Oct. 15, 2007 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 RELEASE: 07-208 NASA EXTENDS OPERATIONS FOR ITS LONG-LIVED MARS ROVERS WASHINGTON - NASA is extending, for a fifth time, the activities of the Mars Exploration Rovers Spirit and Opportunity. The decision keeps the trailblazing mobile robotic pioneers active on opposite sides of Mars, possibly through 2009. This extended mission an ...Continue Reading

Oct. 15, 2007 Katherine Trinidad Headquarters, Washington 202-358-3749 katherine.trinidad@nasa.gov James Hartsfield Johnson Space Center, Houston 281-483-5111 james.a.hartsfield@nasa.gov MEDIA ADVISORY: M07-133 NASA SETS INTERVIEWS WITH FLIGHT DIRECTOR FOR NEXT SHUTTLE MISSION HOUSTON - International Space Station Flight Director Derek Hassmann will be available for satellite interviews from 6 to 8 a.m. CDT Friday, Oct. 19. Hassmann will lead NASA's Mission Control Center during the next space shuttle mission ...Continue Reading

The following sections were updated since 12 October 2007. -- DUST AND SMOKE (1 updated events, 1 new images) -- HAZE OVER INDIA Haze collected over northern India, near the border with Nepal, on October 15, 2007. * http://naturalhazards.nasa.gov/shownh.php3?img_id=14573 *** MODIS(Aqua) image from Oct 15 2007 (Posted on Oct 15 2007 1:45PM) --------------------------------------------------------------------- Natural Hazards is a service of NASA's Earth Observatory. http://naturalhazards.nasa.gov/ http://earthob ...Continue Reading

Oct. 12, 2007 John Yembrick Headquarters, Washington 202-358-0602 john.yembrick-1@nasa.gov Nicole Cloutier-Lemasters Johnson Space Center, Houston 281-483-5111 nicole.cloutier-1@nasa.gov RELEASE: 07-226 FIRST WOMAN STATION COMMANDER ARRIVES FOR HISTORIC SPACEFLIGHT WASHINGTON - NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson arrived at the International Space Station Friday to begin her tenure as the first woman to command a station mission. Whitson, Soyuz Commander and Flight Engineer Yuri Malenchenko and Malaysian Spaceflig ...Continue Reading

Oct. 12, 2007 John Yembrick Headquarters, Washington 202-358-0602 john.yembrick-1@nasa.gov Lynnette Madison Johnson Space Center, Houston 281-483-5111 lynnette.b.madison@nasa.gov MEDIA ADVISORY: M07-131 NASA ANNOUNCES SPACE STATION NEWS CONFERENCE HOUSTON - The crews of Expeditions 15 and 16, along with Malaysian Spaceflight Participant Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor, will discuss their missions during a news conference aboard the International Space Station at 7 a.m. CDT, Monday, Oct. 15. The 30-minute conference ...Continue Reading

The following sections were updated since 11 October 2007. -- UNIQUE IMAGERY (1 updated events, 1 new images) -- RECORD SEA ICE MINIMUM Each year in mid-September, the annual sea ice pack in the Arctic Ocean reaches a minimum before temperatures turn and new ice begins to form. In 2007, Arctic sea ice reached a new record low. * http://naturalhazards.nasa.gov/shownh.php3?img_id=14572 *** MODIS(Terra) image from Sep 16 2007 (Posted on Oct 11 2007 2:43PM) ---------------------------------------------------------------- ...Continue Reading

Oct. 12, 2007 Grey Hautaluoma Headquarters, Washington 202-358-0668 grey.hautaluoma-1@nasa.gov Beth Hagenauer Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, Calif. 661-276-7960 beth.hagenauer@nasa.gov RELEASE: 07-225 SOFIA OBSERVATORY ENTERS AIRCRAFT TESTING PHASE EDWARDS, Calif. - NASA's Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy, known as SOFIA, began a series of flight tests Thursday of the highly modified Boeing 747SP aircraft. The tests are the first of several phases required to verify the aircraft is st ...Continue Reading

Oct. 12, 2007 Tabatha Thompson Headquarters, Washington 202-358-3895 tabatha.thompson-1@nasa.gov MEDIA ADVISORY: M07-130 EXPLORE EARTH'S POLES AT A MUSEUM NEAR YOU WITH POLAR-PALOOZA WASHINGTON - The human face of the exploration of Earth's polar regions is coming to science centers and museums across the United States. NASA and the National Science Foundation are sponsoring the Polar-Palooza "Stories from a Changing Planet" tour beginning Oct. 19 in San Diego. The tour will stop in cities across the ...Continue Reading

Oct. 11, 2007 Jason Sharp Headquarters, Washington 202-358-5213 jason.s.sharp@nasa.gov RELEASE: 07-222 BRUNER NAMED HEAD OF LEGISLATIVE AND INTERGOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS WASHINGTON - NASA Deputy Administrator Shana Dale on Thursday announced the appointment of Bill Bruner as assistant administrator for legislative and intergovernmental affairs. Bruner has served as acting assistant administrator for the office since June. The office of legislative affairs and intergovernmental affairs develops and implements the ...Continue Reading

Oct. 11, 2007 Edward Goldstein Headquarters, Washington 202-358-4581 edward.s.goldstein@nasa.gov Becky Haberacker Smithsonian Institution 202-633-5183 haberackerb@si.edu RELEASE: 07-223 NASA TO BE THE FEATURED AGENCY IN 2008 SMITHSONIAN FOLKLIFE FESTIVAL WASHINGTON - NASA and the Smithsonian Institution's Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage are partnering for the 2008 Smithsonian Folklife Festival. The festival showcasing NASA will run on the National Mall from June 25 to July 6, 2008. NASA will be o ...Continue Reading