WHEN:   

Monday, July 15, 2013

Arrive at 10:30 a.m. MT. Comments and Q&A 11:00 - 12:00 p.m.

WHO:   

Comments provided by:

• Dr. John Grunsfeld, Associate Administrator, NASA Science Mission Directorate
• Jim Crocker, VP & GM of Civil Space, Lockheed Martin Space Systems
• Russell Moore, Provost, University of Colorado Boulder
• Dr. Bruce Jakosky, MAVEN Principal Investigator, University of Colorado Boulder
• Dave Mitchell, MAVEN Project Manager, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
• Guy Beutelschies, MAVEN spacecraft Program Manager, Lockheed Martin Space Systems
• U.S. Representative Ed Perlmutter

WHERE:    

Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company

12257 S. Wadsworth, Blvd, Littleton, Colo. [map]

CONTACT:

To register to attend, contact Gary Napier at 303-971-4012, gary.p.napier@lmco.com.

Attending media will meet at Lockheed Martin's Waterton facility Visitor's Center
at 10:30 a.m. on July 15.

BACKGROUND:

The Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN (MAVEN) mission, scheduled for launch in November 2013, will be the first mission devoted to understanding the Martian upper atmosphere. The goal of MAVEN is to determine the role that loss of atmospheric gas to space played in changing the Martian climate through time.

MAVEN's principal investigator is based at the University of Colorado Boulder's Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics. The university will provide science operations, science instruments and lead Education/Public Outreach. Lockheed Martin of Littleton, Colo., built the spacecraft and is responsible for mission operations. United Launch Alliance, Centennial, Colo. is providing the Atlas V launch vehicle.

NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center manages the project and provides two of the science instruments for the mission. The University of California at Berkeley Space Sciences Laboratory provides science instruments for the mission. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., provides navigation support, the Deep Space Network and the Electra telecommunications relay hardware and operations.

PRESS MATERIAL:

• Mission Fact Sheet: http://lasp.colorado.edu/home/maven/files/2012/11/MAVEN-HQ_FactSheet.pdf
• NASA MAVEN site: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/maven/main/index.html
• MAVEN mission site: http://lasp.colorado.edu/maven
• Lockheed Martin MAVEN site: http://www.lockheedmartin.com/maven
• Video b-roll of the assembly of MAVEN and animation of the mission is available from Lockheed Martin during the viewing event.