Subject: [IGSMAIL-3763]: GRACE briefing (fwd)
From: Jim Ray (USNO 202-762-1444) <[email-masked]>
To: [email-masked]
Date: Mon, 04 Mar 2002 12:21:44 EST

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IGS Electronic Mail      04 Mar 09:21:48 PST 2002      Message Number 3763
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Author: David E. Steitz & Alan Buis (forwarded by Jim Ray)

Forwarded message:

Date: Mon, 4 Mar 2002 12:01:20 -0500 (EST)
From: [email-masked]
Subject: GRACE MEDIA BRIEFING SET FOR MARCH 7

David E. Steitz
Headquarters, Washington             March 4, 2002
(Phone: 202/358-1730)

Alan Buis
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
(Phone: 818/354-0474)

NOTE TO EDITORS: N02-16

GRACE MEDIA BRIEFING SET FOR MARCH 7

     In preparation for the launch of the Gravity Recovery 
And Climate Experiment (GRACE) mission, NASA has scheduled a 
science briefing at 2 p.m. EST Thursday, March 7, in the 
James E. Webb Auditorium at NASA Headquarters in Washington. 

The twin GRACE satellites are scheduled to be launched 
Saturday, March 16, from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in Russia on 
a five-year mission to precisely map Earth's gravity field.

Participants in the GRACE briefing are expected to include:

*  Dr. Ghassem R. Asrar, Associate Administrator for Earth 
Science, NASA Headquarters
*  Dr. John L. LaBrecque, manager, Solid Earth and Natural 
Hazards Program, NASA Headquarters
*  Dr. Byron Tapley, GRACE principal investigator, Center for 
Space Research,
*  University of Texas
*  Dr. Michael Watkins, GRACE project scientist, NASA Jet 
Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), Pasadena, Calif.
*  Ralf Huber, head, Washington Office, Deutsches Zentrum fur 
Luft und Rumfahrt (DLR) -- German Aerospace Center
*  Dr. Christoph Reigber, GRACE co-principal investigator, 
DLR-GeoForschungsZentrum (GFZ)

The briefing will be carried live on NASA Television with 
two-way question-and-answer capability for reporters covering 
the press conference from participating NASA centers.

GRACE -- the inaugural flight in NASA's Earth System Science 
Pathfinder program -- is a joint U.S./German mission that 
will measure minute variations in Earth's surface mass. These 
variations cause corresponding variations in gravitational 
pull that affect the orbital motion of the twin satellites 
flying 220 kilometers (137 miles) apart in the same polar 
orbit. From these measurements, monthly maps of Earth's 
gravity field will be constructed. 

The precise gravity mapping provided by GRACE, in concert 
with other NASA missions, will significantly enhance science 
return in the areas of oceanography, hydrology, glaciology, 
geology and related disciplines. The mission will also create 
more accurate profiles of atmospheric pressure, temperature 
and humidity, leading to improved weather forecasts. 
 
NASA TV is broadcast on satellite GE-2, transponder 9C, C 
band, 85 degrees west longitude, frequency 3880.0 MHz, 
vertical polarization, audio monaural at 6.8 MHz.

The briefing also will be available on the Internet at:

http://www.nasa.gov/ntv/ntvweb.html

More information about the GRACE mission can be found at:

http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/grace

                           - end -

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