09.22.08

Marny Skora
757-864-3315
marny.skora@nasa.govRELEASE: 08-057

'NASA AT 50' - CELEBRATE SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND THE EXPLORATION SPIRIT



HAMPTON, Va. -- NASA invites the public to celebrate our mid-century 
mark. Our astronauts have circled the world, walked on the moon and 
built the International Space Station. Our advances in aeronautics 
have improved civil and military aircraft and taken us to the 
aeronautical frontier, traveling 10 times the speed of sound. We have 
studied Earth, visited the planets, imaged the universe and peered 
back to the beginnings of time.



On Tuesday evenings throughout October, we invite you to relive some 
of these accomplishments by joining us for a lecture series at the 
Virginia Air and Space Center in downtown Hampton. Each lecture 
begins at 7:30 p.m. and is FREE and open to the public.





TUESDAY, OCTOBER 7
NASA Human Spaceflight: Past, Present and Future
Kenneth S. Reightler, Jr., Former Astronaut, now Lockheed Martin V.P.



Experience the human journey into space -- from the early beginnings 
at NASA Langley, through the successful moon landings to current day 
operations on the Space Shuttle and International Space Station -- 
with someone who's been there. Reightler spent eight years as a NASA 
astronaut and piloted two shuttle missions before joining Lockheed 
Martin Space Systems Co. Look ahead with me, says Reightler, to the 
future of NASA and human spaceflight.




TUESDAY, OCTOBER 14
Exploration of the Moon and Planets – A New Perspective on Earth
Dr. James W. Head, Distinguished Professor of Geological Sciences, 
Brown University



Sputnik completely changed our perception of Planet Earth. Since then, 
NASA has systematically explored the moon, Mercury, Mars, Venus, 
comets, the asteroid belt, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and their 
satellites. As a result, says Dr, Head, we have a new understanding 
of how Earth and other planetary bodies formed and evolved, and we 
now have clues to where we are heading in the future. From his work 
on the Apollo program to serving as co-investigator for the MESSENGER 
mission to Mercury, Dr. Head has studied Earth in the context of the 
Solar System for nearly five decades.




TUESDAY, OCTOBER 21
Why NASA and Earth Science are Vital for Human Wellbeing
Dr. Jeffrey D. Sachs, Director of The Earth Institute, Columbia 
University



Our generation's greatest challenge is to live both peacefully and 
prosperously and sustain our crowded planet. NASA technology, says 
Dr. Sachs, is at the very center of much of what we know and need to 
further understand Earth's climate, water system, carbon and nitrogen 
cycles and the functioning of our ecosystem. Renowned for his work in 
economic development, environmental issues, poverty alleviation, debt 
cancellation and globalization, Sachs has been named one of Time 
magazine's 100 most influential people in the world.




TUESDAY, OCTOBER 28
50 Years of NASA Aeronautical Research
Roy V. Harris, Former Director of Aeronautics, NASA Langley Research 
Center



When NASA was created in 1958, the National Advisory Committee for 
Aeronautics (NACA) has been in existence for 43 years and was the 
unchallenged world leader in aeronautics research and technology 
development. Changing NACA to NASA doubled its mission, but did not 
alter the new agency's commitment to improving civil and military 
aviation. NASA's aeronautics research has covered nine decades, says 
Harris, and is critically important to our nation's transportation, 
defense, economy and its competitiveness in a global world.



Hampton Roads holds a seminal place in this country's aerospace 
history. With the creation of NASA, Langley Research Center in 
Hampton expanded its mission to include space research. Langley was 
NASA's original field center and the training location for the 
original astronauts. Project Mercury, America's inaugural 
man-in-space program, was conceived and managed in Hampton. Today, 
Langley's mission is three fold: exploration, science and 
aeronautics.




For more information on the October lecture series: "NASA at 50: A 
Celebration of Science, Technology and the Spirit of Human 
Exploration," go to:



http://shemesh.larc.nasa.gov/Lectures/sigma/sigma.htm



For more information on NASA programs, go to:



www.nasa.gov

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