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NASA To Hold Media Briefings on New Ocean-Observing Mission

NASA will hold two media briefings on Tuesday, May 20, beginning at 11 a.m. EDT, on the international Ocean Surface Topography Mission (OSTM)/Jason-2, which is dedicated to monitoring sea-level rise and improving weather and climate forecasts. The briefings will take place in the NASA Headquarters' James E. Webb Auditorium, 300 E St., S.W., Washington. They will be carried live on NASA Television.

The OSTM/Jason 2 mission, set for launch in June, will help scientists better monitor and understand trends in sea-level rise and study ocean circulation and its links to Earth's climate. The mission is a collaboration between NASA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the French space agency Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES), and the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT).

Panelists at an 11 a.m. briefing to discuss the overall mission are: - Steven Neeck, Science Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters, Washington - Parag Vaze, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. - Eric Thouvenot, CNES, Paris, France - Mike Mignogno, NOAA's Satellite Operations Facility, Suitland, Md. - Mikael Rattenborg, EUMETSAT, Darmstadt, Germany

Panelists at a 12:15 p.m. briefing discuss the science objectives of the mission are: - Eric Lindstrom, Science Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters - Lee Lueng-Fu, Jet Propulsion Laboratory - Laury Miller, NOAA Laboratory for Satellite Altimetry, Silver Spring, Md. - Josh Willis, Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Media can ask questions from participating NASA locations and participate by phone by calling 888-390-5922 (or 210-839-8505 from outside the United States). The pass code is "ocean." For more information about NASA TV, streaming video, and downlink and schedule information, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/ntv

Source: NASA