[FPSPACE] FW: NASA Ames Researchers Featured at Annual Science Meeting

[LARRY KLAES]

>From: NASA News <nasanews at mail.arc.nasa.gov>
>To: ames-releases at lists.arc.nasa.gov
>Subject: NASA Ames Researchers Featured at Annual Science Meeting
>Date: Thu, 8 Feb 2007 12:04:21 -0800
>
>John Bluck 	Feb. 8, 2007
>NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif.
>Phone: 650-604-5026 or 604-9000
>E-mail: jbluck at mail.arc.nasa.gov
>AAAS Press Room Phone: 415-394-3257 (active Feb. 15)
>
>MEDIA ADVISORY: 07-05AR
>
>NASA AMES RESEARCHERS FEATURED AT ANNUAL SCIENCE MEETING
>
>NASA researchers will discuss Mars as a life-sustaining planet, potential 
>asteroid impacts on Earth, studying the cosmos from the moon and various 
>other topics at the annual meeting of the American Association for the 
>Advancement of Science (AAAS) in San Francisco.
>
>The meeting will be held Thursday, Feb. 15 through Monday, Feb. 19, 2007, 
>at three San Francisco hotels. The meeting's newsroom is located in the 
>Hotel Nikko, 222 Mason St., Grand Ballroom I. Sessions also will take place 
>in The Hilton San Francisco, 333 O'Farrell St.; and the Parc 55, 55 Cyril 
>Magnin St. (formerly Renaissance Park). Sessions are open to registered 
>news media. AAAS has embargoed presentation information until the session, 
>lecture or related news briefing, whichever comes first.
>
>Following are several noteworthy presentations by researchers from NASA 
>Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif., listed in chronological order:
>
>NEWS BRIEFING -- THE NEW MARS
>TIME:  Thursday, Feb. 15, 10 a.m. PST
>LOCATION: Nikko Ballroom III (on 3rd floor of Hotel Nikko)
>NASA Ames scientists David Morrison, David Des Marais and Tori Hoehler will 
>participate in a news briefing to discuss potential living conditions on 
>Mars in the past and the future. A related paper in the journal Science 
>also will be released at the briefing.
>
>SYMPOSIUM - THE NEW MARS: HABITABILITY OF A NEIGHBOR WORLD
>TIME:  Friday, Feb. 16, 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. PST
>LOCATION: The Hilton San Francisco, Ballroom Level, Room: Franciscan C
>Topics include recent discoveries about the origin of Mars, the history of 
>its water and climate and Mars' past and future potential to support life. 
>NASA Ames scientists David Des Marais, Tori Hoehler and Chris McKay will 
>discuss their research.
>
>Des Marais will discuss "Assessing the Potential for Ancient Habitable 
>Environments in Mars' Gusev Crater."
>"The Mars Exploration Rover Spirit has searched for evidence that past 
>environments might have been able to sustain life. Life requires chemical 
>building blocks, sources of energy and conditions that can sustain liquid 
>water. Water has extensively altered bedrock in the Columbia Hills in Gusev 
>Crater. This alteration process could have provided chemical energy for 
>microorganisms, had they been present," Des Marais said.
>Hoehler's talk is entitled, "A Follow the Energy Approach for Mars 
>Exploration."  All life requires energy in addition to liquid water, 
>according to Hoehler. "Therefore, focusing on identifying the energy 
>requirements of organisms and on how the environment can supply that energy 
>will help us identify and target sites on Mars that have been highly likely 
>to be able to support life," Hoehler said.
>McKay will speak about "Resources for Life on Mars, Both Past and Future." 
>According to McKay, there is compelling evidence that early in its history 
>Mars had liquid water on its surface and a thick carbon dioxide atmosphere.
>"The resources and habitats needed for life may have been present on early 
>Mars," McKay said. "On Mars today, the basic life support resources are 
>also present and accessible. This enhances the possibilities for human 
>exploration, and may allow for reconstruction of habitable conditions on 
>Mars," McKay added.
>
>NEWS BRIEFING - THE SEARCH FOR KILLER ASTEROIDS
>TIME:  Friday, Feb. 16, 2 p.m. PST
>LOCATION: Nikko Ballroom III (on 3rd floor of Hotel Nikko)
>NASA Ames scientist David Morrison will be available during a news briefing 
>to discuss how an asteroid impact on Earth might be avoided. Speakers will 
>include Steven Chesley, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.; 
>Russell Schweickart (former Apollo-era astronaut), Association of Space 
>Explorers; Edward Lu, astronaut, NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston; and 
>Paul Slovic, Decision Research, Eugene, Ore.
>
>SYMPOSIUM - APOPHIS NOW: PREDICTING AND AVOIDING AN ASTEROID IMPACT
>TIME: Saturday, Feb. 17, 8 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. PST
>LOCATION: The Hilton San Francisco, Continental Ballroom 8
>NASA Ames researcher David Morrison will moderate a discussion about how 
>scientists are studying whether asteroid Apophis will hit Earth in 2036.
>"This 300-meter-diameter asteroid will pass within a few thousand 
>kilometers of Earth on April 13, 2029. Depending on its exact trajectory, 
>it has a small chance of returning to collide with Earth on April 13, 
>2036," Morrison said. "Speakers will discuss the nature of the orbit, and 
>how it is being refined to determine whether there is a real risk of 
>collision in 2036."
>Former Apollo-era astronaut Russell Schweickart, co-organizer of the 
>session, will speak about "Apophis and International Policy Implications."
>
>NEWS BRIEFING -- MOONSTRUCK
>TIME:  Saturday, Feb. 17, 11 a.m. PST
>LOCATION: Nikko Ballroom III (on 3rd floor of Hotel Nikko)
>NASA Ames Research Center Director S. Pete Worden will participate in a 
>news briefing to discuss the potential for making astronomical observations 
>of the cosmos from the moon.
>"The absence of a substantial lunar atmosphere has long tantalized 
>astronomers," Worden noted.
>Other speakers will include: Paul Spudis, Johns Hopkins University Applied 
>Physics Laboratory, Laurel, Md.; G. Jeffrey Taylor, Hawaii Institute of 
>Geophysics and Planetology; Harrison H. Schmitt (former Apollo-era 
>astronaut and former U.S. Senator), University of Wisconsin; and Wendell W. 
>Mendell, NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston.
>
>SYMPOSIUM - DESTINATION MOON: THE VALUE OF THE MOON FOR ASTRONOMICAL AND 
>ASTROPHYSICAL INVESTIGATIONS
>TIME: Saturday, Feb. 17, 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. PST
>LOCATION: The Hilton San Francisco, Continental Ballroom 6
>NASA Ames' Worden will discuss how the moon may be used as a place to 
>conduct astronomy.
>"The infrastructure established for lunar surface activities will open new 
>gateways to astronomy by virtue of the creation of new capabilities," 
>Worden said. "The astronomical community has an opportunity to carefully 
>consider these possibilities as the Vision for Space Exploration unfolds," 
>Worden added.
>Other speakers include Spudis, Taylor, Schmitt and Mendell.
>
>For more information about the AAAS meeting, please visit:
>
>http://www.aaas.org/meetings/Annual_Meeting/
>
>- end -
>
>To receive Ames news releases, send an e-mail with the word "subscribe" in 
>the subject line to: ames-releases-request at lists.arc.nasa.gov.  To 
>unsubscribe, send an e-mail to the same address with "unsubscribe" in the 
>subject line. Also, the NASA Ames News homepage at URL, 
>http://www.nasa.gov/centers/ames/news/index.html includes news releases and 
>JPEG images in AP Leaf Desk format minus embedded captions.
>
>