MAVEN Placed Atop Atlas V
Nov. 8, 2013 -- Crews guide NASA's Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN, or
MAVEN, spacecraft, inside a payload fairing, into place atop a United Launch
Alliance Atlas V rocket at the Vertical Integration Facility at Space Launch
Complex 41.
Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
NASA Administrator to View Orion Spacecraft and MAVEN
Launch Preparations
NASA Administrator Charles Bolden will view the latest progress on NASA's
Orion spacecraft and launch preparations for the next Mars mission at the
agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Sunday, Nov. 17.
Media are invited to meet with Bolden at 2:30 p.m. EST in Kennedy's
Operations and Checkout Building where the Orion crew capsule is being prepared
for its first flight test in 2014. At 3:30 p.m., media then can accompany Bolden
to Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Space Launch Complex 41 where NASA's Mars
Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) spacecraft will launch aboard a United
Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket on a 10-month journey to the Red Planet on
Monday, Nov. 18.
MAVEN launch credentials will be used for these events. For U.S. media who
require new credentials to cover these events, contact the Kennedy Public
Affairs Office at 321-867-2468. New credentialing for international media is
closed.
Media will leave Kennedy's Press Site for the Operations and Checkout
Building at 2 p.m. and return from Space Launch Complex 41 by 4:35 p.m. Media
wishing only to attend the Orion event may return to the Press Site at 3 p.m.
Journalists who plan only to attend the MAVEN event may depart from the Press
Site at 2:30 p.m.
For information about NASA's programs and missions, including Orion and
MAVEN, visit:
NASA Centers Host Public Viewing Events for Nov. 18 Mars
Mission Launch
Five NASA centers around the United States will host events and activities
Monday, Nov. 18, for the public to view the launch of the agency's Mars
Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) spacecraft and learn about its
mission.
MAVEN, which is set to launch at 1:28 p.m. EST from Cape Canaveral Air Force
Station in Florida, will take critical measurements of the Martian upper
atmosphere to help scientists understand climate change over the Red Planet's
history.
Here is a schedule of events at NASA facilities in Washington, Maryland,
Mississippi, Alabama and West Virginia:
(All times Eastern)
11 a.m. -- NASA's Stennis Space Center, near Bay St. Louis, Miss.: The
INFINITY Science Center located on I-10 Exit 2, will host a live viewing of the
launch, science project discussions with featured speakers, conduct a parachute
design and launch demonstration and a Mars habitat competition. Visitors also
may have their photographs taken on a simulated Martian surface. For more
information, call 228-533-9025, ext. 311.
Noon -- NASA Headquarters, Washington: Launch coverage will be available in
the James Webb Auditorium at 300 E St. SW. Jim Garvin, chief scientist at NASA’s
Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt Md., will discuss Mars exploration
plans and answer questions from the public. MAVEN materials and other handouts
will be available.
Noon -- NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. and the U.S.
Space & Rocket Center will host a pre-launch panel discussion with
representatives from the Marshall Center titled "Deep Space Exploration: Mars
and Beyond." There will also be educational activities for children. The event
will be held in the U.S. Space & Rocket Center's Davidson Center Digital
Theater located at One Tranquility Base, Huntsville, Ala., 35805. The event is
open to the public and there will be signs directing the public where to park.
The launch will be shown live in the theater at 1:28 p.m. For more information,
contact Shannon Ridinger at 256-544-3774.
1 p.m. -- NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.: Goddard's
Visitors Center auditorium located off ICESat Road (formerly Soil Conservation
Road) will show the launch and have available a planetary scientist to answer
visitors' questions. For more information, contact the Goddard newsroom at
301-286-8955.
1 p.m. -- NASA’s Independent Verification and Validation (IV&V) Facility,
5000 NASA Blvd. 5th Floor, Fairmont, W.Va: Events will include educational
activities for students and educators before and after launch coverage. Take
either elevator to the 5th floor. Media should use the South entrance. For more
information contact Jennifer Neptune at: 304-367-8262.
For more details on MAVEN launch and mission activities, visit:
LeVar Burton Shares MAVEN’s Story in a New NASA PSA
(Image Credit: NASA)
As NASA prepares for next week's launch of the agency's next Mars-bound
spacecraft, the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN), actor LeVar
Burton shares the excitement of the mission in a new NASA public service
announcement (PSA).
The video, containing newly edited NASA animations, will be used at events
around the country and shared on the web and social media. The goal is to
educate the public about MAVEN and NASA’s efforts to better understand the Red
Planet and the history of climate change there.
Burton has been a lifelong advocate of education through his many STEM
initiatives and participation in educational programming. He is also known
worldwide as Geordi LeForge, chief engineer of the Starship Enterprise on "Star
Trek: The Next Generation," as Kunta Kinte in the breakthrough mini-series
"Roots" and beloved by generations of children as the host and producer of the
"Reading Rainbow" television series.
"NASA is thrilled to have LeVar Burton explain this mission to the greater
public," said Bert Ulrich, NASA's multimedia liaison for film and TV
collaborations. "Thanks to Burton’s engaging talents and passion for space
exploration, audiences of all ages will be able to share in the excitement of
NASA’s next mission to Mars."
MAVEN is targeted to launch Monday, Nov. 18 at 1:28 p.m. EST from Cape
Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The spacecraft will take critical
measurements of the Martian upper atmosphere to help scientists understand
climate change over the Red Planet's history. MAVEN is the first spacecraft
devoted to exploring and understanding the Martian upper atmosphere.
To view the PSA, visit:
For more information about NASA's MAVEN mission, visit:
NASA Administrator Available for Satellite Interviews on
Agency's Next Mars Mission
NASA Administrator Charles Bolden is available for live satellite interviews
from 6-8 a.m. EST Monday, Nov. 18, the morning of launch for the agency's next
mission to Mars. The interviews will be carried live on NASA Television.
NASA's Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) spacecraft is scheduled
to launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida at 1:28 p.m. on a
10-month journey to the Red Planet. MAVEN is the first spacecraft devoted to
exploring and understanding the Martian upper atmosphere. It will take critical
measurements of the Martian upper atmosphere to help scientists understand
climate change over the planet's history.
Bolden, who will be at NASA's Kennedy Space Center -- just a few miles from
MAVEN's launch pad -- can talk about the importance of this mission, how it fits
into the agency's exploration priorities, including sending astronauts to Mars
in the 2030s.
To participate in the live satellite interviews, reporters should contact Guy
Noffsinger at NASA Headquarters in Washington at 310-386-0972 (cell) no later
than 4 p.m. Sunday.
For more information about MAVEN, visit:
For NASA TV streaming video, downlink and scheduling information, visit:
For information about NASA's programs and missions, visit:
NASA
Guillermo Gonzalo Sánchez Achutegui
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