CRISM (Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars)
HomeMissionInstrumentsScienceDataEducationNews CenterGallery

Media Contacts:
October 12, 2006

CRISM Images Featured in Oct. 16 Mars Briefing

NASA is hosting a news briefing at noon EDT on Monday, Oct. 16, to present remarkably detailed images returned by NASA's newest Mars spacecraft during its first week of low-orbit observations. The briefing, held at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena. Calif., will air live on NASA TV and on the Web.

NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter made initial test observations of several regions of Mars with a suite of powerful instruments, including the Applied Physics Laboratory (APL)- built Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars (CRISM), and a telescopic camera that showed a rover on the Martian surface in one image released last week. The MRO spacecraft will begin its main science phase in November after Mars comes back out from behind the sun.

Panelists for the briefing will be:

  • Dr. Scott Murchie, CRISM principal investigator, Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, Md.
  • Dr. Steve Saunders, program scientist, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, NASA Headquarters, Washington
  • Dr. Alfred McEwen, principal investigator, High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment, University of Arizona, Tucson
  • Dr. Rich Zurek, project scientist, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, JPL
  • Jim Graf, project manager, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, JPL

The briefing will air live on NASA TV with question-and-answer capability from participating NASA centers and by phone. To get the phone-in number, reporters should call JPL's Media Relations Office at 818-354-5011 in advance. For NASA TV streaming video, downlink and schedule information, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/ntv.

For information about the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/MRO . For information on the CRISM instrument, visit http://crism.jhuapl.edu.