Press Information
LPSC Media Contact:
Kécia Mallette
Lunar and Planetary Institute
Phone: 281-486-2183
E-mail: kmallette@hou.usra.edu
Press Opportunity: Exobiology Poster Session
Members of the working press and news media are invited to attend the 43rd Lunar and Planetary Science Conference at the The Woodlands Waterway Marriott Hotel and Convention Center, The Woodlands, Texas, on March 19–23, 2012.
This five-day annual conference brings together over 2000 international specialists in petrology, geochemistry, geophysics, geology, and astronomy to present the latest results of research in planetary science. This is the premiere conference for planetary scientists, and has been a significant focal point for planetary science research since its beginning in 1970, when it was known as the Apollo 11 Lunar Science Conference.
The year 2012 will mark completion of the first 50 years of nuclear-powered spaceflight, which began with launch of the Transit 4A satellite in June 1961. In honor of this occasion, we are pleased to announce that the 43rd LPSC will be held in conjunction with the Nuclear and Emerging Technologies for Space (NETS) topical meeting, which will take place March 21–23, 2012.
News Media Registration Information
Media representatives providing press credentials will receive a complimentary badge allowing access to all conference sessions. Press credentials will be checked at the registration help desk, where your press badge will be issued. Advance registration is open through March 16, 2012. Check-in will be on Sunday, March 18, from 4:00 to 8:00 p.m., and Monday through Friday beginning at 8:00 a.m.
Note: You will be prompted to create an account allowing you to access the Meeting Portal. Once logged in to the Meeting Portal, media representatives should select “Working Press” as the registration type to receive your press badge at no charge.
Press Briefings
Two press briefings will be held in association with the 43rd LPSC:
Dawn Press Briefing, Wednesday, March 21, 11:30 a.m., The Woodlands Room
Panelists: Paul Schenk (Lunar and Planetary Institute), David Williams (Arizona State University), Jian-Yang Li (University of Maryland),
and Brett Denevi (Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory)
MESSENGER Press Briefing, Wednesday, March 21, 12:30 p.m., The Woodlands Room
Panelists: James L. Green (Director of NASA’s Planetary Sciences Division), Sean C. Solomon (MESSENGER Principal Investigator, Director of the Department of Terrestrial Magnetism at the Carnegie Institution of Washington), Maria T. Zuber (MESSENGER Co-Investigator, Chair of the Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology),
Steve A. Hauck II (MESSENGER Participating Scientist, Associate Professor of Planetary Geodynamics at Case Western Reserve University), Nancy Chabot (Instrument Scientist for MESSENGER’s Mercury Dual Imaging System, Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory), and Ralph L. McNutt Jr. (MESSENGER Project Scientist, Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory)
Members of the working press and news media are encouraged to attend.
Highlighted Events
Media representatives are also invited to attend Highlighted Events, most notably the NASA Headquarters Briefing on Monday, March 19, at 5:30 p.m. The featured speakers are Dr. John Grunsfeld, Associate Administrator for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, and Dr. James Green, Director of the Planetary Sciences Division of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate. This event will be broadcast via LiveStream.
There is also a Plenary Session featuring the Masursky Lecture, which will be presented by Dr. James Head. The plenary session will be held on Monday, March 19, from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. Additional events are listed under Highlighted Events.
Special Sessions
Special sessions will include science from MESSENGER, which has just completed its primary orbital mission at Mercury and begun its extended mission; the latest results from Dawn, which has been orbiting Vesta since July 2011, mapping its surface morphology and composition at ever-increasing resolution using visible, infrared, and gamma-ray mapping tools; new results in the Saturn system based on observations from Cassini, including modeling and predictions of active processes on the surfaces of Saturn’s icy satellites in light of seasonal change; and discussions of subsurface, surface and atmospheric components of the liquid volatile cycles of different solar system bodies, with an emphasis on big-picture and comparative studies.
For scheduling information, see the listing of Special Sessions.
Highlighted Abstracts
The technical program and abstracts of 1805 presentations (558 oral; 1247 posters) are now available.
A schedule of Highlighted Abstracts of special interest to the news media is also available.
Organizers
The 43rd Lunar and Planetary Science Conference is sponsored by the Lunar and Planetary Institute (LPI) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
The Lunar and Planetary Institute is a nonprofit organization whose focus is on academic participation in studies of the current state, evolution, and formation of the solar system. The Institute is managed by the Universities Space Research Association (USRA). USRA/LPI seeks to foster scientific discovery while inspiring the next generation.
