Douglas Isbell/Don Savage
Headquarters, Washington, DC                   Nov. 5, 1999
(Phone: 202/358-1547)

NOTE TO EDITORS: N99-57

MARS CLIMATE ORBITER INVESTIGATION BOARD TO RELEASE REPORT AT PRESS BRIEFING NOV. 10

The NASA failure review board investigating the loss of Mars Climate Orbiter will release its findings in a press briefing at 2 p.m. EST on Wednesday, Nov. 10, 1999. The briefing will be held in the James E. Webb Auditorium at NASA Headquarters, 300 E St. SW, Washington, DC.

Panelists will be:

• Dr. Edward Weiler, Associate Administrator for Space Science, NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC

• Arthur Stephenson, Chairman of the Mars Climate Orbiter Mission Failure Investigation Board and Director of NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, AL

• Dr. Edward Stone, Director of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA

The briefing will be carried live on NASA Television with question-and-answer capability for reporters covering the briefing from participating NASA centers. NASA Television is available on transponder 9C, satellite GE-2 at 85 degrees West longitude, vertical polarization, frequency 3880 MHz, audio of 6.8 MHz.

Embargoed copies of the report will be available to media representatives in the Webb Auditorium and in the newsrooms of NASA centers at approximately 1 p.m. on Wednesday. The contents of the report will be embargoed until 2 p.m. The report will be posted to the Internet via the NASA Home Page at approximately 2 p.m.

The report discusses the root cause of the mission failure and makes recommendations to help ensure a successful landing of the Mars Polar Lander mission on Dec. 3. A second report by the board, due by Feb. 1, 2000, will address lessons learned and recommendations to improve NASA processes to reduce the probability of similar incidents in the future.

Mars Climate Orbiter was lost as it was entering orbit around Mars on Sept. 23. The orbiter was part of a series of missions in a long-term program of Mars exploration managed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, DC. JPL's industrial partner is Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, CO. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA.

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