Douglas Isbell
Headquarters, Washington, DC                        June 25, 1998
(Phone:  202/358-1547)

Diane Ainsworth
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA
(Phone:  818/354-5011)

NOTE TO EDITORS:  N98-43

SCIENTISTS TO DISCUSS LATEST FINDINGS FROM 
PATHFINDER MISSION ONE YEAR AFTER MARS LANDING

     Scientists involved with NASA's Mars Pathfinder will present 
their latest interpretations of results from the mission almost a year 
after the spacecraft¹s July 4, 1997, landing during a NASA Television 
live briefing at 1 p.m. EDT on Monday, June 29.  The briefing will 
originate from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), in Pasadena, 
CA.

     New scientific findings paint two strikingly different pictures 
of the role of water on the red planet and yield surprising 
conclusions about the composition of rocks at the landing site.  The 
briefing will include an updated 360-degree, "fish-eye lens" view of 
the landing site featuring a representation of the full path of the 
Sojourner rover, in both still and video formats.

     Briefing participants will be:
… Dr. Matthew Golombek, Mars Pathfinder project scientist, JPL
… Dr. Joy Crisp, investigation scientist on Pathfinder's alpha proton 
X-ray spectrometer team, JPL
… Stephen Metzger, graduate student at the University of Nevada, Reno 
… Dr. Diana Blaney, planetary scientist, JPL
… Dr. Richard Zurek, JPL project scientist on the upcoming Mars 
Surveyor 1998 missions

     NASA TV is carried on satellite GE-2, transponder 9C, 85 degrees 
West longitude, vertical polarization, frequency 3880 MHz, audio 6.8 
MHz.  A two-way question-and answer session for journalists at 
participating NASA centers will follow the discussion.

                                  -end-