Press Release

Space Science Update: “Volcanic Moon Io Mirrors Earth’s Past”

By SpaceRef Editor
November 16, 1999
Filed under

Douglas Isbell

Headquarters, Washington, DC

(Phone: 202/358-1753)

Jane Platt

Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA

(Phone: 818/354-0880)

NOTE TO EDITORS: N99-58

SPACE SCIENCE UPDATE: “VOLCANIC
MOON IO MIRRORS EARTH’S PAST”

New images and animation showing volcanic activity on
Jupiter’s moon Io, similar to that which occurred on Earth eons
ago, will be unveiled at a Space Science Update featuring findings
from NASA’s Galileo spacecraft. The briefing will be televised
from NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC, on Friday, Nov. 19, 1999,
at 1 p.m. EST.

By studying Io, scientists hope to learn more about the
geological processes that shaped Earth, Mars and other planets.
Panelists at the briefing will be:

  • Dr. Torrence Johnson, Galileo Project Scientist, NASA’s Jet
    Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) Pasadena, CA
  • Dr. Alfred McEwen, Galileo imaging team member, University of
    Arizona, Tucson
  • Dr. Rosaly Lopes-Gautier, Galileo near-infrared mapping
    spectrometer team member, JPL
  • Dr. Susan Kieffer, MacArthur Fellow and consulting geologist,
    Toronto, Canada

The Space Science Update will originate from the James E.
Webb Auditorium at NASA Headquarters, 300 E St., SW, Washington,
DC, and will be carried live on NASA Television, available on
transponder 9C, satellite GE-2 at 85 degrees West longitude,
vertical polarization, frequency 3880 MHz, audio of 6.8 MHz.
There will be two-way question-and-answer capability for reporters
covering the event from participating NASA centers.

The new images will also be available on the World Wide Web
at:

http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/pictures/io

The Galileo mission is managed for NASA by the Jet Propulsion
Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology,
Pasadena, CA.

-end-

SpaceRef staff editor.