Nov. 10, 2009 George H. Diller Kennedy Space Center, Fla. 321-867-2468 george.h.diller@nasa.gov J.D. Harrington Headquarters, Washington 202-358-5241 j.d.harrington@nasa.gov Whitney Clavin Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Calif. 818-354-4673 whitney.b.clavin@nasa.gov MEDIA ADVISORY: M09-216 WISE STAR AND ASTEROID-HUNTING SPACECRAFT TOPIC OF NASA BRIEFING WASHINGTON - NASA will hold a media briefing on Tuesday, Nov. 17, at noon EST, to discuss the upcoming launch of the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE, mission. WISE is scheduled to launch Dec. 7, from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. Once in Earth orbit, WISE will scan the entire sky at infrared wavelengths, unveiling hundreds of thousands of asteroids and hundreds of millions of stars and galaxies. The briefing will take place in the James E. Webb Memorial Auditorium at NASA Headquarters, 300 E St. S.W., in Washington. NASA TV will broadcast the briefing on the NASA Education Channel. Panelists will be: -- Jon Morse, NASA's Astrophysics division director at NASA Headquarters -- Edward (Ned) Wright, WISE principal investigator at UCLA -- William Irace, WISE project manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. -- Amy Mainzer, WISE deputy project scientist, JPL -- Peter Eisenhardt, WISE project scientist, JPL Reporters may ask questions from participating NASA locations, including NASA's Kennedy Space Center, or by phone. To reserve a phone line, journalists should send an e-mail listing name, media affiliation, and telephone number to: j.d.harrington@nasa.gov For NASA TV streaming video, schedules and downlink information, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/ntv For the latest information about the WISE mission, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/wise -end- To subscribe to the list, send a message to: ksc-subscribe@newsletters.nasa.gov To remove your address from the list, send a message to: ksc-unsubscribe@newsletters.nasa.gov
