NASA Daily News Summary For Release: May 12, 2000 Media Advisory m00-95 SUMMARY NEWS RELEASES NATIVE AMERICAN STUDENTS TO USE MARS "SOIL" TO GROW SPUDS IN SPACE VIDEO ***ALL TIMES EASTERN*** VIDEO FILE FOR MAY 12, 2000 ITEM 1 - PICTURES OF THE NEW MEXICO FIRES (REPLAY) - GSFC ITEM 2 - CHANDRA VIEWS A YOUNG SUPERNOVA BLAST WAVE (REPLAY) ITEM 3 - HUBBLE HERITAGE IMAGE (REPLAY) - STSCI ITEM 4 - POLLUTANT INDICATED IN EARTH'S CLIMATE CHANGE (REPLAY) - AMES UPCOMING LIVE TELEVISION EVENTS LIVE SATELLITE INTERVIEW OPPORTUNITY: HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS TAKE THE LEASH AND DRIVE FIDO ROVER ***************************** NEWS RELEASES NATIVE AMERICAN STUDENTS TO USE MARS "SOIL" TO GROW SPUDS IN SPACE A 21st century, space-age simulated Mars soil and one of the world's oldest food sources--the potato--have been joined in an experiment that will fly aboard Space Shuttle Atlantis when the STS-101 mission is launched later this month. The experiment, designed by Native American science students, will test how well the soil supports plant growth. Students from Shoshone-Bannock High School on the Fort Hall Indian Reservation in southeastern Idaho will compare the plants grown in the synthetic dirt on Earth with those that fly in space. The coarse powdery soil, known as JSC Mars-1--about the color of cinnamon--is similar to what scientists know about the color, density, grain size, porosity, chemical composition, mineralogy and magnetic properties of Martian soil. Known as "Spuds in Space," the experiment will be the first test of the soil simulant as a medium for growing plants in space. It also marks the second time Native American students have flown an experiment on the Shuttle. The potato experiment will be one of ten experiments flying as part of the Space Experiment Module (SEM) program, an educational initiative to increase access to space for students from kindergarten through college. Information about SEM program experiments flying on STS-101 is available at http://www.shuttlepresskit.com/STS-101/payload66.htm Contact at NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC: Sonja Alexander (Phone 202/358-1761). Contact at NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX: Ann Hutchison (Phone: 281/483-5111). Contact at NASA Wallops Flight Facility, Wallops Island, VA: Keith Koehler (Phone: 757/824-1579). For full text, see: ftp://ftp.hq.nasa.gov/pub/pao/pressrel/2000/00-079.txt ---------------------------- If NASA issues any news releases later today, we will e- mail summaries and Internet URLs to this list. Index of 2000 NASA News Releases: http://www.nasa.gov/releases/2000/index.html Index of 1999 NASA News Releases: http://www.nasa.gov/releases/1999/index.html ***************************** VIDEO LIVE TELEVISION COMING UP THIS WEEK May 12, Friday - 1:00 - 5:00 p.m. - Satellite Adjustment and Maintenance at all NASA uplink sites - All Centers May 13, Saturday - 2:00 - 4:00 p.m. - Earth Sciences FY 2001 Budget Hearing Before the House Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics (recorded on 5/10/00) - HQ - 6:00 - 8:00 p.m. - Earth Sciences FY 2001 Budget Hearing Before the House Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics (recorded on 5/10/00) - HQ - 10:00 p.m. - Midnight - Earth Sciences FY 2001 Budget Hearing Before the House Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics (recorded on 5/10/00) - HQ May 14, Sunday - 2:00 - 4:00 p.m. - Earth Sciences FY 2001 Budget Hearing Before the House Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics (recorded on 5/10/00) - HQ - 6:00 - 8:00 p.m. - Earth Sciences FY 2001 Budget Hearing Before the House Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics (recorded on 5/10/00) - HQ - *11:30 p.m. - STS-101 Crew Arrival - KSC For a complete list of upcoming live television events, see http://www.nasa.gov/ntv/breaking.html ----------------------------- LIVE SATELLITE INTERVIEW OPPORTUNITY: HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS TAKE THE LEASH AND DRIVE FIDO ROVER (Local angles: Birmingham, AL; Flagstaff, AZ, Pasadena, CA; Tujunga, CA; South Bend, IN; Houghton, MI; St. Louis, MO; Fort Plain, NY; Ithaca, NY; Cincinnati, OH; Copenhagen, Denmark.) NASAšs next generation planetary rover has been undergoing a field test in the Nevada desert this month. As part of the experiment, two days have been set aside for several groups of high school students to take control of the rover from their schools. The students have a real role in the tests and will help the engineering teams drive the rover back to a simulated lander. The test is set up as if the rover were actually on another planet. The site is being kept secret from the teams and they will only see the site through the eyes of the rover. Live satellite interview opportunities are available with Dr. Eric Baumgartner of JPL from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. EDT on Tuesday, May 16. B-roll and interviews will be carried on GE-2, Transponder 9C at 85 degrees West longitude, with vertical polarization. Frequency is on 3880.0 megahertz with audio on 6.8 megahertz. Emergency telephone numbers are 818-354-0246 and 818-354-2113. Dr. Eric Baumgartner, JPLšs system engineer for the FIDO rover field tests, has been at JPL for four years. Before that, he was an Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Michigan Technological University in Houghton, MI. He received a B.S. in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Notre Dame in 1988, an M.S. in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Cincinnati in 1990, and a Ph.D. from the University of Notre Dame in 1993. Dr. Baumgartner graduated from Fort Plain High School in Fort Plain, NY, in 1984. He currently resides in Tujunga, CA. The student groups will be controlling the rover from their schools around the country in Ithaca, NY; Birmingham, AL; St. Louis, MO; and Flagstaff, AZ. In addition, a group of students from Copenhagen, Denmark, will be participating, working in the JPL mission control room. SUGGESTED QUESTIONS: - Why did NASA choose to involve students in these important experiments? - What are the students learning? - Why are you conducting these rover tests? - How do these field trials help you plan for future missions? - Why did you decide to keep the test site "secret"? To book time for this interview, call Jack Dawson at 818/354-0040 or email Jack at jack.b.dawson@jpl.nasa.gov . If you can't reach Jack, call Mary Hardin, NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory, 818/354-0344. ----------------------------- Unless otherwise noted, ALL TIMES ARE EASTERN. ANY CHANGES TO THE VIDEO LINE-UP WILL APPEAR ON THE NASA VIDEO FILE ADVISORY ON THE WEB AT ftp://ftp.hq.nasa.gov/pub/pao/tv-advisory/nasa-tv.txt WE UPDATE THE ADVISORY THROUGHOUT THE DAY. The NASA Video File normally airs at noon, 3 p.m., 6 p.m., 9 p.m. and midnight Eastern Time. NASA Television is available on GE-2, transponder 9C at 85 degrees West longitude, with vertical polarization. Frequency is on 3880.0 megahertz, with audio on 6.8 megahertz. Refer general questions about the video file to NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC: Ray Castillo, 202/358-4555, or Fred Brown, 202/358-0713, fred.brown@hq.nasa.gov During Space Shuttle missions, the full NASA TV schedule will continue to be posted at: http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/realdata/nasatv/schedule.html For general information about NASA TV see: http://www.nasa.gov/ntv/ ***************************** Contract Awards Contract awards are posted to the NASA Acquisition information Service Web site: http://procurement.nasa.gov/EPS/award.html ***************************** The NASA Daily News Summary is issued each business day at approximately 2 p.m. Eastern time. Members of the media who wish to subscribe or unsubscribe from this list, please send e-mail message to: Brian.Dunbar@hq.nasa.gov ***************************** end of daily news summary