SYMPOSIUM TO HIGHLIGHT SOCIETAL IMPLICATIONS OF ASTROBIOLOGY

Nov. 10, 1999

Kathleen Burton

NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA

(Phone: 650/604-1731 or 650/604-9000)

kburton@mail.arc.nasa.gov

NOTE TO EDITORS: 99-69AR

SYMPOSIUM TO HIGHLIGHT SOCIETAL IMPLICATIONS OF ASTROBIOLOGY

News media are invited to participate in a two-day symposium at NASA
Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA, highlighting the societal
implications of Astrobiology. The workshop will be held November 16-17 in
the Moffett Training and Conference Center, Bldg. 3, both days from 8:30
a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (PT).

The workshop will be structured around four basic astrobiology
questions: Why do we search for life? What are the implications of human
exploration? How should we respond to the possible discovery of life
elsewhere? What is the evolutionary fate of human societies and cultures
beyond the home planet?

Speakers/panelists who will be available for interviews include Nobel
Laureate Dr. Baruch Blumberg, NASA Astrobiology Institute Director, author
Ben Bova and Charles Harper of the Templeton Foundation.

Astrobiology is the multi-disciplinary study of the origin, evolution,
dissemination and future of life in the universe. NASA Ames Research
Center is the NASA “nerve-center” for this research effort, serving as the
agency’s Astrobiology Center of Excellence and as the manager of the NASA
Astrobiology Institute.

To attend the symposium, simply show your press credentials and pick
up a visitor badge at the Visitor Badging Office, located to the right of
the main gate. NASA Ames Research Center is located off Highway 101 via
the Moffett Field exit.