| September 16, 2015 MEDIA ADVISORY M15-133 NASA's Marshall Center Invites Media to Tour 'Real' Martian Technology Media are invited to NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, on Monday, Sept. 21, for a hands-on tour of technology and programs at Marshall that are turning science fiction into science fact for our journey to Mars. NASA scientists and engineers served as technical consultants on the soon-to-be-released movie "The Martian," helping producers present a realistic view of the planet's climate and topography, and of the challenges NASA is facing to prepare for human exploration of the Red Planet in the 2030s. At Marshall, teams work every day on those challenges, developing propulsion, life support and other systems that will make our exploration of Mars a reality. Tour participants will learn about the methods and tools used by Marshall scientists and engineers to take an idea from concept through design, simulations, testing, production and operations in space. At the Advanced Concepts collaboration room, visitors will see animations of ideas for Mars landers and deep-space habitats, then tour life-size prototypes of habitats to learn how engineers and scientists design the quarters where astronauts will live and work on long-duration missions. In the Environmental Control and Life Support System or life support lab, participants will hear how NASA is using knowledge gained from generating oxygen and recycling water aboard the International Space Station to develop the systems that will provide for explorers on their journey to Mars and return to Earth. And Marshall team members will show how they’re using simulated Martian soil and rock to advance manufacturing technologies, like 3-D printing that might allow astronauts to build structures with the materials already on the planet. There also will be an update on the most recent work at Marshall on the Space Launch System -- the most powerful rocket ever built for a new era of exploration to deep-space destinations. SLS will launch astronauts in the agency’s Orion spacecraft on missions to an asteroid placed in lunar orbit and eventually on missions to Mars. The SLS program is managed at Marshall, and the tour will include a look at progress on the Launch Vehicle Spacecraft Adapter, which will connect the rocket's 27.5-foot-diameter core and 16.4-foot-diameter interim cryogenic propulsion stages. Registration for the tour is limited to U.S.-based media and reporters. Interested media should contact Kim Newton in the Marshall Public Affairs Office at 256-544-0371 no later than 5 p.m. CDT Friday, Sept. 18. The full name and driver's license information must be provided for each person attending. Registered media must report to the Redstone Arsenal Joint Visitor Control Center at Gate 9, Interstate 565 interchange at Rideout Road/Research Park Boulevard by 7:45 a.m. Monday, Sept. 21. Media will be issued visitor's badges and board vans for transport to Marshall. The tour will end at approximately 1 p.m. For more information about NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/centers/marshall/home/index.html. NASA Marshall Space Flight Center news releases and other information are available automatically by sending an e-mail message with the subject line subscribe to msfc-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx. To unsubscribe, send an e-mail message with the subject line unsubscribe to msfc-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.
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