Douglas Isbell
Headquarters, Washington, DC              October 10, 1996
(Phone:  202/358-1547)

Diane Ainsworth
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA
(Phone: 818/354-5011)

RELEASE: 96-205

PRESS BRIEFING ON 1996 MARS MISSIONS SET FOR OCTOBER 16

     NASA Administrator Daniel S. Goldin and a panel of
senior space scientists and engineers will discuss NASA's
plans for the robotic exploration of Mars and, specifically,
the two U.S. missions set for launch to the planet this fall,
during a press briefing on Wednesday, October 16, at NASA
Headquarters, Washington, DC.

     Administrator Goldin is scheduled to open the briefing
at 11:30 a.m. EST with remarks on NASA's vision for Mars
exploration.  Dr. Wesley Huntress, NASA Associate
Administrator for Space Science, will speak at 1 p.m. on the
goals of the space agency's long-term Mars Surveyor Program
and on NASA's cooperation with Russia in the Mars '96
mission.  Dr. Michael Carr of the U.S. Geological Survey then
will discuss the state of scientific knowledge about Mars,
and what major questions the upcoming missions will help answer.

     This will be followed by a panel of speakers focused on
detailed discussions of the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS)
orbiter and Mars Pathfinder lander missions, featuring:

- Glenn Cunningham, MGS project manager
- Dr. Arden Albee, MGS project scientist
- Anthony Spear, Mars Pathfinder project manager
- Dr. Matthew Golombek, Mars Pathfinder project scientist.

     MGS is due for launch on November 6 and Mars Pathfinder
is due for launch on December 2, both on Delta II launch
vehicles, from NASA's Kennedy Space Center, FL.  An on-time
launch of Mars Pathfinder would result in its landing in the
Ares Vallis region of Mars on July 4, 1997.  MGS arrives in
orbit around Mars in September 1997 and after several months
of aerobraking in the upper atmosphere of Mars, will begin
its primary mapping mission in March 1998.

     The press briefing will be broadcast on NASA TV, with
interactive question-and-answer capability at participating
NASA centers.  In addition, the NASA TV Video File on that
day will be dedicated to Mars, barring any breaking news events.

     NASA Television is located at Spacenet 2, Transponder 5,
Channel 9, C-Band, located at 69 degrees West longitude, with
horizontal polarization.  Frequency will be on 3880.0
megahertz, with audio on 6.8 megahertz.

     Further information on NASA's plans for robotic Mars
exploration can be accessed on the Internet at the following URL:

  http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/mars/

                          -end-