Douglas Isbell
Headquarters, Washington, DC                      Nov. 16, 1999
(Phone:  202/358-1753)

Jane Platt
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA
(Phone:  818/354-0880)

NOTE TO EDITORS:  N99-58

SPACE SCIENCE UPDATE:  "VOLCANIC 
MOON IO MIRRORS EARTH'S PAST"

     New images and animation showing volcanic activity on 
Jupiter's moon Io, similar to that which occurred on Earth eons 
ago, will be unveiled at a Space Science Update featuring findings 
from NASA's Galileo spacecraft.  The briefing will be televised 
from NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC, on Friday, Nov. 19, 1999, 
at 1 p.m. EST.

     By studying Io, scientists hope to learn more about the 
geological processes that shaped Earth, Mars and other planets.  
Panelists at the briefing will be:

*   Dr. Torrence Johnson, Galileo Project Scientist, NASA's Jet 
Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) Pasadena, CA
*   Dr. Alfred McEwen, Galileo imaging team member, University of 
Arizona, Tucson
*   Dr. Rosaly Lopes-Gautier, Galileo near-infrared mapping 
spectrometer team member, JPL
*   Dr. Susan Kieffer, MacArthur Fellow and consulting geologist, 
Toronto, Canada

     The Space Science Update will originate from the James E. 
Webb Auditorium at NASA Headquarters, 300 E St., SW, Washington, 
DC, and will be carried live on NASA Television, available on 
transponder 9C, satellite GE-2 at 85 degrees West longitude, 
vertical polarization, frequency 3880 MHz, audio of 6.8 MHz.  
There will be two-way question-and-answer capability for reporters 
covering the event from participating NASA centers.

     The new images will also be available on the World Wide Web 
at:  
             http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/pictures/io

     The Galileo mission is managed for NASA by the Jet Propulsion 
Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology, 
Pasadena, CA.

                             -end-