NASA Daily News Summary

For Release: April 20, 1999

Media Advisory m99-078

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Summary

-- Goldin to Unveil First Landsat 7 Image on Earth Day

-- Video File for April 20

-- Live Interview Opportunity: The Sky Is Not the Limit for

NASA's "Rocket Girls," April 21

-- Live Interview Opportunity: Urban Heat Island, April 22

-- Live Interview Opportunity: NASA Rides the Crest of

Environmental Monitoring for 20th Century, April 22

-- Live Interview Opportunity: NASA Uses Laser to Examine

U.S. Constitution, April 23
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GOLDIN TO UNVEIL FIRST LANDSAT 7 IMAGE ON EARTH DAY

On Earth Day, April 22, NASA Administrator Daniel S.

Goldin will unveil the first image from the Landsat 7
satellite, opening a new era in NASA's studies of our home
planet. The resolution of the new image is twice as good as
previous Landsat images, distinctly highlighting airport
runways, dams, cities, rivers and highways. The image
unveiling is part of NASA's Earth Day and Take Our
Daughters (and Sons) to Work Day activities, which will take
place at 10:30 a.m. EDT in the James E. Webb Memorial
Auditorium, in the west lobby of NASA Headquarters, 300 E
Street SW, Washington, DC. Media are invited to attend.
During the event school children and their parents who work
at NASA will interact with Goldin and members of NASA's Earth
Science team, learning about our home planet and Earth
Science careers.

Contact at NASA Headquarters: Kirsten Williams, 202/358-

4466.

Full text of the release:

ftp://ftp.hq.nasa.gov/pub/pao/note2edt/1999/n99-020.txt

If NASA issues any news releases later today, we will

e-mail summaries and Internet URLs to this list.

Index of 1999 NASA News Releases:

http://www.nasa.gov/releases/1999/index.html

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NASA VIDEO FILE FOR April 20, 1999

ITEM 1 HUBBLE CAPTURES IMAGES OF JUPITER'S MOON IO

The Hubble Space Telescope has captured images of a

volcano and "snow" on Jupiter's Moon Io. Close-ups of Io show
an eruption from the volcano Pillan, which had previously
been dormant. Measurements at two ultraviolet wavelengths
indicate that the volcano is ejecting sulfur dioxide "snow,"
making the plume appear green in this false-color image.
Pillan's outburst is at least 2,240 degrees Fahrenheit, and
the volcano ejects matter at 1,800 miles per hour.

Contact at NASA Headquarters: Douglas Isbell, 202/358-1547;

Contact at Space Telescope Science Institute: Ray Villard,
410/338-4514.

ITEM 2 LANDSAT and SEAWIFS IMAGE OF FLORIDA

Contact at Goddard Space Flight Center: Wade Sisler, 301/286-

6256.

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Live Interview Opportunity: The Sky Is Not the Limit for
NASA's "Rocket Girls," April 21

Topic: The movie "October Sky" is a box office hit. The book
it is based on "Rocket Boys", written by retired NASA
Marshall Space Flight Center engineer Homer Hickam, has been
topping the New York Times paperback best seller list in
recent weeks. But it's not just "boys" who build highways to
space. Today, at the Marshall Center "rocket girls" lead the
work on the next generation of space vehicles. Three "rocket
girls" will be available to talk about their work on the next
generation of space vehicles.
Talent: Sherry Buschmann, Advanced Space Transportation
Program
Leslie Curtis, Space Transportation Technologies
Susan Turner, X-37 Project Manager

Time: April 21, 10 a.m.-12 p.m. EDT

To schedule an interview, call contact: Connie James,

Marshall Space Flight Center, 256/544-2188 or pager 256/544-
1183 (PIN 0224).
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Live Interview Opportunity: Urban Heat Island, April 22

Topic: Planting trees on Earth Day really does make a

difference. The removal of trees and urban growth can
actually influence big city weather. A three-year analysis of
the Atlanta, GA area shows large urban areas can create
their own "heat islands", with higher temperatures than
surrounding areas, leading to increased thunderstorm activity
during summer months and more smog. Dr. Quattrochi and Dr.
Luvall will discuss the phenomenon, what can be done about it
and whether it's occurring in other major metropolitan areas.

Talent: Dr. Dale Quattrochi and Dr. Jeffrey Luvall

Global Hydrology & Climate Center
At NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center

Time: April 22, 7 a.m. - 9 a.m. EDT

To schedule an interview, call contact: Connie James,

Marshall Space Flight Center, 256/544-2188 or pager 256/544-
1183 (PIN 0224).

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Live Interview Opportunity: NASA Rides the Crest of

Environmental Monitoring for the New Millennium, April 22

Topics: To celebrate Earth Day 1999, three Earth scientists

will be available to discuss some of the environmental issues
facing our global community as we near the end of the 20th
century. Subjects include Landsat 7, which will keep watch
over wilderness areas and basic ecosystems affected by an
ever-expanding global population; the Quick Scatterometer
mission, set for launch May 29, which will map the speed and
direction of Earth¹s ice-free oceans every day and shed new
light on global weather abnormalities like El Ninos; and
NASA's TOPEX/Poseidon satellite, which has been measuring
sea-surface heights and charting the topography of Earth¹s
oceans to improve long-term weather forecasting and help
prevent the loss of life by ferocious, fast-moving typhoons,
tropical storms and tsunamis.

Time: April 22, 5 p.m. - 9 p.m. EDT

To schedule an interview, contact: Jack Dawson or Diane

Ainsworth, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, 818/354-5011.

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Live Interview Opportunity: NASA Uses Laser to Examine U.S.
Constitution, April 23

Topic: A team of NASA scientists working at the request of

the National Archives has proved that the containers
preserving several pages of the U.S. Constitution are still
safely sealed and protected. The NASA team adapted a laser
system used for atmospheric research to peer into the
protective cases containing three of the five pages of the
Constitution.

Talent: Dr. Joel S. Levine, senior research scientist at

NASA¹s Atmospheric Sciences Division

Time: April 23, 6 to 11 a.m. EDT

To schedule an interview, contact Ivelisse Gilman, Langley

Research Center, 757/864-5036.

Satellite information: Telstar 6, transponder 9 KU, 11900

Mhz. Producer¹s line: (757) 864-3965

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The NASA Video File 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
Pam Poe, 202/358-0373.

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/

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Contract Awards

Contract awards are posted to the NASA Acquisition

Information Service Web site:

http://procurement.nasa.gov/EPS/award.html

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end of daily news summary