March 14, 2008 J.D. Harrington Headquarters, Washington 202-358-5241 j.d.harrington@nasa.gov Ray Villard Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, Md. 410-338-4514 villard@stsci.edu MEDIA ADVISORY: M08-058 HUBBLE DETECTS ORGANIC MOLECULE ON AN EXTRASOLAR PLANET WASHINGTON - NASA will hold a media teleconference at 2 p.m. EDT on Wednesday, March 19, to report on the first-ever detection of the organic molecule methane in the atmosphere of a planet orbiting a distant star. Though the planet is too hot to su ...Continue Reading

March 13, 2008 Angela Storey Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala. 256-544-0034 angela.d.storey@nasa.gov Sonja Alexander Headquarters, Washington 202-358-1761 sonja.r.alexander@nasa.gov RELEASE: 08-082 SHAPING THE MOONSCAPE: WORKERS READY COURSE FOR NASA'S 15TH ANNUAL GREAT MOONBUGGY RACE IN HUNTSVILLE, ALA., APRIL 4-5 HUNTSVILLE, Ala. -- Each year around this time, John Tripp walks across a lunar surface, pondering the challenges ahead for explorers brave enough to take on its cratered terrain. For now ...Continue Reading

March 13, 2008 Steve Cole Headquarters, Washington 202-358-0918 stephen.e.cole@nasa.gov MEDIA ADVISORY: M08-057 NASA MEDIA BRIEFING PROVIDES CHECK-UP ON POLAR SEA ICE WASHINGTON - NASA will hold a media teleconference on Tuesday, March 18, at 12 p.m. EDT, to present the latest satellite observations of changing sea ice conditions in Earth's northern and southern polar regions. Last September, sea ice levels reached record summertime lows in the Arctic, continuing a decades-long decline. This month, sea ice ar ...Continue Reading

March 12, 2008 Stephanie Schierholz/Grey Hautaluoma Headquarters, Washington 202-358-4997/0668 stephanie.schierholz@nasa.gov, grey.hautaluoma-1@nasa.gov Emily Outen/Keith Henry Langley Research Center, Hampton, Va. 757-864-7022/757-344-7211 emily.s.outen@nasa.gov, h.k.henry@nasa.gov RELEASE: 08-081 NASA READIES HARDWARE FOR TEST OF ASTRONAUT ESCAPE SYSTEM HAMPTON, Va. - NASA has completed production of hardware for use in the first flight test of the astronaut escape system for the Constellation Program's Orion ...Continue Reading

March 11, 2008 John Yembrick Headquarters, Washington 202-358-0602 john.yembrick-1@nasa.gov Kylie Clem Johnson Space Center, Houston 281-483-5111 kylie.s.clem@nasa.gov CONTRACT RELEASE: C08-011 NASA EXTENDS CONTRACT FOR ASTRONAUT TRAINING FACILITIES HOUSTON - NASA has issued a contract extension with a potential value of $78.25 million to Raytheon Technical Services Co. of Webster, Texas. The contractor will support facilities and operations for astronaut training at NASA's Johnson Space Center and Sonny Cart ...Continue Reading

March 11, 2008 Beth Dickey Headquarters, Washington 202-358-2087 beth.dickey-1@nasa.gov RELEASE: 08-080 NASA ANNOUNCES AERONAUTICS RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES WASHINGTON - NASA's Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate has released its "Research Opportunities in Aeronautics 2008" announcement. The initial version of this announcement solicits research in support of the Supersonics Project. The goals of the Supersonics Project are to address technical challenges associated with supersonic flight over lan ...Continue Reading

The following sections were updated since 10 March 2008. -- FLOOD (1 updated events, 1 new images) -- LA NINA FLOODS SOUTH AMERICA La Nina brought persistent heavy rains to parts of South America, causing deadly flooding in early 2008. * http://naturalhazards.nasa.gov/shownh.php3?img_id=14739 *** (TRMM) image from Mar 04 2008 (Posted on Mar 11 2008 12:54PM) -- STORM (1 updated events, 1 new images) -- TROPICAL CYCLONE JOKWE Tropical Cyclone Jokwe had just skimmed past northern Madagascar and was moving south into th ...Continue Reading

March 11, 2008 Katherine Trinidad Headquarters, Washington 202 358-3749 katherine.trinidad@nasa.gov Candrea Thomas Kennedy Space Center, Fla. 321-867-2468 candrea.k.thomas@nasa.gov RELEASE: 08-077 NASA'S SHUTTLE ENDEAVOUR BEGINS MISSION TO THE SPACE STATION CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Space shuttle Endeavour brought an early sunrise to the East Coast Tuesday, launching from NASA's Kennedy Space Center at 2:28 a.m. EDT and beginning the STS-123 mission to the International Space Station. During the 16-day flight, En ...Continue Reading

March 10, 2008 Dwayne Brown Headquarters, Washington 202-358-1726 dwayne.c.brown@nasa.gov RELEASE: 08-079a CORRECTION -- NASA SELECTS SCIENTISTS AND INVESTIGATIONS FOR ROBOTIC MOON MISSION The URL given for viewing the list of selected scientists announced in this press release was incorrect. The release should read: For a complete list of the selected scientists and their investigations, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/pdf/216482main_LRO_Participating_Scientists.pdf WASHINGTON - NASA has selected 24 scientists to ...Continue Reading

March 10, 2008 Dwayne Brown Headquarters, Washington 202-358-1726 dwayne.c.brown@nasa.gov RELEASE: 08-079 NASA SELECTS SCIENTISTS AND INVESTIGATIONS FOR ROBOTIC MOON MISSION WASHINGTON - NASA has selected 24 scientists to initiate new investigations and assist with planned measurements to be conducted by the agency's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO). Scheduled for launch later this year, LRO represents NASA's first step toward returning humans to the moon. The orbiter will conduct a one-year primary mission ...Continue Reading