MEDIA ADVISORY: M07-081                              July 5, 2007

NASA BRIEFING ON NEXT MISSION TO MARS JULY 9

WASHINGTON -- NASA will hold a news briefing at 11:30 a.m. EDT on 
Monday, July 9, to preview the launch of the Phoenix Mars Lander. The 
spacecraft is being prepared for liftoff from the Cape Canaveral Air 
Force Station in Florida in August. The briefing will originate from 
the NASA Headquarters auditorium, 300 E St., S.W., Washington. It 
will air live on NASA Television and be streamed online at:

http://www.nasa.gov/ntv

The Phoenix mission's long-armed robotic lander will touch down on 
Mars' northern polar region in May or June 2008. It will examine 
whether the icy soil there could have been a habitable environment 
for microbial life.

Briefing participants are:
-- Doug McCuistion, Mars Exploration Program director, NASA 
Headquarters, Washington
-- Bobby Fogel, Phoenix program scientist, NASA Headquarters
-- Peter Smith, Phoenix principal investigator, University of Arizona, 
Tucson
-- Barry Goldstein, Phoenix project manager, NASA Jet Propulsion 
Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.

Reporters at participating NASA centers will have the opportunity to 
ask questions. For more information about NASA TV, streaming video, 
and downlink and schedule information, visit: 

http://www.nasa.gov/ntv


_______________
Dwayne Brown/Grey Hautaluoma
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1726/0668

Guy Webster/Veronica McGregor
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
818-354-6278/9452