May 31, 2008 Mike Curie Headquarters, Washington 202-358-4715 michael.curie@nasa.gov Candrea Thomas Kennedy Space Center, Fla. 321-867-2468 candrea.k.thomas@nasa.gov RELEASE: 08-136 NASA'S SHUTTLE DISCOVERY LAUNCHES WITH JAPANESE LABORATORY CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Space shuttle Discovery and its seven-member crew lifted off from NASA's Kennedy Space Center at 5:02 p.m. EDT Saturday to deliver and install a Japanese laboratory on the International Space Station. The mission, designated STS-124, is the second ...Continue Reading

May 30, 2008 Sonja Alexander Headquarters, Washington 202-358-1761 sonja.r.alexander@nasa.gov Keith Henry Langley Research Center, Hampton, Va. 757-864-6120 h.k.henry@nasa.gov RELEASE: 08-135 NASA LUNAR ART CONTEST WINNERS ANNOUNCED HAMPTON, Va. -- A fanciful vision of a lunar traffic jam won the first annual NASA Lunar Art Contest sponsored by NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va. A work by Justin Burns, a sophomore at the University of Memphis, depicts a cartoon-like motorcyclist on her air cushi ...Continue Reading

The following sections were updated since 29 May 2008. -- CROPS AND DROUGHT (1 updated events, 1 new images) -- DROUGHT IN THE FERTILE CRESCENT One of the worst droughts in the past decade settled heavily over the Fertile Crescent region of Iraq and Syria in the winter of 2007-2008. * http://naturalhazards.nasa.gov/shownh.php3?img_id=14868 *** (SPOT) image from Apr 30 2008 (Posted on May 30 2008 1:50PM) -- VOLCANO (2 updated events, 4 new images) -- CHAITEN VOLCANO ERUPTS Dormant for more than 9,000 years, the Chai ...Continue Reading

May 29, 2008 J.D. Harrington Headquarters, Washington 202-358-5241 j.d.harrington@nasa.gov George H. Diller Kennedy Space Center, Fla. 321-867-2468 george.h.diller@nasa.gov Rob Gutro Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. 301-286-4044 robert.j.gutro@nasa.gov MEDIA ADVISORY: M08-110 NASA TARGETS GLAST LAUNCH FOR JUNE 5 WASHINGTON -- The launch of NASA's GLAST spacecraft aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket is scheduled for Thursday, June 5. The launch window extends from 11:45 a.m. to 1:40 p.m. E ...Continue Reading

May 29, 2008 Steve Cole Headquarters, Washington 202-358-0918 stephen.e.cole@nasa.gov Cynthia M. O'Carroll Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. 301-286-4647 cynthia.m.ocarroll@nasa.gov CONTRACT RELEASE: C08-032 NASA AWARDS SNOW AND ICE DISTRIBUTED ACTIVE ARCHIVE CONTRACT WASHINGTON -- NASA has selected the University of Colorado at Boulder for the management and operations of the Earth Observing System Data and Information System Snow and Ice Distributed Active Archive Center. The maximum value of the c ...Continue Reading

May 29, 2008 Sonja Alexander Headquarters, Washington 202-358-1761 sonja.r.alexander@nasa.gov Angela Storey Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala. 256-544-0632 angela.d.storey@nasa.gov CONTRACT RELEASE: C08-031 NASA AWARDS MARSHALL OPERATIONS SUPPORT SERVICES CONTRACT HUNTSVILLE, Ala. -- NASA has selected EG&G Technical Services Inc. of Gaithersburg, Md., to provide facility operations and maintenance services at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. The contract begins on July 1, 200 ...Continue Reading

May 29, 2008 David E. Steitz Headquarters, Washington 202-358-1730 david.steitz@nasa.gov Sally Harrington Glenn Research Center, Cleveland, Ohio 216-433-2037 sally.v.harrington@nasa.gov CONTRACT RELEASE: C08-030 NASA AWARDS REACTOR DECONTAMINATION AND DECOMMISSION CONTRACT CLEVELAND -- NASA has awarded a contract to Clauss Construction of Lakeside, Calif., to complete the decontamination and preparation for a final status survey of NASA's Plum Brook Reactor Facility located in Sandusky, Ohio. The facility is ma ...Continue Reading

May 29, 2008 J.D. Harrington Headquarters, Washington 202-358-5241 j.d.harrington@nasa.gov CONTRACT RELEASE: C08-029 NASA SELECTS SMALL EXPLORER INVESTIGATIONS FOR CONCEPT STUDIES WASHINGTON -- NASA has selected six candidate mission proposals for further evaluation as part of the agency's Small Explorer (SMEX) Program. The proposals will study the far reaches of the universe, including the Earth's thermosphere and ionosphere, the sun, black holes, the first stars, and Earthlike planets around nearby stars. F ...Continue Reading

The following sections were updated since 28 May 2008. -- STORM (1 updated events, 1 new images) -- TYPHOON NAKRI Typhoon Nakri was a powerful Category 4 storm on May 29, 2008. * http://naturalhazards.nasa.gov/shownh.php3?img_id=14865 *** MODIS(Terra) image from May 29 2008 (Posted on May 29 2008 1:42PM) -- UNIQUE IMAGERY (2 updated events, 2 new images) -- GLORY OVER PACIFIC OCEAN CLOUDS On May 20, 2008, a deck of clouds over the Pacific Ocean provided an optical display for the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectr ...Continue Reading

May 29, 2008 Stephanie Schierholz/Grey Hautaluoma NASA Headquarters, Washington 202-358-0668/4997 stephanie.schierholz@nasa.gov, grey.hautaluoma-1@nasa.gov Lynnette Madison/Josh Byerly Johnson Space Center, Houston 281-483-5111 lynnette.b.madison@nasa.gov, bill.j.byerly@nasa.gov MEDIA ADVISORY: M08-109 NASA SEEKS IDEAS, HOSTS MEETING ON LUNAR SURFACE SYSTEMS CONCEPTS WASHINGTON -- On June 6, NASA will release a broad agency announcement soliciting lunar surface systems concept study proposals to help the agency ...Continue Reading