Douglas Isbell
Headquarters, Washington, DC             February 5, 1998
(Phone:  202/358-1753)

Mary Hardin
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA
(Phone:  818/354-5011)

NOTE TO EDITORS: N98-11

NEW INSIGHTS INTO ANCIENT ANGKOR BY NASA RADAR 
TO BE SUBJECT OF PRESS BRIEFING

    Radar imagery that may revolutionize archaeological 
understanding of the ancient Angkor complex of temples in 
northern Cambodia will be the subject of a NASA press briefing 
at 1 p.m. EST on Thursday, Feb. 12.

    The briefing will originate from NASA's Jet Propulsion 
Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, CA.  The briefing, including 
supporting video material, will be broadcast live on NASA 
Television.

    Angkor is a vast complex of some 1,000 temples covering 
about 100 square miles of northern Cambodia, built between the 
8th and 13th centuries AD.  Today, much of Angkor is 
inaccessible or hidden beneath a dense forest canopy.  The 
latest research findings were made possible by the Airborne 
Synthetic Aperture Radar (AIRSAR) developed by JPL, an Earth 
science instrument  that can reveal features hidden from visual 
systems.

    Participants in the briefing will include:

· Dr. Elizabeth Moore, Head of the Art & Archaeology 
Department at the School of Oriental and African Studies, 
University of London
 
· JPL radar scientist Dr. Anthony Freeman

    NASA Television is available through GE-2, transponder 9C 
at 85 degrees West longitude, vertical polarization, with a 
frequency of 3880 Mhz, and audio at 6.8 Mhz.  Journalists may 
ask questions in the briefing remotely at participating NASA 
field centers.

                         -end-