MEDIA ADVISORY: M08-088                             May 6, 2008

NASA TO DISCUSS PHOENIX MISSION UPCOMING MARS LANDING

WASHINGTON -- NASA has scheduled a media briefing Tuesday, May 13, at 
11 a.m. EDT, to discuss the challenges, risks and science 
opportunities of the scheduled May 25 landing of the Phoenix Mars 
Lander. Officials also will provide details on the Phoenix landing 
site. 

The briefing will take place in the NASA Headquarters' James E. Webb 
Auditorium, 300 E St., S.W., Washington. It will be carried live on 
NASA Television and on the Web.

Phoenix is expected to conduct a three-month mission studying a 
northern arctic site on the Red Planet. Phoenix will dig down to an 
ice-rich layer expected to lie within arm's reach of the surface of 
Mars. It will analyze the water and soil for evidence about climate 
cycles and investigate if the environment there has ever been 
favorable for microbial life.

Participants will be:
Ed Weiler, associate administrator, Science Mission Directorate, NASA 
Headquarters, Washington
Doug McCuistion, director, Mars Exploration Program, NASA Headquarters
Peter Smith, Phoenix principal investigator, University of Arizona, 
Tucson
Ray Arvidson, Phoenix landing site working group chairman, Washington 
University in St. Louis
Barry Goldstein, Phoenix project manager, NASA's Jet Propulsion 
Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.

For more information about NASA TV, streaming video, and downlink and 
schedule information, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/ntv

For more information about the Phoenix mission, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/phoenix

------------

Dwayne Brown 
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1726
dwayne.c.brown@nasa.gov818-354-5011

Guy Webster 
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
818-354-5011
guy.webster@jpl.nasa.gov