASA TV
streaming video, schedules and downlink information, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/ntv

For more information about NASA's education programs, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/education

For more information about the Hubble Space Telescope, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/hubble

For more information about the National Federation of the Blind,
visit:

http://www.nfb.org

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