Oct. 30, 2006                                         RELEASE: 06-342

NASA ANNOUNCES DISCOVERY PROGRAM SELECTIONS

NASA Monday selected concept studies for missions that would return a 
sample of an enigmatic asteroid, probe the chemistry of Venus' 
atmosphere and reveal the interior structure and history of the 
Earth's moon.

Also selected for further study are three missions of opportunity that 
would make new use of two NASA spacecraft that have completed their 
primary objectives.

"The science community astounded us with the creativity of their 
proposals," said NASA's Science Mission Directorate Associate 
Administrator Mary Cleave. "We look forward to the new knowledge of 
our solar system that these concepts may provide."

Three missions were selected for concept studies:

-- The Origins Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification and 
Security (OSIRIS) mission would survey an asteroid and provide the 
first return of asteroid surface material samples to Earth. Michael 
Drake of the University of Arizona, Tucson, is OSIRIS's principal 
investigator. NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md., 
would manage the project.

-- The Vesper mission is a Venus chemistry and dynamics orbiter that 
would advance our knowledge of the planet's atmospheric composition 
and dynamics. Gordon Chin of Goddard is Vesper's principal 
investigator. Goddard would manage the project.

-- The Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) mission would 
use high-quality gravity field mapping of the moon to determine the 
moon's interior structure. Maria Zuber of the Massachusetts Institute 
of Technology, Cambridge, Mass., is GRAIL's principal investigator. 
NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., would manage the 
project.

The three missions of opportunity selected for concept studies are:

-- The Deep Impact eXtended Investigation of Comets (DIXI) mission 
would use the existing Deep Impact spacecraft for an extended flyby 
mission to a second comet to take pictures of its nucleus to increase 
our understanding of the diversity of comets. Michael A'Hearn of the 
University of Maryland, College Park, Md., is DIXI's principal 
investigator.

-- The Extrasolar Planet Observations and Characterization (EPOCh) 
mission would use the high-resolution camera on the Deep Impact 
spacecraft to search for the first Earth-sized planets detected 
around other stars. L. Drake Deming of Goddard is EPOCh's principal 
investigator.

-- The Stardust NExT mission would use the existing Stardust 
spacecraft to flyby comet Tempel 1 and observe changes since the Deep 
Impact mission visited it in 2005. In 2005, Tempel 1 has made its 
closest approach to the sun, possibly changing the surface of the 
comet. Joseph Veverka of Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y., is NExT's 
principal investigator.

These proposals were among approximately two dozen submitted in 
response to NASA's Discovery Program 2006 Announcement of Opportunity 
in April. The announcement solicited two types of investigations: 
complete missions to design, build and fly new spacecraft to 
accomplish specific planetary science objectives; and missions of 
opportunity that propose scientific uses for existing spacecraft or 
build instrumentation for spacecraft of other space agencies.

NASA may select one or more investigations to continue into a 
development effort after detailed review of the concept studies. 
Decisions about which mission concepts will proceed to development 
are expected next year.

New missions will receive $1.2 million to conduct concept studies. If 
selected for continuation beyond the concept phase, each project must 
complete its mission, including archiving and analyzing data, for 
less than $425 million.

Missions of opportunities will receive $250,000 to conduct concept 
studies. If selected for continuation, each mission of opportunity 
must complete its project, including data archive and analysis, for 
less than $35 million. 

_______________

For more information about the Discovery Program, visit: 

http://discovery.nasa.gov/

For information about NASA and agency programs, visit: 

http://www.nasa.gov/home


Erica Hupp/Dwayne Brown
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1237/1726