Monday, July 30, 2012

NASA Announces Media Activities for Mars Curiosity Mission Landing

July 30, 2012

Dwayne Brown
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1726
dwayne.c.brown@nasa.gov

Guy Webster
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
818-354-6278
guy.webster@jpl.nasa.gov

MEDIA ADVISORY: M12-142

NASA ANNOUNCES MEDIA ACTIVITIES FOR MARS CURIOSITY MISSION LANDING

WASHINGTON -- News briefings, photo opportunities, and other media
events at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, Calif.,
are set for the upcoming landing of NASA's Curiosity rover on Mars.

NASA's Mars Science Laboratory mission will deliver the 1-ton,
car-size robotic roving laboratory to the surface of Mars at 1:31
a.m. EDT Aug. 6 (10:31 p.m. PDT Aug. 5). Curiosity's landing will
mark the start of a two-year prime mission to investigate whether one
of the most intriguing places on Mars ever has offered an environment
favorable for microbial life.

ACCREDITATION AND PARKING PASSES

News media representatives who wish to cover the rover landing and
Mars surface operations from JPL must have accreditation in advance
from the JPL Media Relations Office. The application period has been
open since June 5 and some deadlines have passed. For more
information, visit the credentialing website at:

http://media-credentials.jpl.nasa.gov/



Media who have completed applications and received confirmation their
applications have been approved may pick up credentials at JPL
Visitor Reception during newsroom operating hours. Credentials must
be picked up in person and valid photo identification must be shown.
Non-U.S. citizens must bring their passport and visa or a permanent
resident alien registration card. JPL is located at 4800 Oak Grove
Dr. in Pasadena. Parking passes also will be distributed with
credentials and will be essential for parking Aug. 5.



The following times are all PDT.

The JPL Newsroom will open at 9 a.m. Aug. 1. Newsroom operating hours,
subject to change, are:

Wednesday, Aug. 1 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Thursday, Aug. 2 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Friday, Aug. 3 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Saturday, Aug. 4 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Sunday, Aug. 5 8:30 a.m. to round-the-clock
Monday, Aug. 6 round-the-clock to 7 p.m.
Tuesday, Aug. 7 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Wednesday, Aug. 8 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Thursday, Aug. 9 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Friday, Aug. 10 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The JPL Newsroom telephone number is 818-354-5011.

NEWS BRIEFING AND TELEVISED EVENT SCHEDULE

News briefings will be held at JPL beginning Thursday, Aug. 2, and
carried live on NASA Television. Additional events, including a NASA
Social Media event Aug. 1 and landing commentary Aug. 5 will be
televised. A full schedule of live news briefings is available at:

http://www.nasa.gov/ntvnews

and

http://www.nasa.gov/msl

Updated schedules also will be available in the JPL Newsroom. Two-way
question-and-answer capability will be available for some of the news
briefings from participating NASA locations.

The schedule of events below is subject to change.

Thursday, Aug. 2
-- 10 a.m. Mission Science Overview News Briefing
-- 11 a.m. Mission Engineering Overview News Briefing

Friday, Aug. 3
-- 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. NASA Social

Saturday, Aug. 4
-- 9:30 a.m. Prelanding Update and Entry, Descent and Landing
(EDL) Overview News Briefing

Sunday, Aug. 5
-- 9:30 a.m. Final Prelanding Update News Briefing
-- 3 p.m. NASA Science News Briefing
-- 8:30 p.m. to about 11 p.m. Landing Commentary No. 1
-- No earlier than 11:15 p.m. Post-landing News Briefing

Monday, Aug. 6
-- 12:30 to 1:30 a.m. Landing Commentary No. 2
-- 9 a.m. Landing Recap News Briefing
-- 4 p.m. Possible New Images News Briefing

Tuesday, Aug. 7
-- 10 a.m. News Briefing

Wednesday, Aug. 8
-- 10 a.m. News Briefing

Thursday, Aug. 9
-- 10 a.m. News Briefing

Friday, Aug. 10
-- 10 a.m. (tentative): News Briefing

NASA Television is available in continental North America, Alaska and
Hawaii by C-band signal via Satellite AMC-18C, at 105 degrees west
longitude, transponder 3C, 3760 MHz, vertical polarization. A Digital
Video Broadcast-compliant Integrated Receiver Decoder is needed for
reception. Transmission format is DVB-S, 4:2:0. Data rate is 38.80
Mbps; symbol rate 28.0681, modulation QPSK/DVB-S, FEC 3/4.

NASA-TV Multichannel Broadcast includes: Public Channel (Channel 101)
in high definition; Education Channel (Channel 102) in standard
definition; and Media Channel (Channel 103) in high definition.

For digital downlink information for each NASA TV channel, access to
all three channels online, and to access audio-only feeds, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/ntv

The televised events will also be streamed live online at:

http://www.nasa.gov/ntv

and

http://www.Ustream.tv/nasa

NASA TELEVISION COMMENTARY FEEDS

Two live feeds during key landing activities from mission control at
JPL will be carried on NASA TV and on the Web from 8:30 to 11 p.m.
Aug. 5, and from 12:30 to 1:30 a.m. Aug. 6. The NASA TV Public
Channel and http://www.ustream.tv/nasajpl will carry a feed including
commentary and interviews.

The NASA TV Media Channel and http://www.ustream.tv/nasajpl2 will
carry an uninterrupted, clean feed with only mission audio. Both
feeds will be available to media crews on site.

VIDEO RESOURCES

B-roll for the Mars Science Laboratory mission is available through
JPL's Vimeo account. Included is footage of various tests,
construction, animations and interview excerpts with key project
personnel. For more information, visit:

http://vimeo.com/jplraw

MISSION SUPPORT AREA PHOTO OPPORTUNITY

Media tours to the Mars landing mission control area will be offered
Thursday Aug. 2, from 1 to 2 p.m., Friday, Aug. 3 from 1:30 to 2:30
p.m., and Saturday, Aug. 4, from 1 to 2 p.m. Each tour is identical
and will last one hour. Space is limited and will be filled on a
first-come, first-served basis. This will be the last time media will
be allowed to photograph or videotape mission control before the
landing. News media wishing to join a tour must have a JPL credential
and must make a reservation with the JPL Media Relations Office at
818-354-5011 or sign up in person at the JPL Newsroom.

ONLINE MEDIA INFORMATION

Extensive information on the Mars Science Laboratory mission,
including an electronic copy of the press kit, news releases, fact
sheets, status reports, briefing schedule and images, is available
at:

http://www.nasa.gov/msl

For more information about NASA's Mars program, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/mars

The public can follow the mission on Facebook and Twitter at:

http://www.facebook.com/marscuriosity

and

http://www.twitter.com/marscuriosity


-end-



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