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

May 29, 2008 Sonja Alexander Headquarters, Washington 202-358-1761 sonja.r.alexander@nasa.gov Duncan Wardle Walt Disney World Public Relations 407-566-6397 duncan.wardle@disney.com RELEASE: 08-134 NASA LAUNCHES NEW EDUCATION INITIATIVE WITH DISNEY PARKS AND BUZZ LIGHTYEAR WASHINGTON -- As seven, well-trained astronauts begin an important mission to the International Space Station on Saturday, May 31, one toy astronaut, Buzz Lightyear, will begin a journey to help educate children across the country. The lif ...Continue Reading

May 28, 2008 Grey Hautaluoma/Stephanie Schierholz NASA Headquarters, Washington 202-358-0668/4997 grey.hautaluoma-1@nasa.gov, stephanie.schierholz@nasa.gov Kelly Humphries Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif. 650-604-5026 kelly.o.humphries@nasa.gov Katherine Martin Glenn Research Center, Cleveland 216-433-2406 katherine.martin@nasa.gov MEDIA ADVISORY: M08-108 NASA INVITES MEDIA TO OBSERVE TESTS OF LUNAR ROVERS AND SPACESUITS HOUSTON -- News media are invited to a trek on the moon -- or at least an earthly ...Continue Reading

May 28, 2008 John Yembrick Headquarters, Washington 202-358-0602 john.yembrick-1@nasa.gov Allard Beutel Kennedy Space Center, Fla 321-867-2468 allard.beutel@nasa.gov MEDIA ADVISORY: M08-107 (CORRECTION) NASA SETS BRIEFING ON NEW SPACE STATION NATIONAL LAB PARTNERS CORRECTION: Deletes reference to canceled May 31 MOU signing event with the Department of Agriculture and corrects location of Zero Gravity Inc. CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA will hold a briefing at 11 a.m. EDT, Friday, May 30, to discuss new opportun ...Continue Reading

The following sections were updated since 27 May 2008. -- DUST AND SMOKE (2 updated events, 3 new images) -- DUST STORM OVER IRAQ A dust storm swept through Iraq in late May 2008. * http://naturalhazards.nasa.gov/shownh.php3?img_id=14861 *** MODIS(Aqua) image from May 25 2008 (Posted on May 28 2008 12:35PM) DUST OVER MONGOLIA AND CHINA A springtime dust storm spread from Mongolia through northern China in late May 2008. * http://naturalhazards.nasa.gov/shownh.php3?img_id=14859 *** MODIS(Terra) image from May 28 20 ...Continue Reading

May 28, 2008 John Yembrick Headquarters, Washington 202-358-0602 john.yembrick-1@nasa.gov Allard Beutel Kennedy Space Center, Fla 321-867-2468 allard.beutel@nasa.gov MEDIA ADVISORY: M08-107 NASA SETS BRIEFING ON NEW SPACE STATION NATIONAL LAB PARTNERS CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA will hold a briefing at 11 a.m. EDT, Friday, May 30, to discuss new opportunities to use the International Space Station's unique research environment. The briefing will originate from NASA's Kennedy Space Center and be broadcast live ...Continue Reading

The following sections were updated since 23 May 2008. -- FLOOD (1 updated events, 1 new images) -- SPRING FLOODS IN SIBERIA May brought warming temperatures and spring floods to Siberia. * http://naturalhazards.nasa.gov/shownh.php3?img_id=14853 *** MODIS(Aqua) image from May 21 2008 (Posted on May 23 2008 5:17PM) -- VOLCANO (1 updated events, 3 new images) -- CHAITEN VOLCANO ERUPTS Dormant for more than 9,000 years, the Chaiten Volcano in southern Chile began to erupt on May 2, 2008, forcing thousands of residents ...Continue Reading