July 17, 2007

John Bluck
Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif.
Phone: 650-604-5026
E-mail: jbluck@mail.arc.nasa.gov

RELEASE: 07_41AR

NASA SCIENTISTS TO DISCUSS EXPERIMENTS LIVE FROM ARCTIC

CRATER

MOFFETT FIELD, Calif. – NASA Ames Research Center will show a live
videoconference from a crater in the Canadian Arctic on Friday, July
20, 2007, featuring a panel of NASA researchers conducting
experiments there.

NASA research underway in the crater includes using a pair of

four-wheeled rovers to learn how robots could help researchers
evaluate locations on the moon as potential sites for lunar bases.
NASA is planning to send astronauts back to the moon by 2020. Prior
to establishing a lunar outpost, NASA must survey many locations to
produce maps, look for minerals and water and learn other details
about the sites, scientists say.

The robots, "K10 Black" and "K10 Red," carry 3-D laser scanners and
ground-penetrating radar. The robots began operating in Haughton
Crater, Devon Island, Canada, this month and will continue working
until July 31. Another of many experiments includes a
stranded-astronaut lunar simulation test to examine the physiological
effects if someone has to hike back to a lunar base following an
equipment breakdown.

WHAT: A live satellite videoconferencing opportunity to question NASA

scientists conducting research in Haughton Crater, Devon Island,
Canada. Reporters also may interview NASA engineers in the NASA Ames
Exploration Center.

WHEN: The media opportunity to question scientists and engineers from

Ames will take place 9:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. PDT July 20, 2007.

WHO: A four-member panel in the Arctic will include: S. Pete Worden,

director of NASA Ames, who will discuss lunar exploration; Chris
McKay, a planetary scientist at NASA Ames who will discuss the value
of analog site testing; Matt Deans, field director of the Haughton
Crater K10 Robot Site Survey who will describe the robots and the
survey; and Pascal Lee, a scientist from the SETI Institute, Mountain
View, Calif., principal investigator of the Haughton Mars Project.

In addition, Ames' Maria Bualat, an engineer with the Intelligent

Robotics Group, will make a short presentation in Ames' Exploration
Center about robotics and will be available for interviews.

WHERE: The NASA Exploration Center, located near the NASA Ames main
gate at Moffett Field. To reach Ames, take U.S. Highway 101 to the
Moffett Field, NASA Parkway exit and drive east on Moffett Blvd.
towards the main gate and bear right into the parking lot. The
Exploration Center is located in the large white dome.

For more information about the simulated Lunar Robotic Site Survey,
please visit:

http://haughton2007.arc.nasa.gov

-end-