Media Briefing to Discuss NASA’s Newest Earth Science Missions

WASHINGTON - NASA will hold a media teleconference on Friday, Feb. 29, at 11 a.m. EST, to discuss the innovative science that will be made possible by two new Earth science missions announced earlier this month.

The President’s Fiscal Year 2009 budget request includes funding to start the Soil Moisture Active-Passive (SMAP) and the Ice, Cloud and land Elevation Satellite-II (ICESat-II) missions. SMAP will provide the first-ever high-resolution global maps of soil moisture for early warning of droughts, improved weather and climate forecasts, and predictions of agricultural productivity. ICESat-II will precisely measure the heights of ice sheets and sea-ice thickness, and provide estimates of above-ground forest and vegetation biomass. These two missions were top priorities of the National Research Council’s Decadal Survey of Earth Science and Applications from Space which was issued in 2007.

Panelists are:
- Jared Entin, Terrestrial Hydrology Program, Earth Science Division, NASA Headquarters, Washington
- Seelye Martin, Cryospheric Sciences Program, Earth Science Division, NASA Headquarters
- Eni Njoku, Water and Carbon Cycle Group, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
- Jay Zwally, ICESat project scientist, Cryospheric Sciences Branch, NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.

Reporters in the U.S. can participate by dialing 1-888-730-9134. International reporters can participate by dialing 210-234-0009. The passcode is EARTH. Supporting information on the new missions will be available at 10 a.m., Feb. 29, on the Web at:

http://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/decadal_telecon.html


Audio of the teleconference will be streamed live on NASA’s Web site at:

http://www.nasa.gov/newsaudio