Dolores Beasley
Headquarters, Washington, DC                        June 7, 2001
(Phone: 202/358-1753)

Nancy Neal
Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD
(Phone: 301/286-0039)

NOTE TO EDITORS: N01-37

BRIEFING JUNE 12 TO DISCUSS HOW UPCOMING MISSION
WILL UNLOCK SECRETS OF EARLY UNIVERSE

     A briefing on the scientific goals of the upcoming 
Microwave Anisotropy Probe (MAP), a NASA mission that seeks to 
determine the history, content, shape and fate of the Universe, 
is scheduled for 1 p.m. EDT, Tuesday, June 12. 

The session will be carried live on NASA Television and will 
originate from the James E. Webb auditorium at NASA 
Headquarters, 300 E St., SW, Washington, DC.

To determine the nature and destiny of the Universe, MAP will 
make a full-sky map of the temperature from the oldest light in 
the Universe, the afterglow of the Big Bang. MAP is scheduled to 
launch June 30 aboard a Boeing Delta II rocket from Cape 
Canaveral, FL.

The briefing participants will be: 
- Dr. Alan Bunner, Science Director, Structure and Evolution of 
  the Universe, NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC
- Elizabeth Citrin, MAP Project Manager, NASA Goddard Space 
  Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD
- Dr. Charles Bennett, MAP Principal Investigator, Goddard 
- Dr. David Spergel, Astronomy Professor, Princeton University, 
  Princeton, NJ

Two-way question-and-answer capability will be available at 
participating NASA centers. NASA TV is broadcast on GE-2, 
transponder 9C, C-Band, located at 85 degrees West longitude. 
The frequency is 3880.0 MHz. Polarization is vertical and audio 
is monaural at 6.8 MHz. The event will be webcast live at: 

                      http://www.nasa.gov

                             -end-